Premier League Picks Of The Week 14

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 14

The 14th week of the Premier League action saw:

32 goals - most by Arsenal = 5
237 shots - most by Man City = 26
91 on target - most by Man City = 12
113 corners - most by Chelsea = 15
207 fouls - most by Everton = 16
22 yellow cards - most by Liverpool = 5
0 red cards
3 penalties - 1 scored (Troy Deeney for Watford, Wayne Rooney for Everton denied by Joe Hart, Manuel Lanzini for West Ham denied by Jordan Pickford)

What a game! Leicester condemned Tottenham to their fourth defeat of the season already. Jamie Vardy's cheeky opener, his 100th league goal, and Riyad Mahrez's curling beauty from the edge of the box were enough for the home side to grab the three points. Harry Kane pulled one back, too little too late though. It's the first time since 2001/02 the Foxes beat Spurs at home, their final game at Filbert Street.
What a comeback it was by Newcastle at the Hawthorns from two goals down, set pieces costing managerless West Brom two goals and two points, seeing them miss the chance of a first league win since August thanks to Ciaran Clark pulling one back and Jonny Evans' late own goal. No such comeback by Watford... José Mourinho's men led 3-0 thanks to Ashley Young's double and Anthony Martial's cool finish, until the 77th minute, when the Hornets hit two back in quick succession, Troy Deeney from the spot and Abdoulaye Doucouré from close range. But too many too good too strong goals, especially Jesse Lingard's stunning fourth, and display by Manchester United meant it ended 2-4 at Vicarage Road keeping the Red Devils in the race, ish, 8 points behind the Citizens. More to them below...

What a team! Arsenal downed Huddersfield, dancing all over and through the visitors again and again, scoring three goals in 3:58 second-half minutes, bringing the total thrash to 5-0 at full time at the Emirates. Olivier Giroud's double and Mesut Özil scoring one and providing two were just a couple of their shining stars. The win and rivals Spurs' defeat takes the Gunners up to fourth, one point behind Chelsea in third, Arsène Wenger doing his best and very well at the moment to keep a big smile against his doubters and local rivals.
And Manchester City just look unbeatable, more to their win below, equalling the top flight record for points after 14 games = 40 points, level with Spurs of 1960-61 (with 3 points for a win), EIGHT POINTS ahead of rivals Manchester United in second, as mentioned above. It will take more than a miracle/disaster to see anyone knock them off the top!

What a man! Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick came 2,272 days after his last (10th September 2011) – the longest gap between two hat-tricks by a player in Premier League history. The Evertonian bossed the show against his former boss David Moyes netting a hat-trick despite getting denied from the spot, penny for either man's thoughts... The third one was a one-touch smacker from the halfway line beating Joe Hart off his line after an attempted clearance. Wow! Ashley Williams made it 4-0 to complete the first perfect match David Unsworth hasn't conceded two or more goals, taking the Toffees up to 13th. Sam Allardyce will be more than happy to take over from here after watching that from the stands at Goodison Park. Moyes' record against his former side looks more than miserable: Played 5, lost 5, scored 0, conceded 12.
Mohamed Salah came off the bench to net two adding to Sadio Mané's opener and make it 0-3 for Liverpool at Stoke and 17 goals for him so far this season. Double wow. The win took the Reds up to 5th. More to that match below...

What a goal! There were so many crackers, as already listed and described above! Burnley impressed once again producing beauty after beauty, a tap in by Chris Wood after lovely team play and slasher into the right corner by Robbie Brady, to overtake Tottenham and go 6th in the table!!! Joshua King did pull one back for Bournemouth, but Sean Dyche's men held on 1-2 at the King Power Stadium making Eddie Howe the 25th different manager to lose a Premier League game on his birthday.
Southampton's leveller at the Etihad was boom bang whack off a corner, Sofiane Boufal from the left to Oriol Romeu, that's how it's done, 1-1 at league leaders City. But Raheem Sterling topped that in the 95:03 minute of five minutes added on, right-footed curler from the edge of the box to make it 2-1 and three points for the Citizens. That means the former Liverpool man has scored a match winner in the 84th minute or later for the third time in a row for Pep Guardiola's men. Triple wow! It's Pep Time.

