Friday, April 8, 2011

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09.04. (Sat) 15:30 Hamburger SV - Borussia D.



DID YOU KNOW?

* Borussia Dortmund are on the verge of equalling the all-time Bundesliga record of most away wins in one season (twelve).

* The dominance of Juergen Klopp's side can be demonstrated with the following statistics: most wins (20), fewest defeats (3), fewest goals conceded (17) and second most goals scored (58).

* BVB's 2-0 defeat to Leverkusen on matchday one is the only time this season the side have concede more than one goal in a league match.

* There have been 87 meetings between the two sides with Hamburg winning 31, Dortmund 30 and 27 draws taking place.

* Dortmund's 18-year-old sensation Mario Goetze currently has 10 assists in the Bundesliga this season, the most in the league along with Franck Ribery and Cristian Tiffert.

* Hamburg have won each of the last four home games against Borussia Dortmund.

* The last time the two sides met at the Imtech Arena, HSV ran out 4-1 winners with Guy Demel, Ze Roberto, Jose Guerrero and Marcus Berg scoring the goals for the home team.

* Die Rothosen have conceded more goals than any other team in the top half of the Bundesliga (44) and only five teams have conceded more this season.

* Michael Oenning's men are currently struggling for form, winning only one of their last five games in the Bundesliga, a 6-2 victory over Koeln a fortnight ago which came the week after they conceded six against Bayern.

* In total, Hamburg have scored 158 goals against Dortmund in Bundesliga meetings with 149 goals in reply.

LAST MEETING

November 12, 2010: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Hamburg

When the two teams met in November, Dortmund continued their fine form by beating die Rothosen at home. Both goals came in the second half with Shinji Kagawa grabbing the first with Lucas Barrios adding a second to give BVB all three points.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Hamburg: Rost; Diekmeier, Kacar, Westermann, Aogo; Ben-Hatira, Jarolim, Ze Roberto, Elia; Van Nistelrooy, Petric

Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer; Sahin, Bender; Goetze, Lewandowski, Grosskreutz; Barrios

Prediction

Hamburg 2-2 Borussia   

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09.04. (Sat) 13:45 Wolverhampton Wanderers - Everton



DID YOU KNOW?

* The last three meetings between Wolves and Everton have ended as draws - but a draw on Saturday won't be enough for Mick McCarthy's men who surely need to win their home games if they are to avoid the drop.

* Wolves fans might need to remain patient, as all four of the goals their team have scored in the Premier League against Everton have been netted in the second half.

* McCarthy's men have turned Molineux into a fortress in recent months - winning three and losing just one of their last five Premier League games at home.

* Wolves fans will be disappointed to learn that their team have the worst points per game record on a Saturday with an everage of just 0.88 points a game. The Midlands club have won just 15 of their 74 Premier League games played on a Saturday.

* Everton fans travelling to Molineux will know their side need to sure up their defence if they are to leave with three points - the Toffees have gone 11 games without a clean sheet away from home in the Premier League.

* Remarkably, six of Everton's last eight goals have come between the 30th and 40th minutes.

* As well as their terrible luck with injuries, the Toffees fans can also bemoan the bad fortune they have seen on the field - with their side having more shots cleared off the line by opposition defenders than any other team.

* Despite boasting a defence that includes England centre-back Jagielka, 29 per cent of the goals conceded by Everton have been headers - the highest proportion in the Premier League.

* April has been a kind month to Everton - who have lost just one of their last nine Premier League away games in the fourth month of the year.

* David Moyes is often heard bemoaning the lack of strength in depth his Everton side possess and the stats back up his claims - just 19 different players have started a Premier League game for Everton this season, that is fewer than any other side.

LAST MEETING

August 21, 2010: Everton 1-1 Wolves

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's side-foot finish with just 16 minutes left to play earned Wolves a deserved point at Goodison Park against a frustrated Everton side - who were fired into the lead by Tim Cahill and missed several good chances in a dominant first half.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Wolves: Hennessey; Foley, Berra, Stearman, Elokobi; Hammill, Henry, O'Hara, Jarvis; Fletcher, Ebanks-Blake.

