Liverpool face a tough test against relegation battling Watford as they look to record a record 19th consecutive league victory.
Liverpool Team News
The Reds will be without skipper Jordan Henderson as he is still recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered against Atletico Madrid last week.
Xherdan Shaqiri is still out whilst vice-captain James Milner is not likely to return to action until Liverpool’s FA Cup clash against Chelsea midweek.
Mentality Monsters
Klopp’s side faced West Ham last time out as they battled back from 2-1 down to win 3-2.
Gini Wijnaldum put the home side a goal up before Issa Diop headed home from a Robert Snodgrass corner to bring the Hammers level shortly after.
A neat volley from substitute Pablo Fornals put the visitors in the lead as Liverpool’s unbeaten run looked in jeopardy.
However, goals courtesy of Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane saw the league leaders battle back to record their 18th consecutive league win of the campaign, drawing them level with the record Manchester City set two seasons prior.
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(Above: The Senegalese celebrates after grabbing Liverpool’s winner)
The German was happy with how his side reacted after going a goal down.
“The boys reacted really well and that’s all we need to know.
“I know some people used the word complacency and that they saw glimpses of that. I didn’t see that at all. It’s a long season and concentration levels can drop from time to time.
“But how much the boys fight for a result is just exceptional. There is no fear about anything but we also don’t take anything for granted.”
Records breakers?
The Red’s need four wins out of their last 11 games to mathematically secure the Premier League trophy.
A win tomorrow would push the gap between themselves and Manchester City to 25 points and would see them overtake the Citizen’s record for most consecutive league wins.
The Merseysiders should be confident of securing all three points. Jurgen Klopp’s men have only conceded six away league goals all season
In recent history Watford have found it hard to score against them, failing to find the net in any of the last four meetings between the sides.
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(Above: Salah scored a sublime brace in the last meeting between the two sides)
Even more concerning for the Hornets is the prospect of facing the in form Mo Salah.
The Egyptian has made a habit of finishing the season strongly and has glowing record against Nigel Pearson’s side, with eight goals in his five games against tomorrow’s opponents.
This will be the third game in a row Liverpool have played a team in the relegation zone, with their last two games being wins against Norwich and West Ham.
The Reds’ boss has warned against underestimating what could be perceived as lesser opposition.
“You cannot imagine when you see Norwich playing or West Ham playing against us, or Watford now that they are at the bottom of the table.
“That’s how football is. It’s really fair but also really hard.
“Watford will be really tough. They’re very physical and everyone will see how much it means for them, and we have to make sure that everyone can see how much it means to us as well.”
The Opposition
The Hornets are coming into Saturday’s game looking for their first win in five, as they are in desperate need of points to survive the drop.
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(HOPE FOR THE HORNETS: Can Pearson save them from the drop?)
Nigel Pearson will be boosted with Ismaïla Sarr and Kiko Femenía closer to returning to full fitness after another full week of training.
The Watford boss has now had three months to assess and work with his squad, and will be looking to conjure up an escape act not dissimilar to those he performed at Southampton, Carlisle, West Brom and, most famously, Leicester.
Pearson said: “I’m happy with the players we have and I know when we go out, we’ll get an honest performance. You can’t underestimate that as a quality when you are in this situation.
“I think we can go into this final third of the season and be able to trust ourselves that we’ve got enough to get out of the situation we are in. I’m satisfied with the players we have…and that we can achieve what we are trying to achieve.”
Naby vs The Ox – Who gets the nod?
Jordan Henderson’s injury in Madrid has left one space free in Liverpool’s preferred midfield three next to Fabinho and Wijnaldum.
The two obvious candidates are Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.
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(Above: Will The Ox get the nod to start this weekend?)
The Guinean got the nod to start last time out, but it was Chamberlain’s substitute cameo that sparked the Red’s comeback.
Despite suggestions that the England international has moved ahead of his teammate in the pecking order, Klopp has assured they are not in competition with each other.
“I don’t see it like this. Its just they offer naturally different things. Naby can play better obviously but that’s not the reason (for the substitution).
“Oxlade came on and was completely fresh and his natural skills, speed and being direct (made the difference), hes a different player.
“There are different situations where we need different players.”
