Venue: Stadium of Light
Date: 10/03/12
Kick-Off: 3:00pm
Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat to Arsenal at Anfield when they travel up north to face a rejuvenated Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
In what is the reverse fixture from the opening day of the 2011/2012 season, Martin O’Neill will be looking for his 6th win from 9 home games since he took charge of the Black Cats in early December.
On the other hand, Liverpool will be looking for their 7th away win of the season in their 14th away game. A victory would give them a 50% win record in their away matches so far this campaign.
Both sides will be going into this game with disappointment firmly in the back of their minds following their most recent outings in the Premier League. Liverpool managed to somehow lose to Arsenal after dominating for long periods of the game whilst creating numerous goalscoring chances. Sunderland will be similarly determined after conceding a last minute equaliser to local rivals Newcastle in a hotly contested North-East derby last weekend.
Last time these two teams met was, as mentioned earlier, the opening game of the season. As typical with many Liverpool home games this season, The Reds dominated the play but could only come away with one point. Luis Suarez missed an early penalty; however he made up for his misdemeanours with the opening goal, heading in a free-kick from debutant Charlie Adam. Despite Liverpool being on top for the majority of the game, a brilliantly dispatched volley from Sebastian Larsson gave Sunderland their first point of the season.
On the injury front for Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish welcomed back Glen Johnson and skipper Steven Gerrard to training this week, indicating that they could be ready for a return to the team after missing out against Arsenal through injury. Daniel Agger will remain sidelined for the rest of March with a broken rib and, of course, Lucas continues to be treated for the serious knee injury he picked up earlier in the season. With the exception of both Agger and Lucas, Dalglish has a full squad to choose from.
Sunderland will be without three key players for Saturday’s fixture. Kieran Richardson, a regular under Martin O’Neill, misses out with a calf strain whilst Stephane Sessegnon and Captain Lee Cattermole are both suspended following their red cards against Newcastle.
Sunderland’s key player on Saturday would have been Stephane Sessegnon. The man from Benin has been brilliant this season and has excelled under the guidance of Martin O’Neill. Nevertheless, Sessegnon is suspended and will not play any part in the game so the job of Sunderland dangerman will go to Sebastian Larsson. The Swedish international is deadly from set pieces and with his intelligence he can create chances for the likes of Nicklas Bendtner and Frazier Campbell. Liverpool have already seen what Larsson is capable of this season and a watchful eye will be needed on the midfielder if the Reds are to stifle Sunderland’s attacking threat.
In what should be a cracking contest, Sunderland will be looking to close the gap on Liverpool as they currently sit just five points behind the Reds. As for Liverpool, they will be looking for a win which will boost their confidence and possibly re-ignite their chances of chasing down that illusive 4th spot in the table.
L4L Match Prediction – Sunderland 1-1 Liverpool
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