Everton: Howard; Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Coleman, Neville, Heitinga, Bilyaletdinov; Osman; Beckford.

Prediction
If Wolves do survive the dreaded drop, they will have their home form to thank. McCarthy's team have already beaten the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City at Molineux and will be confident that they can add seventh-placed Everton to their list of top-half scalps.

The fitness of Rodwell and particularly Cahill is crucial to Everton's chances of success on Saturday. Although Jermaine Beckford looks better after every Premier League game he plays, the Wolves defence will fear they are capable of dealing with the former Leeds striker if he is without the support of Everton's Australian star.

Wolves will be looking to put their poor performance at Newcastle out of their minds and will be looking to bounce back to winning ways on Saturday to kickstart their run-in. The fixture list has been kind to Wolves, who will feel that all of their remaining home games give them a great chance of picking up enough points to ensure they are playing Premier League football next season. Both sides have had issues defensively and I expect plenty of goals in this Saturday lunchtime kick-off.

Wolves 3-2 Everton

08.-10. 04. 2011. Eredivisie preview Round 30

Friday
AZ  - NAC
Saturday
VVV  - NEC
ADO Den Haag  - Vitesse
Excelsior  - De Graafschap
Willem II  - Heracles
Sunday
Ajax - GroningenTwente - Roda
Utrecht  - Feyenoord
PSV  - Heerenveen








AZ - NAC

* AZ currently sit fourth in the table
* The Tukkers recorded a 1-0 win over Feyenoord last week
* NAC are the Eredivisie's 11th-placed team
* They defeated De Graafschap 3-1 in their last league game
* Previous meeting: NAC 1-1 AZ

VVV - NEC

* VVV are the league's 17th-placed team with 17 points from 29 games
* The Limburgers were beaten 3-2 by Groningen last weekend
* NEC sit 10th in the table
* They were defeated 2-1 by Vitesse in their last match
* Previous meeting: NEC 1-0 VVV

ADO Den Haag - Vitesse

* The Residentieclub are the league's number five at the moment
* ADO Den Haag recorded a 3-2 win over Utrecht in their last match
* Vitesse are the Eredivisie's 15th-placed side
* They beat NEC 2-1 last weekend
* Previous meeting: Vitesse 3-1 ADO Den Haag

Excelsior - De Graafschap

* Excelsior currently sit 16th in the league table
* The Rotterdam side recorded a 3-2 win over Heerenveen last week
* De Graafschap sit 14th in the Eredivisie with 33 points from 29 games
* The Superboeren were beaten 3-1 by NAC last weekend
* Previous meeting: De Graafschap 3-0 Excelsior

Willem II - Heracles

* Willem II still sit rock bottom in the Eredivisie table
* They were beaten 5-4 by Roda in their last league game
* Heracles sit ninth in the league table with 37 points from 29 games
* They were beaten 3-0 by Ajax last Sunday
* Previous meeting: Heracles 3-0 Willem II

Ajax - Groningen

* Ajax sit third in the Eredivisie table
* They recorded a 3-0 win over Heracles last weekend
* Groningen are sixth in the league
* The Pride of the North beat VVV 3-2 in their last league game
* Previous meeting: Groningen 2-2 Ajax

Twente - Roda

* Twente sit atop of the table
* The Tukkers defeated PSV 2-0 last Saturday
* Roda are the league's seventh-placed side
* The Kerkrade outfit defeated Willem II 5-4 last weekend
* Previous meeting: Roda 0-0 Twente

Utrecht - Feyenoord

* Utrecht are eighth right now with 41 points from 29 games
* The Domestedelingen were beaten 3-2 by ADO last week
* Feyenoord currently sit 13th in the league table
* The Rotterdam outfit were beaten 1-0 by AZ in their last league game
* Previous meeting: Feyenoord 3-1 Utrecht

PSV - Heerenveen

* PSV are the Eredivisie's second ranked team with 61 points from 29 games
* The Eindhoven side were beaten 2-0 by Twente in their last game
* Heerenveen are the Eredivisie's number 12 with 35 points from 29 games
* The Friezen were beaten 3-2 by relegation candidates Excelsior last weekend
* Previous meeting: Heerenveen 1-3 PSV