What the hell?! Just a booking was a lucky escape for Simon Mignolet after his late tackle on last man Mame Biram Diouf who was ahead of Joe Gomez which made it an open goal scoring opportunity. But was he last? Jürgen Klopp didn't think so... I'm sure the crazy German would have gone mental if it would have happened on the other side! It's all going against Stoke City at the moment, Mark Hughes feeling hard done-by, harsh decisions and scorelines, the defeat dragging the Potters down to 16th, 3 points away from the drop zone.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte apologised to referee Neil Swarbrick after being sent to the stands for protesting to the officials who denied his side a corner. Ridiculous. It wasn't a major decision, like a goal or penalty or sending off (like Mignolet's), just a corner! His side dominated, 10-0 shots on target, and ended up beating Swansea, just about, 1-0 thanks to defender Antonio Rüdiger's header. Not a game to brag or rant about really...

My Predictions - Actual Results
Brighton 1:0 Crystal Palace - 0:0
Leicester 1:2 Tottenham - 2:1
Watford 1:3 Man United - 2:4
West Brom 1:2 Newcastle - 2:2
Arsenal 2:0 Huddersfield - 5:0
Bournemouth 1:2 Burnley - 1:2
Chelsea 4:1 Swansea - 1:0
Everton 2:2 West Ham - 4:0
Man City 3:0 Southampton - 2:1
Stoke City 1:1 Liverpool - 0:3

Click here for last weekend's Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR coverage.

FT Notes: Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool

Sports - Football - Champions League - Qualifier

PRE-MATCH NOTES

The venue: the 30,000-capacity Rhein-Neckar Arena. Sold out within 17 minutes for this tie.

Hoffenheim won 11 and drew six of their 17 games there last season.

Their dangerman is former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric, who scored 18 goals for them last season. Sandro Wagner, who starts alongside him in attack, bagged 12.

One person who certainly knows all about Hoffenheim is Roberto Firmino.

The Liverpool forward spent four years at the German club, scoring 49 goals in 153 appearances, before moving to the Reds in 2015.

Liverpool will look to Firminio to provide creativity in the absence of Coutinho.

ZDF: 1st European Cup tie for Hoffenheim, 333rd for Liverpool. #YNWA
BBC: While this is Hoffenheim's very first game in Europe it is Liverpool's 364th and 182nd in the Champions League/European Cup. Hm... Who's counting...

Hoffenheim were the only side Klopp's Borussia Dortmund failed to beat in the league in his first title winning season of 2010-11!

ZDF point finger at "Wackelkandidat" Simon Mignolet and same old defensive problems for draw at Watford. And transfer fiasco.

Klopp: "We need more players than money!" Clear dig at Coutinho! And owners!

MATCH NOTES - THE MAIN BITS:

3' SALAH GOAL - OFFSIDE FLAG WAS UP!!! Pfff...

10' PENALTY given by the assistant not the referee! Dejan Lovren v Serge Gnabry, eventhough it looked offside, tumbled down & got the penalty! Clumsy but OH SO SOFT!

11' Nr 27 Andrej Kramaric takes, SIMON MIGNOLET SAVES!!! Too easy to the keeper's left, but curling towards him! #TFFT

15' Mohamed Salah breaks on his own, shoots wide! Skipper Kevin Vogt was catching up trying to make up for his error, but it was one-to-one with keeper Baumann... #waste

26' Kaderabek sends a shot high from the right edge of the box. Closest either side has come for a while...

28' Hoffenheim free kick, Gnabry takes from about 25 yards out, into the box, cleared.

34' First European booking goes to Hoffenheim's number 4 Ermin Bicakcic after bringing down Salah about six yards outside the box.

35' WHAT A FREE KICK!!! FIRST EUROPEAN GAME, FIRST EUROPEAN GOAL FOR RED YOUNGSTER TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD! Right foot, over the wall, into the right corner of the net! Nice one! #YEAH #TAA 👊⚽👊 #BOOM #DANKE

40' That goal has calmed some nerves! More possession for the Reds now & settled play, less frantic & all over the place!

43' GNABRYYY denied by Simon Mignolet & Sandro Wagner puts the rebound just wide! The German commentator got loud there!

1 minute added on. Hoffenheim with the ball. Pressing. Pushing. But lose out the ball.

Liverpool counter, Mané v Vogt, the latter does well to kick the ball out for a corner.

LOVREN HEADS THE CORNER WIDE!!!

That was the last action before the break. HT Hoffenheim 0-1 Liverpool. AND BREATH!!!

HT Stats:
Possession: 61%-39%
Shots: 6-6
On target: 2-3
Corners: 0-2
Fouls: 6-8
Yellow cards: 1-0

The home side did well & dominated most of the game, only behind thanks to a TAA cracker!

Klopp will be happier with the away goal, but still worried with the shaky defence! At least Mignolet has kept strong! #sofarsogood #fingerscrossed

46' Hoffenheim kick off the second half & break & push straight away, but Wagner is flagged offside. No changes made by either side during the interval.

