In the last two rounds, Sheffield United suffered defeats against relegation rivals Bournemouth (1:3) and Burnley (0:5). The team has returned to the last place, having only five points to their name. After these failures, the patience of the leadership ran out, and Paul Heckingbottom was dismissed. Chris Wilder, who led the team from 2016 to 2021, was appointed in his place. Currently, the Blades are the worst team in the league both in terms of attacking play (only 11 goals scored) and defensive reliability (conceding 39 goals). Undoubtedly, the change in the coaching staff can “shake up” the players, but immediate results may not be expected, especially considering that their opponent is a top-3 Premier League representative – Liverpool. Today, forward Oliver McBurnie, who is serving a suspension for a red card in the last round against Burnley, will be unavailable.
Liverpool has lost only one match since the beginning of the season and approaches the 15th round in second place in the table, trailing Arsenal by two points. In the last round, the Merseysiders narrowly secured a 4:3 victory against Fulham. Until the 87th minute, the team was losing 2:3, but within two minutes, they scored two goals, securing three points. Jurgen Klopp noted after that match that he had never seen so many beautiful goals in one game. In general, Liverpool does not demonstrate stable performance away from home – they failed to win in the last four away matches. Three times, the Merseysiders drew with opponents, and one match ended in defeat. Among the absentees due to injuries are goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defender Andrew Robertson, and forward Diogo Jota.