08.- 10. 04. 2011. Bundesliga preview Round 29

Friday
20:30 Eintracht Frankfurt - Werder Bremen

Saturday
15:30 Nuernberg - Bayern Munich
15:30 Schalke - Wolfsburg
15:30 Borussia Dortmund - Hamburg
15:30 Hannover - Mainz
15:30 Freiburg - Hoffenheim
18:30 Stuttgart - Kaiserslautern

Sunday
15:30 Borussia Moenchengladbach - Koeln
17:30 Bayer Leverkusen - St Pauli





Eintracht Frankfurt - Werder Bremen

* Die Adler have lost five of their last seven Bundesliga games against Werder Bremen and none of the last eleven competitive matches between the two have ended in a draw.

* Eintracht Frankfurt have scored just eleven goals at home all season, and given their abysmal form of 2011 in that regard, they are on track to break their worst ever season for goals at home - 17 goals in 1988-89.

* Werder have lost their last five away games against sides coached by Christoph Daum (four against Leverkusen, the other against Koeln)

* Claudio Pizarro, already the most prolific foreigner in Bundesliga history with 139 goals, could make his 300th Bundesliga appearance tonight.

TEAM NEWS:

Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt are without long-term casualties Chris and Zlatan Bajramovic as well as Patrick Ochs, who is suspended after picking up a fifth booking. Marcel Heller should replace Ochs while Theofanis Gekas looks set to get the nod in attack despite his poor recent form.

Werder Bremen

There are a number of injuries for die Gruen-Weissen - Christian Vander, Naldo, Sebastian Boenisch, Daniel Jensen, Onur Ayik and Sebastian Proedl are all missing although Philipp Bargfrede is fit again. Claudio Pizarro, Per Mertesacker and Tim Borowski are all doubtful.

Nuernberg - Bayern Munich

* Der Club have a miserable overall record against their Bavarian rivals in recent times - they have won just one of their fifteen matches against Bayern - a 3-0 victory in February 2007, which was Ottmar Hitzfeld's first game after his comeback as Bayern coach.

* Dieter Hecking, who takes charge of his 150th game in the Bundesliga, could bring up 200 points with a win. He is currently on 198.

* Bayern have kept just one clean sheet in their last 24 away games - that was a 0-0 draw in the Imtech Arena against Hamburg in round nine.

* Arjen Robben, with nine goals, is the leading goalscorer in Germany since the winter break. His team-mate Franck Ribery has the most assists (seven).

TEAM NEWS:

Nuernberg

Dieter Hecking has a full squad of players to choose from except for injured duo Mike Frantz and Albert Bunjaku. Javier Pinola returns at left-back ahead of Marvin Plattenhardt and Juri Judt's defensive qualities should see him edge out Timothy Chandler at right-back.

Bayern Munich

Aside from long-term absentee Ivica Olic and the injured Daniel van Buyten, Louis van Gaal has a full-strength squad at his disposal. The Dutchman aims to retain the side which edged past Gladbach last week.

Schalke - Wolfsburg

* Raul has scored six of the last eleven goals for die Koenigsblauen and ten of Raul's twelve strikes this league campaign have come at the Veltins Arena.

* Alongside Werder Bremen, Schalke and Wolfsburg are the only two sides in the Bundesliga not to have won this season after going behind to the first goal.

* Brazilian striker Grafite has scored eight times in just five matches against Schalke - needless to say die Koenigsblauen are his favourite opponents. Only two of these eight goals though have come in Gelsenkirchen.

* Wolfsburg are unbeaten in their last eight matches against Schalke with four wins and four draws. This is currently their best unbeaten streak against any team in the top flight.

Rangnick to do battle with his predecessor Magath

TEAM NEWS:

Schalke

Ralf Rangnick will bring back Christoph Metzelder into defence in place of Joel Matip if the experienced defender makes it. Anthony Annan is a doubt in midfield. Schalke have a catalogue of injured players - Tim Hoogland, Christian Pander, Levan Kenia, Peer Kluge, Christoph Moritz, Mario Gavranovic and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar are all ailing.

