Liverpool v. Fulham Match Preview @bitsports

I write this before Liverpool's match with Chelsea and Fulham's match with Spurs tonight which could have a big impact on my thoughts. If they do change, I'll add an update to the top of this post. Please comment, agree, disagree with any thoughts you have...

UPDATE: Fulham looked good again last night, they harshly had a goal disallowed and would have deserved a draw against Spurs having dominated the 2nd half. Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch Liverpool but the stats suggest they're still off the pace and deserved to lose. The return of Fabinho is a positive as well as Diogo Jota who if they can get him fit quick enough, should give them a big boost.

Liverpool

The reds have looked poor lately despite a couple of recent wins. Their 2-0 win against Sheffield United seemed laboured and against a team with better strikers, they could easily have conceded and the result wouldn't have looked so comfortable. (It was fairly comfortable though.)

For a couple of months now, Salah, Mane and Firmino have looked out of sorts. Of the 3, Mane has impressed most with Salah appearing to be playing out wider, reducing his threat when cutting inside. I don't know what's happened to Firmino's finishing, he looks like a player lacking in confidence and is passing when in a position that others would shoot from.

They'll be missing another key man in Jordan Henderson who's role is under-rated in their midfield (or defence in recent matches). His range of passes and character in getting his team to push forward will be sorely missed.

But Henderson's not their biggest missing player - you can't talk about Liverpool's injuries at the moment without talking about their defence. van Dijk, Gomez and Matip were last season's centre backs - all injured. New signing Kabak and youth player Phillips haven't really found their feet yet. Fabinho looks decent in defence if he's fit again. Their goalkeeper Alisson is starting to make mistakes when he's been so reliable previously.

This isn't the Liverpool of last season, or even that of earlier this season. They obviously have the quality but it hasn't shone through for a while now - are they tired? Will they put more into tonight's game against Chelsea and show a bit of complacency against a Fulham side battling relegation?

Fulham

In total contrast to Liverpool, Fulham have looked magnificent for a number of games now. They've lacked the cutting edge in attack to win games more comfortably and it's yet to be seen if Josh Maja can fill that void. The attacking flair of Ademola Lookman has been impressive and Loftus-Cheek is looking full of confidence. They're looking very good in possession and Scott Parker's got them extremely well organised and solid defensively. In Areola, they have a goalkeeper they can trust and a settled defence, with the impressive Andersen's raking passes often putting them on the front foot. I really like this Fulham side at the moment, they're in great form which should it continue, will see them climb out of the relegation zone.

Anfield - Home Advantage?

To be brief, there hasn't really been a home advantage in the Premier League this season so I don't see this as a factor!

The Match - Prediction

Despite the incredible potential in Liverpool's attack, it's been misfiring of late and will come up against what has recently been one of the tightest defences in the league. In my opinion, this defence will keep out the reigning champions. But does Fulham's attack have enough to breach the weakened Liverpool defence? This is a tough one to answer. Despite all of Fulham's promise going forward, they're still not scoring enough goals. And this is what will make this match so hard to predict.

• Liverpool's weak defence vs. Fulham's promising but low scoring attack
• Fulham's strong defence vs. Liverpool's legendary trio that is out of sorts.

So what do I think? I'm firmly sitting on the fence with this one and am predicting a draw (It was 1-1 in the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage). 0-0 wouldn't surprise me at all.