Sunderland vs. Liverpool: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
After coming through his first test against the Premier League's rougher edges with a 2-2 draw with Tony Pulis' West Bromwich Albion, Jurgen Klopp steels his side for a clash with another top-flight institution in Sam Allardyce and his robust battlers, Sunderland.
Allardyce took over at the Stadium of Light one day after Klopp joined the Reds, signing a two-year deal with an eye on avoiding relegation at the first time of asking, but the Black Cats still find themselves mired in the relegation zone after his first 10 league games in charge, having won three times.
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As with Klopp at Liverpool, Allardyce may be coming to terms with the challenge ahead of him on Wearside, and facing up against a Reds side buoyed by a 1-0 win over Leicester City on Boxing Day, he has his work cut out for him once more.
Klopp will be hoping his side can continue their post-Christmas form with a win over their northern rivals, but as Pulis' Baggies proved earlier in December, it will be far from a waltz for the Reds.
The last Premier League clash of 2015 promises to be a truly compelling one.
Date: Wednesday, 30 December, 2015
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT / 2:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK) / NBCSN (U.S only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK) / NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S only)
Form Lines (Last 5 Games)
Sunderland: W-L-L-L-L
Liverpool: L-D-D-L-W
Team News
Allardyce finds himself in something of a defensive crisis heading into Wednesday night's clash, with both John O'Shea and Younes Kaboul—two of the most dependable centre-backs from his short time at the club—out injured.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the former Bolton Wanderers manager explained how the pair are likely to miss out to avoid suffering any further problems, as reported by the club's official website:
"Everyone else is okay, but John has a calf injury.
It’s not too serious, but maybe serious enough for exclusion from the squad for the Liverpool game.
That’s something we could do without, with John’s experience and knowledge of the game.
Risking him at less than 100 percent would be foolish because he could tear that muscle even more and be out for a longer time, like Younes Kaboul.
We’ll take a view on it but it looks quite doubtful at the moment.
"
This is likely to see Wes Brown return to partner former Liverpool man Sebastian Coates at the heart of defence, while academy talent Tom Beadling will appear in reserve—representing a last resort for Allardyce.
Sunderland's only other absentees are full-back Adam Matthews and Swedish midfielder Sebastian Larsson, with the pair troubled by ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Meanwhile, Klopp will be without a host of first-team stars as his squad continues to feel the rigours of a busy festive schedule.
Addressing his side's fitness issues in his press conference on Monday afternoon, as relayed by the club's official website, Klopp revealed that James Milner and Divock Origi are among the absentees, while Jordon Ibe could make his return after illness:
"I cannot say too much about Divock because at this moment I don’t have the results of the scan, so we have to wait a few more minutes because the press conference is a little bit too early for this information.
If there is no miracle or something like this then he is not available for the next game, so we have to find a solution for this.
Jordon Ibe has been back in training since yesterday. He was sick and had a few problems for nearly a week. We will have to see. Yesterday was completely normal training, but we’ll have to wait on how he reacts to this.
I think from the game [against Leicester] we have no other problems. Millie will start pitch sessions, not with the team but outside tomorrow. Then he needs a week and should be available.
"
Elsewhere, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings, Martin Skrtel, Joe Gomez, Jordan Rossiter and Jon Flanagan will all miss out.
Flanagan came through his first competitive action in 19 months on Tuesday, with 30 minutes at right-back in Liverpool under-21s' 0-0 draw with Fleetwood Town, per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo.
Predicted Lineups
With no comfortable option to field a five-man defence against the Reds, Allardyce is likely to line his side up in a variation on a 4-3-3 on Wednesday night.
This could see centre-back pairing Brown and Coates flanked by Billy Jones and Patrick van Aanholt, while Allardyce has options to ponder when it comes to his midfield setup, with Lee Cattermole returning from injury and Jack Rodwell available after serving a one-game suspension last time out.
This could see Cattermole and Rodwell join the impressive Yann M'Vila to form a robust engine room, though Allardyce could be tempted to field the more creative Jordi Gomez in lieu of one of this trio.
In attack, Allardyce has an abundance of talent to select from, with Fabio Borini likely to feature alongside Steven Fletcher and one of Duncan Watmore and Danny Graham.
Adam Johnson, Jermain Defoe, Jeremain Lens and Ola Toivonen offer further options from the substitutes' bench.
Klopp can look to build on victory over the Foxes by fielding a near-unchanged lineup, with the 4-2-3-1 proving successful in that Anfield triumph.
If this is the case, goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and defenders Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho and Alberto Moreno will make up the German's back five, with little in terms of backup available following injuries to Skrtel and Gomez.
A two-man midfield of Jordan Henderson and Emre Can struck a fine balance against Leicester, and Klopp could continue to take advantage of this blossoming partnership behind Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho.
With Origi sidelined however, Christian Benteke is likely to come in to lead the line in attack.
Likely Sunderland XI: Pantilimon; Jones, Coates, Brown, Van Aanholt; Rodwell, Cattermole, M'Vila; Watmore, Fletcher, Borini.
Likely Liverpool XI: Mignolet; Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno; Henderson, Can; Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho; Benteke.
Players to Watch
Fabio Borini
Borini is desperate to make his mark on Wednesday night, having left Merseyside for Sunderland over the summer, after three miserable seasons under Brendan Rodgers at Anfield.
The Italian scored Sunderland's consolation goal in the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Boxing Day, and as he told Chris Young of the Sunderland Echo (h/t Sky Sports) this week, he is looking to continue his goalscoring run with the killing blow to his former club.
"Obviously, the goals give you a little bit of confidence, but at the end of the day, all that matters is the result," he said. "Yes, I'd like to score against Liverpool. More than anyone else. I've said everything I want to already about my time there."
There is clearly bad blood between Borini and Liverpool, and the ex-Chelsea man will take some stopping on Wednesday night.
Jordan Henderson
Henderson may have grown up dreaming of captaining Sunderland, but his first visit to the Stadium of Light wearing the armband for Liverpool will be a proud moment for the former Black Cat.
Returning from a troubling foot injury in December, Henderson has produced a pair of strong performances so far against Watford and Leicester, and he is growing in strength as a key figure under Klopp, as the manager told reporters on Monday.
"That’s how it is, he gets his rhythm and it’s very important that he can stay in this rhythm," he told the Press Association (h/t This is Anfield). "I hope he stays fit and he will help us, of course. He is a high-quality player."
Henderson's work alongside Can in midfield, utilising his mobility, industry, creativity and third-man runs, could allow Liverpool to hurt his boyhood club.
Key Battle
Christian Benteke vs. Sunderland's Centre-Backs
With an untested defensive partnership with Brown and Coates representing an obvious chink in Sunderland's armour on Wednesday night, Klopp could look to benefit by fielding the bullish, physically dominant Benteke in attack.
Benteke has come under considerable criticism in recent weeks for his sluggish output leading the attack under Klopp, but he is looking to improve his efforts following a "man conversation" with his manager, as reported by Nick Lustig of Sky Sports.
The Belgium international said:
"I have to run more and I have to be there for my team-mates.
I spoke with the manager a few days ago about where I can improve and what he is expecting from me.
Sometimes when you are a little bit on the side you try to understand what the manager needs and what he wants, and we had a very good chat.
"
With the first transfer window of Klopp's reign about to begin, Benteke will be keen to impress him and earn a long-term starting role—particularly with Sturridge, Origi and Ings all out injured.
This can start against Sunderland, and Brown and Coates could be the unfortunate victims.
Odds
Sunderland: 473/100
Liverpool: 20/27
Draw: 73/25
Odds via Odds Shark and correct at time of writing.