47' Mané crossed into the box from the left to FIRMINOOOO, what a chance from close range but it is blocked/deflected out for a corner, well done by keeper Oliver Baumann.

49' Salah from the right, defended nicely by Zuber winning the ball back.

50' GNABRYYY GOAL - OFFSIDE, cruel, I know, not the best play by Wagner, under pressure by the Reds this time. Makes a change! 😝

51' Emre Can booked for pushing down Demirbay.

52' First Hoffenheim change: 6 Håvard Nordtveit replaces 4 Ermine Bicakcic.

53' First Hoffenheim corner, the commentator reels down the negative stats the Reds have with set pieces. Nothing comes from it, out wide.

53' Second change made by young boss Nagelsmann, who likes to reshape his side after the break according to the commentator. 18 Nadiem Amiri comes on for 7 Lukas Rupp.

55' Second Hoffenheim corner, blocked and cleared.

55' TAA gets his first booking too, free kick on the left for the home side, cleared again.

62' James Milner getting ready to replace Jordan Henderson.

63' Change made & the captain's armband is handed over in the process.

64' Hoffenheim free kick out for a throw-in on the left. Possession & pressure all Hoffenheim... The home side win another corner. #gulp

65' Demirbay takes, Matip defends it out for another corner on the other side. Demirbay again, headed away this time. Clear. Breath.

66' GNABRY AGAIN unmarked in the box, smacks it high.

67' A Liverpool corner for a change! TAA takes it, Lovren, ball eventually goes out for a goal kick. TAA appealed for a free kick outside the box there, but, it wasn't much. A bit like the penalty...

70' SALAH SHOT soft, easily kept out by Baumann, corner for Liverpool. Last Hoffenheim substitution: 19 Uth replaces 29 Gnabry, who was MOTM for me! Great performance for the German side, created a lot, dominated the pitch! 

Keeper holds onto the ball off the corner.

74' MILNER NETS FROM THE LEFT, nice curl, deflected in by Nordtveit, 0-2, thank you very much, vielen Dank! ⚽👊⚽

76' Benjamin Hübner booked for bringing down Firmino. Salah eventually loses the ball at the edge of the box.

80' The German commentator points out how quickly Liverpool took the free kick after Mané was brought down, repeating again & again that the ball didn't stop moving... Advantage attacking team, no? Nein?

82' NICE SAVE BY MIGNOLET denying sub Amiri from close range, what a chance! Where is the marking?!?!?!

84' MANÉÉÉ wide, another chance wasted from close range. Solanke makes his Red debut in Europe replacing Firmino, strong performance by the number 9. Even the German commentator is full of laud.

86' First fans leaving the stadium. Nicht gut.

87' GOAL FOR THE HOME SIDE sub Uth finds the breakthrough, nice left-footer into the right corner of the net. TAA failed to cover there & Matip runs in to cover way too late... Reminds me of Saturday... 💩🙈💩🙈💩 1-2

89' Last substitution for Reds, Grujic on for Mané. Whilst I write this Hoffenheim come close again, pushing it late on... Liverpool flagged offside...

4 MINUTES ADDED ON!!! Hoffenheim free kick, headed high by Hübner. The German commentator got really loud then! What a chance! Tense finish... 🙈😱🙈😱🙈

All Hoffenheim...

Demirbay down injured... After Grujic's challenge... Nagelsmann not happy...

Last minute... Liverpool with the ball... GRUJIC SHOT gloved away by Baumann.

Hoffenheim want another free kick... Didn't see anything... YNWA echoes in the background... FT whistle blows, Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool.

Confident, strong & dominant performance by the home side, but not clinical enough in front of goal.

Under-fire Mignolet kept the Reds ahead thanks to a couple of good stops, including a spot kick denying Kramaric! MOTM?

TAA's goal was a cracking free kick, congratulations! Experienced Milner doubled the lead off the bench. And I've just seen it's been listed as a Nordtveit own goal. Harsh.

We had to leak one at the end, sub Uth netting late on to make the last minutes tense. But Hoffenheim deserved at least something.