Wolfsburg

The absence of the suspended Arne Friedrich through suspension is a major blow for Felix Magath. Mario Mandzukic is also suspended and Tolga Cigerci is joined by Dieumerci Mbokani on the physio's table.

Hamburg - Borussia Dortmund

* Die Rothosen have conceded more goals than any other team in the top half of the Bundesliga (44) and only five teams have conceded more this season.

* Hamburg have won each of the last four home games against Borussia Dortmund.

* Dortmund are on the verge of equalling the all-time Bundesliga record of most away wins in one season (twelve). Der BVB currently have eleven wins away from the Signal Iduna Park.

* The dominance of Juergen Klopp's side can be demonstrated with the following statistics: most wins (20), fewest defeats (3), fewest goals conceded (17) and second most goals scored (58).

TEAM NEWS:

Hamburg

Michael Oenning cannot call upon Jaroslav Drobny, Romeo Castelen and most importantly, Joris Mathijsen. Heiko Westermann looks likely to return to the centre of defence and Ruud van Nistelrooy returns at the expense of Heung-Min Son.

Borussia Dortmund

The champions elect are missing Sebastian Kehl, Florian Kringe and Shinji Kagawa. After a poor performance against Hannover, Robert Lewandowski could be replaced by compatriot Jakub Blaszczykowski.

Hannover - Mainz

* This clash is the only one of the matchday which sees two coaches go head-to-head who have been with their clubs from the start of the season in Mirko Slomka and Thomas Tuchel.

* Die Roten have won seven of their last eight home games and should they beat Mainz, they would set a new club record of eleven home wins in a single season.

* Speaking of club records, Mainz have long since smashed their away record of away wins in a single campaign, having recorded nine to date.

* Sami Allagui's goal against Freiburg last week was the 14th by a Mainz substitute this season - a league best. The Bundesliga record currently stands at seventeen, set by Werder Bremen in the 2006-07 season.

TEAM NEWS:

Hannover

Christopher Avevor and Leon Andreasen are the only two injuries for Mirko Slomka's men. Ron-Robert Zieler is back in place of Florian Fromlowitz after recovering from a shoulder problem otherwise die Roten are unchanged from last week's defeat to Dortmund.

Mainz

With Christian Fuchs suspended after picking up five yellows, Malik Fathi comes in at left-back. Miroslav Karhan, Elkin Soto and Adam Szalai are injured.

Freiburg - Hoffenheim

* Die Breisgau-Brasilianer have scored in all but one of their fourteen home games this season - the only time they drew a blank in the Badenova Stadion was in a scoreless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

* Papiss Demba Cisse, with nineteen goals, is joint top goalscorer in the league with Mario Gomez. Should he score against Hoffenheim, he will emulate the feat of Tony Yeboah who was the first African to score 20 goals in a Bundesliga season.

* Hoffenheim have not scored in 207 minutes - the longest run of any team in the Bundesliga at the moment - as they look for their 150th Bundesliga goal.

* Die Kraichgauer are currently in a run of miserable form with just one win in their last seven league matches under Marco Pezzaiuoli with two draws and four defeats.

Papiss Demba Cisse is having a magnificent season for Freiburg


TEAM NEWS:

Freiburg

Robin Dutt is unable to call upon Simon Pouplin and Tommy Bechmann. Jan Rosenthal is likely to find himself sitting on the bench with Anton Putsila slotting in on the left-hand side.

Hoffenheim

Mathias Jaissle, Sejad Salihovic, Boris Vukcevic and Chinedu Obasi are all out with injuries. After a rather nondescript performance at number ten, Ryan Babel shifts to the right flank and Gylfi Sigurdsson assumes the mantle of playmaker.

Stuttgart - Kaiserslautern

* Stuttgart have conceded more goals against Kaiserslautern than against any other opponent - 154.

* Die Schwaben coach Bruno Labbadia played for die Rote Taufeln between 1988 and 1991, scoring 20 goals in 67 appearances, winning the DFB-Pokal in 1990 and Bundesliga in 1991.

* Kaiserslautern's last win in Stuttgart came eleven years ago - in October 1999 when Marian Hristov scored the solitary goal in a 1-0 win.

* Lautern striker Srdjan Lakic has failed to score in over twelve hours of football. His last goal was in the final match before the winter break - against Werder Bremen.

