“Fulham have given Liverpool really difficult games” - Mark Lawrenson predicts scoreline as Jurgen Klopp’s men return to Premier League action
Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has backed his erstwhile side to defeat Fulham 2-1 in their upcoming Premier League clash at Craven Cottage on Sunday, April 21.
The Reds will be aiming to bounce back after they crashed out of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night (April 18). Despite beating Atalanta 1-0 in the second leg of the quarter-finals, they lost 3-1 on aggregate.
Liverpool have also failed to win their last two league games, drawing 2-2 with Manchester United and losing 1-0 to Crystal Palace. They are third in the standings with 71 points from 32 games, two points behind leaders Manchester City.
On the other hand, Fulham are 12th with 42 points from 33 games. Jurgen Klopp and Co. will be confident of securing all three points as they have won eight of their last 11 league meetings against the Cottagers, drawing two, and losing just one.
Lawrenson made his prediction, writing (via Paddy Power News):
"Liverpool have played Fulham three times this year, winning two and drawing one. Fulham have given Liverpool really, really difficult games and I thought they were excellent against West Ham last time out. Liverpool need to bounce back on that tight pitch but I think they will."
Lawrenson's Prediction: 1-2
"We didn't deserve to go through" - Trent Alexander-Arnold gives honest verdict after Liverpool bow out of Europa League
Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has admitted his side didn't deserve to win their Europa League quarter-final tie against Atalanta over both legs.
Alexander-Arnold made his first start for the club in over two months after being sidelined due to a knee ligament injury. His cross in the seventh minute won the Reds a penalty via a handball, which Mohamed Salah coolly converted. Unfortunately, Jurgen Klopp's men were unable to offer much going forward to mount a successful comeback.
The England international said (via Liverpool's official website):
“We came here with the objective of trying to win the game but it wasn’t enough at the end of the day. We set ourselves a very tough task after last week, an uphill battle and it was too hard for us to turn around. But, we got the win, a clean sheet as well so there’s positives to take. But we know over the two legs we didn’t deserve to go through.”
He added:
“When you are up against it you want to get the early goal and it set the tone of the game when we did that. I thought in the first half we were really good, boxed them in, kept them in their own half and tried to put as much pressure on them as possible, but they withstood the pressure we put on them. In the second half we couldn’t find our rhythm and didn’t create too much and it wasn’t enough in the end.”
The Merseysiders dominated possession with 70 percent of the ball but they struggled to generate many big chances, landing just 10 shots in total, with five being on target. Meanwhile Atalanta had 30 percent possession and had eight shots with two on target.