So, we can take a one-goal lead & two away goals to Anfield, that should do it, no? #COYR ⚽👊⚽ #BOOM

Klopp just calls it half-time in the post-match interview & lauds his keeper, keeper coach, the opposition & Nagelsmann. Both managers stay optimistic & are happy with their sides' performances. You can see how much it meant to the Germans. 🇩🇪😊🇬🇧

FT Stats:
Hoffenheim 1: Uth 87'.
Liverpool 2: Alexander-Arnold 35' & Nordtveit OG 74'.
Possession: 63%-37%
Shots: 13-14
On target: 4-8
Corners: 6-5
Fouls: 13-12
Yellow cards: 2-2

1899 Hoffenheim XI: 1 Baumann, 22 Vogt, 4 Bicakcic (booked 34') (6 Nordtveit 52'), 21 Hübner (booked 76'), 3 Kaderabek, 10 Demirbay, 7 Rupp (18 Amiri 53'), 17 Zuber, 29 Gnabry (19 Uth 70'), 14 Wagner, 27 Kramaric. 3-4-3
Substitutes not used: 15 Toljan, 28 Szalai, 32 Geiger, 36 Kobel.

Manager: Julian Nagelsmann = youngest Bundesliga manager with 30!

Liverpool XI: 22 Mignolet, 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked 55'), 6 Lovren, 32 Matip, 18 Moreno, 14 Henderson (7 Milner 63'), 23 Can (booked 51'), 5 Wijnaldum, 11 Salah, 19 Mané (16 Grujic 89'), 9 Firmino (29 Solanke 84'). 4-3-3
Substitutes not used: 1 Karius, 12 Gomez, 17 Klavan, 27 Origi.
Manager: Jürgen Klopp

Referee: Björn Kuipers

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

Notes, stats and facts taken from Twitter, BBC and ZDF coverage.

HT Notes: Hoffenheim 0-1 Liverpool

Sports - Football - Champions League - Qualifier

PRE-MATCH NOTES

The venue: the 30,000-capacity Rhein-Neckar Arena. Sold out within 17 minutes for this tie.

Hoffenheim won 11 and drew six of their 17 games there last season.

Their dangerman is former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric, who scored 18 goals for them last season. Sandro Wagner, who starts alongside him in attack, bagged 12.

One person who certainly knows all about Hoffenheim is Roberto Firmino.

The Liverpool forward spent four years at the German club, scoring 49 goals in 153 appearances, before moving to the Reds in 2015.

Liverpool will look to Firminio to provide creativity in the absence of Coutinho.

ZDF: 1st European Cup tie for Hoffenheim, 333rd for Liverpool. #YNWA 

BBC: While this is Hoffenheim's very first game in Europe it is Liverpool's 364th and 182nd in the Champions League/European Cup. Hm... Who's counting...

Hoffenheim were the only side Klopp's Borussia Dortmund failed to beat in the league in his first title winning season of 2010-11!

ZDF point finger at "Wackelkandidat" Simon Mignolet and same old defensive problems for draw at Watford. And transfer fiasco.

Klopp: "We need more players than money!" Clear dig at Coutinho! And owners!

MATCH NOTES - THE MAIN BITS:

3' SALAH GOAL - OFFSIDE FLAG WAS UP!!! Pfff...

10' PENALTY given by the assistant not the referee! Dejan Lovren v Serge Gnabry, eventhough it looked offside, tumbled down & got the penalty! Clumsy but OH SO SOFT!

11' Nr 27 Andrej Kramaric takes, SIMON MIGNOLET SAVES!!! Too easy to the keeper's left, but curling towards him! #TFFT

15' Mohamed Salah breaks on his own, shoots wide! Skipper Kevin Vogt was catching up trying to make up for his error, but it was one-to-one with keeper Baumann... #waste

26' Kaderabek sends a shot high from the right edge of the box. Closest either side has come for a while...

28' Hoffenheim free kick, Gnabry takes from about 25 yards out, into the box, cleared.

34' First European booking goes to Hoffenheim's number 4 Ermin Bicakcic after bringing down Salah about six yards outside the box.

35' WHAT A FREE KICK!!! FIRST EUROPEAN GAME, FIRST EUROPEAN GOAL FOR RED YOUNGSTER TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD! Right foot, over the wall, into the right corner of the net! Nice one! #YEAH #TAA 👊⚽👊 #BOOM #DANKE

40' That goal has calmed some nerves! More possession for the Reds now & settled play, less frantic & all over the place!

43' GNABRYYY denied by Simon Mignolet & Sandro Wagner puts the rebound just wide! The German commentator got loud there!

1 minute added on. Hoffenheim with the ball. Pressing. Pushing. But lose out the ball. Liverpool counter, Mané v Vogt, the latter does well to kick the ball out for a corner.

LOVREN HEADS THE CORNER WIDE!!!

That was the last action before the break. HT Hoffenheim 0-1 Liverpool. AND BREATH!!!

HT Stats:
Possession: 61%-39%
Shots: 6-6
On target: 2-3
Corners: 0-2
Fouls: 6-8
Yellow cards: 1-0

The home side did well & dominated most of the game, only behind thanks to a TAA cracker!

