Fulham v Liverpool: Pre-Match Talking Points

Matchday 31 sees Liverpool head down to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:15 AM EST on Sunday.

Fulham v Liverpool — 03/17/2019 1415 GMT

By Jordan Carreno

On the back of that incredible victory at Bayern Munich, it is back to Premier League action for Jurgen and the lads. With it being an FA Cup weekend, and with City still in the FA Cup, the match is an opportunity for Liverpool to reclaim top spot for their own. It is also the last match before another, always dreadful, international break. As always, all three LFC Tampa Bay locations will be open and showing the match. So, come on down and start your “Sunday Funday” with your fellow Tampa Bay Reds. With all that being said, let’s get into the talking points.

The Follow Through

I wrote in the Bayern pre-match how going away to Munich and getting the job done would be an excellent boost to confidence and provide a platform for this Liverpool side to launch their sprint towards the end of the Premier League season. Not many teams can have claimed to knocked the German giants out of the Champions League, so having done so will only have added to sense of self belief within the squad. That the boys went to the Allianz Arena and won in such a convincing manner will have sent a clear message to our foes in Europe and our title rivals Manchester City.

When Pep Guardiola opened his mouth to let the world know that he would be cheering on Bayern Munich, he ultimately conceded that he would be watching the match with interest. Pep will have undoubtedly been hoping for his ex-club to deliver a blow to the morale of this Liverpool team that is hot on the heels of his City side. What he, and probably most of his team, would have seen wouldn’t have made them feel at ease in regards to Liverpool falling off the pace.

With Manchester City not playing in the league this weekend, Liverpool has the perfect opportunity to heap pressure on their title rivals. With an international break on the horizon, it will be a full two weeks before City can reclaim top spot if Liverpool do manage to do the job against Fulham this weekend. Though City do have a fairly easy run of games on the other side of the break, Liverpool must ensure the pressure going into those games is at its highest.

The message sent and the confidence built on Wednesday night will be all for naught should Liverpool stumble against the Cottagers. The onus is on this Liverpool side to seize the opportunity they created for themselves midweek in Munich. The chance is there to use the convincing away victory as a springboard for the rest of the season.

The Man Who Has Nothing To Lose

Matches at Fulham have had plenty of drama in the past — Particularly when Liverpool are going for a title

There’s a famous saying that has many iterations but is most famously attributed to the American novelist James Baldwin. It goes, “the most dangerous man in any society is the man who has nothing to lose.” At present it could be said that Fulham are a club with nothing to lose. With only 17 points on the board, and being 13 points from safety with only 24 possible points left, the Cottagers are all but relegated and really have nothing left to play for other than pride. This could make them a dangerous prospect.

In fact, the last time Liverpool paid Fulham a visit was under similar circumstances. It was during Liverpool’s last title push in 13/14, when Fulham were last relegated, that the Reds went down to Craven Cottage and got more than they bargained for. In that match, Liverpool conceded leads twice, drawing level each time, before finally sealing the victory with a late 90th minute penalty from Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool faced similar adversity in their 08/09 title challenge, although it came against a much more capable Fulham side. That particular match looked to be heading towards a 0–0 stalemate until Yossi Benayoun scored a goal in the 90th minute. All of this points to Fulham putting up a challenge at Craven Cottage when the Reds are pushing for a title.

Though these are the type of teams this Liverpool side have made a habit of beating this season, Fulham shouldn’t be underestimated despite their perilous position. Fulham have nothing to lose and ruining a Liverpool title challenge could be the one thing for them to hang their hats on. Though on paper Liverpool should be easily winning this, don’t be surprised if it is tougher than expected.

Mane-nificent

I would like to take a moment to pour endless praise onto the Senegalese Superman that takes up our left wing. Whilst there has been intense focus on the goal scoring drought of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane has been in scintillating form over the past few weeks and has made sure Liverpool haven’t suffered at the hands of Mo’s struggles.

