Match Day Thread Liverpool v Watford.

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Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge is vying to score for the fourth consecutive Premier League home match.
TEAM NEWS
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he will make several changes to the side to protect his leading players ahead of the Europa League final.

Jordan Henderson, Divock Origi and Danny Ings will not feature but could all return from injuries before the end of the season.

Watford could be unchanged after beating Aston Villa last weekend.

Allan Nyom and Nathan Ake are pushing for recalls but Etienne Capoue remains sidelined with a knee injury.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Martin Fisher: "After another memorable European night at Anfield, Liverpool find themselves just one victory away from silverware and an unlikely return to the Champions League.

"Given the enormity of that prize it would be understandable if Sevilla in Basle on 18 May will preoccupy Jurgen Klopp.

"And if their focus is a little cloudy this weekend there might never be a better opportunity for Watford to record their first ever double over the Merseysiders.

"The 3-0 home victory was their best result in their best ever Premier League season. Throw in an FA Cup semi-final appearance and it's puzzling why Quique Sanchez Flores might lose his job in the summer."

Twitter: @mfisherfootball

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "We will need the help of the crowd because I don't know how many more games we've had than Watford.

"We will have a few changes for sure and we will try do everything to win this game. We respect this league, we want to have the best position we can get at the end of the season."

Watford head coach Quique Sanchez Flores: "When you reach a target it's easy to lose focus. We need to try to be competitive because the competition's not finished.

"How is our ambition, how is our idea to try to add points in every single match we have to play? It is necessary to show everyone that we are still fighting in this competition."

LAWRO'S PREDICTION
With Watford, I just hope somebody sees sense and sits down with the manager Quique Sanchez Flores and says 'what do we need to improve again next season?'

If the rumours are true about him leaving at the end of the season, then I really do not get the logic behind that decision.

Prediction: 2-0

Lawro's full predictions v world darts champion Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis

• Think you can do better than Lawro? Predict the score for this match and the rest of this round's Premier League fixtures in our Predictor game.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

• Watford's 3-0 win in the reverse fixture is their biggest margin of victory over Liverpool.
• However, Watford's only competitive win in 11 attempts against Liverpool at Anfield came in August 1999 when Tommy Mooney scored the only goal in a Premier League meeting.

Liverpool

• Jurgen Klopp's side are on a 10-match unbeaten run at Anfield, including four Europa League wins (W7, D3).
• However, they have only won three of their seven most recent league games (W3, D2, L2).
• The Reds have dropped an unrivalled 19 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season.
• There have been an unrivalled 63 goals in Premier League matches involving Liverpool in 2016; Watford's fixtures have produced the fewest goals this year (34).
• Liverpool fielded their youngest ever starting line-up in the Premier League against Swansea last weekend, with an average age of 23 years and 218 days.
• Daniel Sturridge has scored in six of his last eight league appearances for Liverpool.

Watford

• Watford have won two of their last three games, taking as many points as they had from their previous nine league fixtures.
• This was only Watford's second win in nine league games.
• The Hornets have scored just 12 Premier League goals in 2016, a joint-league-low with Villa.
• They have only managed four goals in their last eight away matches in the league.
• Sixteen-goal leading scorer Idion Ighalo has gone 11 league matches without scoring.

 

Thanks Mex for putting this up. I was about to do something, but you have beaten me to it. I will be off on holiday next week so will not be able to do anything for the rest of the season.

Can we get something from this game? I do not know. We will have to play better than we did against Villa, but can Liverpool produce anything like the form they did last night? My local team won 1-2 away from home tonight, so maybe that is an omen. Fingers crossed.

 

I can do the rest, the above is only a cut and paste from the BBC.

Maybe Liverpool will be thinking about the Europa League final and we can SNEAK a win or maybe a draw....

Stranger things have happened - just ask a certain Tommy Mooney!!

 

Thanks Mex and have a great holiday M Frenchie . Thanks for everything this season, to all who have done match threads, you deserve the break!

Well, wouldn't it be fab to do the double?! But the way we've been playing and with all the background stuff going on, i can't see it. The only obvious thing in our favour is the Europa cup, so i'm believing, coz it's a long way to go on a Sunday and it'll be a late night by the time we get back, that the trip will be worth it, and we are going to sneak a 1-3 win (sorry w_y, but it had to be done! lol).

Looking forward to my first trip to Anfield, and a good away day .

 

H, you got there first with the comment about the Europa League final. For any first time visitors, the Hillsborough memorial is in Anfield Road (I presume the away turnstiles are still at that end). I still don't understand why they haven't got it at the Kop end. The reason I mention it is because it is their first home league game since the verdict, so I don't know if they have anything planned.

 

i would have thought we'd know by now but i'd be surprised if there wasn't...

 

First trip eh? Gosh that makes me feel old (older?). My first visit was to see Liverpool in the Second Division!

 

I smirk. Boy asks why. I read him your post.
"What's the Second Division, Daddy? Is that League Two?"

 

Nice one Mex, just going to bed for an early night. Driving up tomorrow, but staying the night and coming back Monday.

I will go for a 1-2 Watford victory as the scousers have a Europa League hangover - i will let you have my 3-1 this time H.

 

Thanks w_y, see you there!

Aw, wish i had had someone to go with back then!

 

Very good luck to your Golden Boys! I'd love you to bring back all 3 points from Anfield!

 

As we will probably be playing Liverpool reserves we should give this a go I reckon and be bold..

 

Agreed Mark. Got to go for this one because of the team they'll put out. 1-2 is possible if we give it a go!

 

Well played to the @WatfordFC fans that did this today #JFT96

This was outside the Ship and Mitre pub on Dale Street, Liverpool, this morning.

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Playing Cathcart, Britos AND Prodl. Think that's a first! Interesting to see the formation...

 

Gomes; Cathcart, Britos, Prödl, Anya; Abdi, Suarez, Watson, Jurado; Deeney, Ighalo

subs Pantilimon, Nyom, Paredes, Ake, Guedioura, Berghuis, Amrabat.

He's resistant to change isn't he.

 

Anya Rb? Britos LB? or 3 CH?

Liverpool make 8 changes from Thursday

 

Well QSF said he´d let the shackles off.....WTF....he must be off and just joking now......

 

Looks like 4:4:1:1 - Anya LB & Cathcart RB

 

I don't know what access they get to each other's team sheets - but it looks like he has planned thinking that Liverpool would make no changes...