Klopp will be happier with the away goal, but still worried with the shaky defence! At least Mignolet has kept strong! #sofarsogood #fingerscrossed

1899 Hoffenheim XI: 1 Baumann, 22 Vogt, 4 Bicakcic (booked 34'), 21 Hübner, 3 Kaderabek, 10 Demirbay, 7 Rupp, 17 Zuber, 29 Gnabry, 14 Wagner, 27 Kramaric. 3-4-3
Substitutes: 6 Nordtveit, 15 Toljan, 18 Amiri,  19 Uth, 28 Szalai, 32 Geiger, 36 Kobel.
Manager: Julian Nagelsmann = youngest Bundesliga manager with 30!

Liverpool XI: 22 Mignolet, 66 Alexander-Arnold, 6 Lovren, 32 Matip, 18 Moreno, 14 Henderson, 23 Can, 5 Wijnaldum, 11 Salah, 19 Mané, 9 Firmino. 4-3-3
Substitutes: 1 Karius, 7 Milner, 12 Gomez, 16 Grujic, 17 Klavan, 27 Origi, 29 Solanke.
Manager: Jürgen Klopp

Referee: Björn Kuipers

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

Notes, stats and facts taken from Twitter, BBC & ZDF coverage.

Milner Pen Miss Costs Reds Two Points

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 0:0 SFC

James Milner's first penalty miss in a Liverpool shirt dealt his club a big blow in their race to stay in the top four by dropping more points after a goalless draw against Southampton.

Anfield was tense and silent, frustrated and disappointed once again, in a game that did not have much else to show for or report about, too much like their last home disappointment against Palace a couple of weeks ago.

The Reds looked tired and slow and rarely tested Saints keeper Fraser Forster, whilst the visitors didn't even record an attempt at all in the first half, nothing on target in the whole match, keeping the back line long and strong.

Over an hour had passed when Emre Can's passionate appeal for a penalty against Jack Stephens handling the ball ended up in celebrations as the referee pointed to the spot.

But the celebrations didn't last long. Milner, waiting in Forster's shadow to place the ball on the spot, seemed to have been cracked by the England keeper's mind games, seeing his spot-kick saved and gloved away to the stopper's right.

The Reds' deputy skipper looked devastated after his first penalty miss since November 2009, whilst Forster was celebrated for his first penalty save in the Premier League (Milner's being the ninth one faced).

The only other chance of note for the Reds came in stoppage time, man of the match Forster keeping out substitute Marko Grujic's header from close range.

It was just not to be. Simon Mignolet on the other hand, had one lucky escape late on, gloving the ball away on the edge of the box, replays showing the LFC keeper was over the line outside his area.

Reds boss Jürgen Klopp was his usual mental self, shouting, grimacing and arguing with the officials throughout.

Saints manager Claude Puel is unbeaten against his German counterpart, having played Liverpool four times this season, conceding not a single goal.

It's the first time since 2008-09 that Liverpool have recorded a goalless draw home and away against the same opponent in the Premier League.

Klopp has never beaten Southampton in the Premier League (D3, L1), having faced them more than any other opponent without winning.

The draw sees Saints drop to 10th with a couple of games in hand, whilst Liverpool stay third, keeping control of their Champions League faith after seeing Arsenal beat Manchester United the same afternoon.

But the Reds can only keep control if they take control, which has not been the case at home lately, none of the famous pressing and gegenpressing, just slow kick-about and blank stares after yet another miss/mess-up!

On a more positive note, Liverpool are already 10 points better off than the end of last season, with two games still left to play!

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet, 2 Clyne, 33 Matip, 6 Lovren (booked), 7 Milner, 23 Can, 21 Lucas (20 Lallana 69'), 5 Wijnaldum (16 Grujic 87'), 11 Firmino, 27 Origi (15 Sturridge 69'), 10 Coutinho. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 17 Klavan, 18 Moreno, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Southampton Team: 1 Forster, 2 Soares (booked), 24 Stephens, 3 Yoshida, 21 Bertrand (booked), 11 Tadic, 8 Davis, 14 Romeu, 16 Ward-Prowse (booked), 19 Boufal (22 Redmond 60'), 20 Gabbiadini (7 Long 69'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 9 Rodriguez, 12 Cáceres, 23 Højbjerg, 26 Pied, 40 Hassen.