Mane has managed to score 10 goals in his last 10 matches and currently leads the Premier League goal scoring chart if you take away penalties. In fact, you have to go all the way back to Liverpool’s 1–0 win at Brighton on January 12th to find a game that Liverpool scored in that Mane didn’t get his name on the score sheet.

What Sadio Mane did on Wednesday night was nothing short of magical

So, whilst the temptation may be to overlook Sadio for his Egyptian counterpart, the statistics speak to Mane being just as crucial to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Since joining the club, Mane has managed to score 52 goals for the Reds. On top of that, he has now contributed to at least 20 goals in each of his three seasons for Liverpool.

In the Champions League, Mane has now scored 5 goals in his last 5 games in the knockout rounds against the likes of Bayern, Roma, and Real Madrid. After Wednesday night, Mane is Liverpool’s most prolific away goal scorer in the history of the Champions League in just one and a half seasons playing in the competition for the club. Even further, 9 of his 13 Champions League goals come in the knockout rounds, which means he has the second highest percentage of goals in the knockout rounds in the competition’s history.

But it’s not just that he’s been scoring the goals, it is the way he’s been scoring them. Who can forget his first goal for Liverpool on opening day in 2016 against Arsenal where he cut in on his left, after leaving several defenders in his wake, and then blasted into the top corner. Or how about last season when he got the ball on the edge of the box against City and then blasted a shot into the top corner to help hand City their first loss. More recently, there was the goal against Watford where he pulled off the ridiculous by back heeling a ball hard enough into the ground that it bounced over Ben Foster. And finally, the magic he pulled off against Bayern, leaving Neuer for dead before deftly chipping the ball between two defenders and into the net.

If what he did on Wednesday night had been done by Ronaldo or Messi, the collective footballing world would be creaming their pants and singing praise for days on end. His Liverpool highlight reel is full of moments that rival those considered among the current elite of world football. Left foot, right foot, head, or heel, Mane has a way of finding the back of the net and doing so in spectacular fashion. Here’s hoping this purple patch of form continues on Sunday.

Prediction

We are back to the domestic table again where David has made up a bit of ground in the table. Against Burnley, David managed to get 2 points for predicting a Liverpool win with 4 goals whilst I only got 1. This has me leading David 40 points to 37.

I’m not quite sure what to think in regards to formation. Whilst I wouldn’t be surprised if Fulham did decide to park the bus, as I mentioned earlier they have nothing to lose and could well go for it. This could mean Jurgen Klopp opts for a 4–3–3 with a selection that is flexible enough to morph into a 4–2–3–1 if necessary.

With Jordan Henderson missing out to injury, I think Fabinho comes back in to play the six with Wjinaldum and Adam Lallana ahead of him. Lallana put in a great performance against Burnley to warrant selection and has the flexibility to play on the wing or as a 10 if needed. Everything else should remain unchanged from our game against Bayern.

As much as I hyped this one up to be a tough contest, I really don’t see Fulham standing in the way of this Liverpool team now full of confidence off the back of that Bayern victory. The Cottagers have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season by quite some distance and i think that gap continues to grow. We smash them. 6–0.

David’s Prediction: I think Gini may rest and we see Milner, Fab and Lallana in midfield. But does it matter? Fulham aren’t going to be crapping their kecks cause of our midfield, it’s that front three that’s going to haunt them. And it is those three that will end the Cottagers Premier League dreams by turning this one into a nightmare. I said at the beginning of the season that Sadio Mane was going to score 30 goals this season. I’ve since backed off, but screw it, I’m all in on that prediction again. I’m tempted to say he bags seven of the eleven he’d need to hit that number this weekend, but I am a realist. I think he continues his hot streak, nets one and then does the dirty work to end Mo’s drought by setting him up. Lallana gets one for good measure. In the end it appears to like a relaxing day along the banks of the Thames for the Reds with Alisson Becker described by pundits as “in attendance.” 3–0.