Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
It’s 1 win in 9 for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side and failure to win Today would make it a not so perfect 10. They travel to Hull this Afternoon looking to earn a first win since the F.A. Cup Third Round Replay win over League Two side Plymouth.
But this a Hull side that is battling for survival and right now they are scrapping for every point going. Life under Marco Silva has seen somewhat of a resurgence and there would have been no better proof of this than their draw with Manchester United on Wednesday night.
They may have had United’s number in the EFL Cup a week or so ago but in all fairness not many would have given them hope at Old Trafford especially with The Red Devils looking to exact revenge for that EFL Cup Semi Final defeat.
But revenge was not served up on a silver platter as a resolute Hull side withheld everything that United threw at them to earn themselves a vital point which in turn sees them move off of the bottom of the table at the expense of David Moyes’s Sunderland.
Although a point at Manchester United is something that should never be sniffed at, it will tempered slightly by the fact that both Crystal Palace and Swansea both won the night before and in turn managed to pull away from Marco Silva’s men in the battle to beat the drop.
But at the same time that point will give Hull confidence going into this game knowing that this Liverpool side can certainly be got at. They themselves earned a point in midweek after holding league leaders Chelsea at Anfield, perhaps that is the result that has seen them turn the corner.
AFCON absentee Sadio Mane will be set to make his return to the starting eleven to give Liverpool a much needed lift as results have stuttered in absence. Now Mane’s representation for Senegal can be the sole factor for such a tough Janaury but the team have been like night and day without the Southampton man.
That said they certainly showed more fight against Chelsea on Tuesday, in a game that was arguably season defining. A loss there and the gap at the top would have been 13 points and that frankly would have meant that the wait for a first title since 1990 would have to wait another season.
As it stands the gap stays at 10 and although the hopes are faint, they need to make sure they return to winning ways in the league not to necessarily hunt down Chelsea but to also keep Manchester City at bay. Pep Guardiola’s are now breathing down their necks with just goal difference separating them.
With City playing tomorrow a win Today for Liverpool would put the onus back on the Manchester outfit to once again get a result. Liverpool need to get out of the tailspin otherwise their Champions League aspirations could also be under threat.
Thankully though for Liverpool I think their barron league run comes to an end at The KCom this Afternoon. They have not win in the league in 2017 but the New Year celebrations can finally start, albeit a month late as they pick up all three points. An away win for me.