TEAM NEWS:

Stuttgart

Ciprian Marica remains a persona non grata at Stuttgart, who also have Philipp Degen and Ermin Bicakcic injured. Cacau has trained all week and should return to the starting eleven, displacing Pavel Pogrebnyak. Both could play if Tamas Hajnal fails to make it - the Hungarian has a 40 per cent chance of playing according to Bruno Labbadia.

Kaiserslautern

Lautern are without Adam Nemec, Jan Simunek and Ivo Ilicevic. Kevin Trapp won the goalkeeping duel in training with Tobias Sippel and will line up between the sticks. Srdjan Lakic, yet to score in 2011, gets another chance to rediscover his Hinrunde form.

Borussia Moenchengladbach - Koeln

* Gladbach have more wins against Koeln than against any other opponent (41) and Koeln have also lost more times against Gladbach than any other side.

* Die Fohlen are the weakest team at home in the top flight with just nine points at Borussia Park this term. Equally, Koeln are the weakest team away from home with a mere six points.

* Koeln may have won a club-record seven successive games at home but they have not won any away game in their last seven.

* Lukas Podolski and Milivoje Novakovic, with 24 goals, are die Geissboecke's most dangerous strike duo since Toni Polster and Bruno Labbadia sixteen years ago (27 goals after 28 games).

TEAM NEWS:

Borussia Moenchengladbach

Jens Wissing is the only player unavailable to Lucien Favre, who may belatedly dispense with Logan Bailly in goal. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who is just 18 years old, is chomping at the bit to replace the error-prone Belgian.

Koeln

Christopher Schorch and Konstantinos Giannoulis are both still recovering from injuries. Adil Chihi looks set to replace Christian Clemens down the left-hand side but otherwise Frank Schaefer will keep faith in the side, which beat Nuernberg last time around.

Bayer Leverkusen - St Pauli

* The midfield of Bayer Leverkusen is the most dangerous in goalscoring terms in the Bundesliga, with 34 goals this season. The entire St Pauli team has scored just 29 goals all season.

* Die Werkself have scored 13 times in the last fifteen minutes of games this season (Bayern have 19) and St Pauli have conceded 15 goals in the same period, a league high.

* St Pauli are the only team in the Bundesliga without a point in their last six games - a similar run condemned der Kiezclub to relegation in 2001-02.

* In thirteen meetings with Leverkusen, St Pauli have recorded five wins to Leverkusen's four.

St Pauli will be hoping for a less controversial game in Leverkusen.

TEAM NEWS:

Bayer Leverkusen

Manuel Friedrich has returned to training but is not yet fit enough to play. Renato Augusto is the only other player unavailable through injury. Sami Hyypia could replace Hanno Balitsch, a move that would see Daniel Schwaab revert to right-back.

St Pauli

As has been well documented, St Pauli have a considerable injury list, comprising Mathias Hain, Fabio Morena, Bastian Oczipka, Carsten Rothenbach, Moritz Volz and Carlos Zambrano. Infuriatingly for Holger Stanislawski, Jan-Philipp Kalla and Fin Bartels added to his woes by receiving red cards against Schalke. Rouwen Hennings becomes the latest offensive player to earn an audition in the back four. Deniz Naki is on standby should Max Kruse fail to recover in time from a muscle problem.

Premier League Opta Facts - April 9-10


Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City
Six of the last eight Premier League meetings between Blackburn and Birmingham have ended as 2-1 wins to the home side.
The last nine matches between Rovers and City in all competitions have ended as home wins and none of the last 12 has seen the away side win.
Cameron Jerome has scored five goals in five Premier League appearances against Blackburn; more than against any other side.
Blackburn have conceded a higher percentage of second half goals than any other team (69%).
Kevin Phillips has scored in all four starts that he has made for Birmingham City in all competitions this season.
The Blues have won just two of their last 19 Premier League away games.

