Overview
Coach Arne Slot hopes Liverpool has overcome the difficult period before 2026, when their opening match against Leeds United will take place on New Year's Day at Anfield.
The reigning Premier League champions have played below expectations for most of the 2025-2026 season, but are showing signs of recovery with 3 consecutive wins in the Premier League. Brighton, Tottenham and Wolves have all been defeated relatively easily, and this 3-match winning streak is exactly equal to the number of wins Liverpool has in the previous 10 matches (2 draws, 6 losses).
Ryan Gravenberch's beautiful goal and Florian Wirtz's first goal for The Kop helped Liverpool beat Wolves 2-1 in the most recent round. However, the performance of the team under Slot was still not really convincing, when Santiago Bueno's goal to narrow the score in the second half turned the rest of the match into a tense situation that lasted until the last minute at Anfield.
Wirtz has currently scored (1) or assisted (1) in the last 2 Premier League matches, after being out of touch for the first 15 matches since leaving Bayer Leverkusen. The last time the German player contributed to goals in many consecutive matches in the national championship was a 6-match streak for Leverkusen from November to December 2024.
Wirtz's rising form also raises the question of whether Dominik Szoboszlai will immediately return to the starting lineup after a one-match suspension. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo has just reappeared after injury and left a positive impression in the final minutes of the match against Wolves.
The return of these two names, along with attacking options such as Hugo Ekitike, Wirtz and Federico Chiesa, helps Slot have more choices in the context of Alexander Isak's injury, while Mohamed Salah still participates in the African Cup with the Egyptian national team.
Gakpo also has a basis for confidence, because he scored in Liverpool's first Premier League match in the last 2 calendar years, against Newcastle United and Manchester United. The most recent Liverpool player to score in the New Year's opening match for 3 consecutive years is Ian Rush, in the periods 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Meanwhile, Leeds is not an easy opponent to bully. The 1-1 effortless draw at Sunderland's home ground helped Daniel Farke's team rank 16th, creating a 7-point gap with the bottom three teams and extending the unbeaten streak to 5 matches in the Premier League (2 wins, 3 draws).
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the equalizer at Stadium of Light, thereby extending his scoring streak in the league to 6 consecutive matches. He became the 11th English player to score in 6 consecutive Premier League matches, and also the first Leeds player to do this since John McCole in the 1959-1960 season.
Despite winning an important point, Leeds still had to pay the price when Joe Rodon was injured after Simon Adingra's opening goal. Coach Farke predicted that the Welsh center-back would be out until mid-January due to an ankle injury, in the context that Sean Longstaff and Daniel James are also absent.
Leeds have only won 1 of their last 6 national championship matches taking place on New Year's Day (3 draws, 2 losses), which is a 3-0 victory over Birmingham City in the 2023-2024 Championship season. This is also their first Premier League match on January 1st since 2003, when Leeds defeated Birmingham 2-0 at home.
Head-to-head record
Liverpool have scored 19 goals in their last 5 encounters with Leeds in the Premier League (3 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss).
However, the most recent meeting in December at Elland Road closed with a score of 3-3, the draw with the most goals ever between the two teams.
Liverpool had a dream start when Hugo Ekitike scored a quick double, putting the away team ahead 2-0. Leeds then rallied strongly.
Calvert-Lewin scored from the penalty spot before Anton Stach equalized 2-2. In the 80th minute, Dominik Szoboszlai helped The Kop re-establish their advantage, but Ao Tanaka managed to equalize in the 90+6 minute, sealing a breathtaking match.
Leeds also won 2-1 in their most recent away match in the Premier League against Liverpool in October 2022. However, in the history of the league, they have never won in two consecutive trips to The Kop's stadium.
Score prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Leeds
The match between Liverpool and Leeds takes place at 0:30 AM on January 2 (Vietnam time).