1st & 2nd half stats: LFC-SFC
Score: 0-0 & 0-0
Possession: 66%-34% & 65%-35%
Shots: 5-0 & 17-4
On target: 3-0 & 8-0
Corners: 1-1 & 3-6
Fouls: 4-2 & 9-4
Bookings: 0-0 & 1-3

Referee: Robert Madley
Man of the match: Fraser Forster
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,159

Click here to read my last LFC match report.

All pictures and stats taken from the BBC match report.

Can's Acrobatic Winner Stuns Watford

Sports - Football - Premier League - WFC 0:1 LFC

Emre Can's extraordinary acrobatic volley, his fifth goal of the season, decided an otherwise ordinary game at Watford, handing Liverpool a crucial 0-1 away win in their race to stay in the Premier League top four.

The German midfielder stunned everyone at Vicarage Road, meeting Lucas Leiva's cross with a beautiful right-footed overhead bicycle-kick into the top-left corner, giving goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes no chance, two minutes into stoppage time before the break.

That has taken the Reds' goal tally in the last 15 minutes before the interval to 16 this season, more than any other side, one more than Manchester United and Tottenham.

Before that, not much else happened, both sides recording just a shot on target each, Can with another strong attempt from 25 yards out in the 20th minute, but not much else to worry either keeper much.

Adam Lallana, who had to be brought on for an injured Philippe Coutinho in the 13th minute returning from injury himself after five matches out, had come closest just a few minutes before Can's stunner, seeing his attempt from outside the box come off the crossbar.

The second half was dominated by both keepers' strong displays, strength and presence.

Gomes denied James Milner, Divock Origi and then substitute Daniel Sturridge late on in a tense ending to the game.

Simon Mignolet kept solid as well, frustrating the Hornets, Etienne Capoue and Sebastian Prödl especially, who both were booked for their anger at the decisions that went against them, the latter also seeing his effort come off the crossbar in the final seconds.

Vicarage Road was loud, the away end even louder, louder than Anfield last week after the miserable defeat against Crystal Palace, YNWA echoing around the ground at the end.

Both managers Walter Mazzarri and Jürgen Klopp made themselves heard and seen throughout the game as well, with shouts and gestures, to keep everyone entertained when not much else was happening on the pitch.

The result sees Watford drop to 13th on 40 points with a game in hand on the other teams around them, whilst Liverpool remain third three and four points ahead of Manchester City and United in fourth and fifth respectively, both with a game in hand.

So, after all the other results went their way, as long as the Reds keep winning their final three league games and don't repeat an embarrassing slip up like against Crystal Palace, the Champions League qualification is in their hands!

The last three games are: Southampton at home (Sunday 7th May), West Ham away (Sunday 14th May) and Middlesbrough at home (Sunday 21st May). Easy. You would think.

It never is easy with Liverpool though!

Liverpool Goal: Can 45'+2'.

Watford Team: 1 Gomes, 6 Mariappa, 5 Prödl (booked), 3 Britos (27 Kabasele 19'), 7 Amrabat (33 Okaka 85'), 29 Capoue (booked) (10 Success 73' (booked)), 16 Doucouré, 8 Cleverley, 22 Janmaat, 9 Deeney, 21 Niang.
Subs not used: 11 Behrami, 18 Zuñiga, 30 Pantilimon, 42 Eleftheriou.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet, 2 Clyne, 32 Matip, 6 Lovren, 7 Milner, 21 Lucas (booked), 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can, 11 Firmino, 27 Origi (15 Sturridge 84'), 10 Coutinho (20 Lallana 13' (17 Klavan 87')).
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 16 Grujic, 18 Moreno, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

HT & FT Match Stats: WFC-LFC
Score: 0-1 & 0-1
Possession: 36%-64% & 40%-60%
Shots: 3-5 & 9-12
On target: 1-2 & 2-8
Corners: 1-1 & 3-5
Fouls: 4-4 & 11-9
Bookings: 0-1 & 3-1

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Emre Can
Ground: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 20,959

Click here for my last LFC match report.

All pictures and stats are taken from the BBC match report.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 32

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 32

The 32nd week of the Premier League action saw:
243 shots - most by Man City = 23
29 goals - most by Tottenham & Everton = 4 each
221 fouls - most by Man United = 20
34 bookings - most by West Ham & Man United = 5 each
1 red card - Sebastian Larsson for Sunderland
1 penalty - 1 scored (Milivojevic for Palace)

What a game! From the first minute, it was all bang boom bang, comeback versus comeback, game on at Goodison Park! Everton took the lead in the first minute thanks to Tom Davies poking in the joint fastest goal in the Premier League. But champions Leicester came back hitting two in six minutes, Islam Slimani in the fourth and Marc Albrighton in the tenth minute. The Toffees showed more stubbornness and hunger though, Romelu Lukaku's double taking his tally to 13 in the last eight home games and turning the game on its head yet again. The Belgian striker served Craig Shakespeare his first defeat, making it a club record of seven out of seven home wins for Ronald Koeman's men. Great entertainment, which saw the home side in seventh move level on points with Arsenal in sixth, whilst the Foxes stay in 11th.

