"Have got the firepower to win comfortably" - Chris Sutton makes straightforward prediction for Sheffield United vs Liverpool
BBC pundit and former Blackburn Rovers forward Chris Sutton believes Liverpool will win comfortably when they take on Sheffield United this week. The two teams will take each other on in a Premier League clash at Bramall Lane on Wednesday, December 6.
The Reds currently sit second in the table with 31 points from 14 matches, just a point adrift of leaders Arsenal. Jurgen Klopp's men are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak across competitions and enter this game on the back of consecutive wins.
Sheffield, meanwhile, have endured a dismal return to the top flight and are currenrly bottom of the standings with just five points from 14 matches. They have lost eight of their last 10 league games, a run of form that is reportedly set to see the hierarchy sack manager Paul Heckingbottom (via Sky Sports).
Given the vast difference in the two teams' fortunes this season, Sutton believes Liverpool will overwhelm the Blades and win 3-0 on Wednesday. The 1994-95 Premier League winner with Blackburn wrote in his prediction column for the BBC:
"Liverpool did amazingly well to come back to beat Fulham on Sunday and they are right in the thick of the title race now. This should be a much more straightforward victory for Jurgen Klopp's side, who have got the firepower to win comfortably."
He added about Sheffield's current problems:
"Paul Heckingbottom's departure as Sheffield United manager appears to be imminent, and it will not exactly be surprising to see him go after their past couple of results against Bournemouth and Burnley.
"A new voice always makes the first game after a change of manager really interesting but, whether or not Chris Wilder gets the job, I don't see it making much difference for the Blades here, because what worries me is how brittle they are at the back."
Liverpool enter this match on the back of a thrilling 4-3 win over Fulham at Anfield over the weekend.
Down 3-2 heading into the final five minutes of regulation, goals from Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold handed them a brilliant victory. Earlier in the game, Alexander-Arnold and Alexis Mac Allister scored a stunner apiece.
Sheffield, meanwhile, suffered a harrowing 5-0 defeat to fellow relegation battlers Burnley over the weekend. The Clarets went 2-0 up inside the opening half an hour before Oliver McBurnie got sent off for Heckingbottom's side in first-half stoppage time. Three more goals followed in an easy second half for Burnley.
Liverpool have won each of their last five matches against Sheffield United
Liverpool have largely enjoyed playing against Sheffield United in recent years, winning their last five meetings by an aggregate score of 11-1. The Blades last defeated the Reds in April 1994, winning 2-1 at Anfield.
The two teams' most recent clash came during the 2020-21 Premier League season. On that occasion, Jurgen Klopp's men came away from Bramall Lane with a 2-0 victory courtesy of Curtis Jones' 48th-minute goal and an own-goal from Kean Bryan.
Earlier in the same league season, the two teams met at Anfield. Sheffield took the lead in the 13th minute of that game through a Sander Berge penalty. However, Robert Firmino equalized four minutes before half-time and Diogo Jota scored in the 64th minute to complete the comeback for Liverpool.