Chelsea v Wigan Athletic
Chelsea have scored 14 goals without reply in their last two Premier League games against Wigan.
Chelsea have won nine and lost just one of the 11 Premier League meetings with the Latics.
There have been nine goals scored in the 90th minute or later in the 11 Premier League meetings between Chelsea and Wigan.
Nicolas Anelka has scored six goals in nine Premier League games against Wigan and four in the last two.
Salomon Kalou has scored three goals in his last two Premier League games against Wigan.
Chelsea have dropped only four points from winning positions this season, fewer than any other team.
Wigan have won just one of 18 matches against teams currently in the top half of the table.
Chelsea have won twice as many corners as they have conceded (210 to 105), winning more than any other team and giving away fewer.

Manchester United v Fulham
Man Utd have won only one of their last four Premier League games against Fulham.
Wayne Rooney has scored five goals in the last four Premier League games for Man Utd against Fulham at Old Trafford.
Rooney has scored eight goals in his last eight Premier League matches.
Fulham have picked up the joint-fewest yellow cards and are the only team not to have earned a red card this season.
Mark Hughes has won two, drawn three and lost six of his meetings as a coach with mentor Sir Alex Ferguson.
United have kept just two clean sheets in their last nine Premier League matches.
Man Utd have taken 49 points from a possible 51 in their last 17 Premier League games at Old Trafford.
Javier Hernandez has scored 11 goals from just 15 shots on target in the Premier League this season.

Sunderland v West Bromwich Albion
Sunderland have hit the target with 37% of their shots this season, a lower percentage than any other team.
Sunderland have taken just one point from the last 21 available in the Premier League.
The Black Cats are the only team to have failed to score in four consecutive matches in the top flight this season.
Only Man Utd, Chelsea and Everton have taken more points in the Premier League than West Brom since Roy Hodgson took over.
The Baggies have gone a record 29 Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet.
Sunderland and West Brom have conceded a joint-high eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier league matches this season.
West Brom have had a joint-league high six players sent off in the Premier League this season.

Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City
Stoke have scored exactly one goal in each of their last four Premier League games against Spurs.
Tottenham have recouped more points (21) from losing positions than any other side in the Premier League.
Stoke have scored a higher percentage of second half goals than any other team (76%).
Spurs have lost just one of their last nine Premier League games but have drawn the last three in a row.
Spurs last four games have been against the current bottom four and they have won none, drawn three and lost one.
Spurs have lost just one of their last 25 home Premier League matches.
Stoke have lost their last six Premier League away games on the trot, failing to score in the last five.

Blackpool v Arsenal
No side has kept a clean sheet in a Premier League game at Bloomfield Road, but Blackpool have also scored against all their visitors.
Blackpool have scored more goals (nine) from outside the box than any other team.
Arsenal have had more opponents sent off than any other side (8) and all of them have been straight red cards.
Robin van Persie has scored 19 goals in his last 20 Premier League starts.
It is 13 games since Blackpool last kept a clean sheet and they have won just one of their last 11 Premier League matches.
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League matches, but have drawn the last three in a row.
The Gunners have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 Premier League outings.
Arsenal have won just one of their five matches against the three promoted sides, this coming against Blackpool at the Emirates (6-0).

Aston Villa v Newcastle United
Aston Villa have dropped more points (23) from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League.
Villa have conceded more headed goals than any other team in the Premier League (13).
If Darren Bent (five goals) scores, he will become Villa's joint-top scorer this season, despite only joining them in January.
Villa have won only one of their last seven Premier League matches.
Gerard Houllier's side have kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 Premier League matches at Villa Park.
Six of the last seven meetings between Villa and Newcastle have ended as a home win and none of them as an away victory.

Liverpool v Manchester City
Liverpool have drawn three and won none of the last four Premier League games against Man City.
11 of the 12 goals Liverpool have scored in the 13 Premier League games against Man City since August 2005 have been scored in the second half and the first half goal was netted as late as the 40th minute.
Carlos Tevez has scored four goals in six Premier League appearances against Liverpool.
Man City have won more penalties than any other side (nine).
Man City have scored the highest percentage of goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches (20%) and the lowest percentage of goals in the final 15 minutes (10%).
41% of the goals Man City have conceded have been shipped in the final 15 minutes, the highest percentage in the Premier League.
Liverpool have scored in all of their last 13 Premier League outings.
The Reds have lost just one of their last 11 Premier League home games.