What a team! Liverpool did what Arsenal were not able to - both played absolute shambles, the Reds making much needed changes at the break to turn the game around at Stoke, whilst the Gunners kept firing blanks and looked nowhere near anything at Crystal Palace. Jürgen Klopp started with the youngsters, but after seeing his side being chopped to bits and falling behind thanks to boyhood Evertonian Jonathan Walters, the German brought on Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino who both banged in a goal each to take and turn the game around 1-2 and make a statement, even though the boss was adamant they didn't start due to lack of fitness... Arsène Wenger meanwhile looked clueless and helpless at Selhurst Park, his team mirroring that in their way of play, or lack of, the Eagles bossing it from start to finish, winning convincingly 3-0. If the games reveal or reflect anything, then it's the contrasting trend/spiral each side is finding themselves in!

What a man! This weekend my vote goes to the keepers, so many superb saves! Wow! Simon Mignolet kept Liverpool in the game with some great quick-reaction, reflex-type stops, putting his body on the line till the final whistle, very much appreciated by his team mates and manager and fully deserved to be crowned man of the match. Both Ben Foster and Fraser Forster served tung twisters for the commentators with their super saves at the Hawthorns, Jordy Clasie the only one to find a way through with a perfect strike, bang into the right side of the net to make it 0-1 to Southampton. And it was thanks to Forster it stayed that way late on, denying West Brom a late equaliser. Darren Randolph also starred keeping West Ham ahead after Cheikhou Kouyaté had given the Hammers the lead at the Olympic Stadium, with some astonishing stretching and diving, denying Swansea any way back into the game and point with it. Show stoppers and stealers with it, well and truly!

What a goal! Dele Alli's right-foot curler into the top right corner that opened the scoring for Tottenham against Watford gets my vote. It was a beauty that just started what ended up being a thrashing onslaught that downed the Hornets 4-0 with Eric Dier and Son Heung-min also on the scoreboard. The double for the latter saw Spurs complete their 11th straight home win, their best run since 1987. Table-toppers Chelsea also eased to a win at Bournemouth, Marcos Alonso making it 1-3 with a perfect unstoppable free-kick, left-foot curler into the top-right corner. It just finished off a top class win, the Cherries just could not compete with the likes of Eden Hazard, who scored the second goal and is outrunning and -scoring anyone and everyone at the moment it seems. Top class.

What the hell?! The refs were so hypocritically useless once again this weekend. On the one hand, Firmino and Kouyate got booked for celebrating their goals for Liverpool and West Ham respectively, but then Burnley's Ashley Barnes got away with elbowing his opponent in the face and then giving him a blow in the nuts just to top it off. Oh, and the last defender Michael Keane incident bringing down Patrick Bamford also at the Riverside, shouldn't that have been red rather than yellow? It ended up goalless between Boro and Clarets, the bottom three remaining winless in the last six, and deservedly so looking at this less impressive encounter. And then seeing Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson sent off for the first time in his 278 Premier League appearances the next day in the Super Sunday clash against Manchester United... It just crushed any kind of chance the Black Cats had against the Red Devils, destroying any kind of competition there was. And it was harsh. Very harsh. And very inconsistent.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Tottenham 2:1 Watford - 4:0
Man City 3:3 Hull City - 3:1
Middlesbrough 2:1 Burnley - 0:0
Stoke City 3:2 Liverpool - 1:2
West Brom 2:2 Southampton - 0:1
West Ham 2:1 Swansea - 1:0
Bournemouth 0:2 Chelsea - 1:3
Sunderland 1:1 Man United - 0:3
Everton 3:2 Leicester - 4:2
Crystal Palace 1:2 Arsenal - 3:0

Click her for last week's Premier League Picks.

All stats and pictures are taken from MOTD and BBC match reports.

Woodburn Shoots Reds Into Semis

Sports - Football - EFL Cup - LFC 2:0 LUFC 

Liverpool progressed to their 17th League Cup semi-final - more than any other side - after beating Leeds 2-0 at Anfield.

Divock Origi put the home side ahead on 76 minutes off youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold's fine cross moments after Georgino Wijnaldum had hit the woodwork.

