Overview
Liverpool continues to maintain impressive scoring performance under Andoni Iraola, while significantly improving defense. After the victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, The Kop aims to win their first 3 points at home in the Premier League this season when hosting Fulham.
After easily defeating Ipswich Town thanks to Alexander Isak's double, Liverpool continued to have another important victory in the Champions League. At the Metropolitano stadium, Iraola's team defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
For Mac Allister, his brilliance in big matches is no longer a surprise. The Argentine midfielder once admitted that Liverpool is not ready to offer him a new contract. However, Mac Allister's future will depend on his performance throughout the season instead of just a moment of brilliance.
Liverpool is currently aiming for their first home win in the Premier League this season, and also wants to end the 3-drawn streak at Anfield. This is a notable winless streak at this stadium, where Liverpool once experienced a more difficult period during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fulham had their first victory this season when they defeated AFC Wimbledon 3-0 in the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup. However, Alvaro Arbeloa's team still has no reason to be happy in the Premier League.
Fulham lost all 3 of the first matches of the season and showed many different problems in each defeat. They have not scored as many goals as Chelsea or Crystal Palace at home, and were also powerless against Sunderland's solid defense in the 0-1 defeat.
The expected goal score (xG) of 3.13 in the match against Crystal Palace shows that Fulham created more chances than the score reflected. However, the most important thing for them at this time is still the score of 0 points.
Some Fulham fans even booed the team and the coach after last weekend's match. Only Coventry City, a newly promoted team, has not yet won any points in the Premier League this season.
More worryingly, in the previous 2 seasons that Fulham lost all 4 opening matches, they all received relegation tickets. However, recent history still brings some hope for the away team.
Fulham's most recent relegation season, 2020-2021, was also the last time they won at Anfield. Mario Lemina scored the only goal to help Fulham defeat Liverpool 1-0 in March 2021.
Since then, Liverpool have been unbeaten in 5 home games against Fulham in all competitions, with 4 wins and 1 draw. In the most recent meeting at Anfield in April, The Kop also won 2-0.
With their current form and home advantage, Liverpool are expected to continue to maintain their winning streak and put pressure on the leading group. Meanwhile, Fulham needs to quickly find a solution if they do not want a bad start to continue to last.
Expected lineup:
Alisson, Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Munoz, Wirtz, Ngumoha, Isak.
Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Charles, Iwobi, King, Palacios, Garcia.
The match between Liverpool and Fulham takes place at 9:00 PM on September 12th (Vietnam time).