The Dutch midfielder then set up the second goal five minutes later, Ben Woodburn smashing home from close range, his first goal for the club, breaking Liverpool's club record becoming the youngest scorer in the Reds' history with 17 years and 45 days, beating none other than Michael Owen by 98 days.

Garry Monk's men had not made it easy for the home side, coming close a couple of times earlier on in the match.

Hadi Sacko was denied by a fine Simon Mignolet save, and man of the match Kemar Roofe hit the post, but it was not to be for the Sky Bet Championship side.

Jürgen Klopp made eight changes, being without Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge, and confirming Philippe Coutinho will be out for five weeks with ankle ligament damage.

The German counted on his youngsters, who didn't get into gear till after the break.

But after the Whites lost Eunan O'Kane to injury in the first half, it looked more difficult for the visitors.

Despite all that, they still challenged the Reds, Kyle Bartley heading wide and Roofe coming close a couple of times.

But it all was to no avail, the Red youngsters ended up on top, and even late on when Leeds thought they had pulled one back, substitute Chris Wood was flagged offside to see his goal denied. It was not their day.

Liverpool will face Southampton in the semis, travelling there for the first leg on the 11th January, the return leg at home scheduled two weeks after that.

Liverpool Goals: Origi 76' & Woodburn 81'.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 18 Moreno, 17 Klavan, 21 Lucas (c), 66 Alex-Arnold; 23 Can, 35 Stewart (58 Woodburn 67'), 51 Ejaria (7 Milner 82'); 19 Mané, 27 Origi (booked 90'+1') (16 Grujic 90'+1'), 5 Wijnaldum. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 2 Clyne, 6 Lovren, 14 Henderson.

Leeds United Team: 12 Silvestri; 21 Taylor, 6 Cooper (c) (2 Ayling 45'), 5 Bartley, 28 Berardi; 14 O'Kane (23 Philips 28'), 25 Vieira; 15 Dallas (9 Wood 62'), 7 Roofe, 24 Sacko; 11 Doukara (booked 56'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 1 Green, 10 Antonsson, 16 Grimes, 27 Mowatt.

Match Stats: Liverpool-Leeds United
Attempts: 13-13
On target: 4-4
Offsides: 1-5
Corners: 3-5
Fouls: 4-12
Possession: 71.5%-28.5%

Referee: Andre Marriner
Man of the match: Kemar Roofe
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 52,012

Pictures taken from the BBC match report

Click here for my previous LFC match report

Sturridge double downs Spurs

Sports - Football - EFL Cup - LFC 2:1 THFC

Daniel Sturridge's double ended up being enough to eliminate Tottenham from the EFL Cup in the fourth round with Liverpool beating Spurs 2-1 at Anfield.

The much criticised striker was on fire, could and should have had a hat-trick with chances galore for the Reds, but had to settle for "just" the two goals and the man-of-the-match award.

Both managers made plenty of changes from the weekend, the whole 11 by Jürgen Klopp, 10 by Mauricio Pochettino, showing faith in their youngsters.

21-year-old Divock Origi impressed, producing, creating and providing plenty of chances. Liverpool proved themselves the more dominant and took the lead early on thanks to Sturridge's instinctive strike from six yards after just nine minutes.

And the home side took control in the second half, Origi and Sturridge combining well, the prior sending the latter clear to slide his second goal under Michel Vorm.

The England striker had wasted a couple of sitters beforehand, curled another chance against the bar late on, so, had plenty of opportunities to make it three and the Matchball his.

But the Spurs youngsters were not to be downed that easily and made it a more nervous finish for the Reds after they conceded a penalty when substitute Erik Lamela was fouled and saw Vincent Janssen send keeper Simon Mignolet the wrong way to make it 2-1 with just under 15 minutes to go.

Both sides missed chances late on, leaving Pochettino on his knees in frustration and defeat, Klopp the happier, obviously, seeing his side extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches, 8 of them wins, taking them to the EFL Cup quarter final.

Liverpool Goals: Sturridge 9' & 64'.

Tottenham Goal: Janssen pen 76'.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet, 66 Alexander-Arnold (booked) (2 Clyne 68'), 21 Lucas, 17 Klavan, 18 Moreno, 5 Wijnaldum, 35 Stewart, 53 Ejaria, 16 Grujic (booked) (23 Can 89'), 15 Sturridge, 27 Origi (28 Ings 68' (booked)).
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 6 Lovren, 19 Mané, 20 Lallana.

Tottenham Team: 13 Vorm, 16 Trippier, 38 Carter-Vickers, 27 Wimmer (booked), 33 Davies, 15 Dier (12 Wanyama 67'), 29 Winks (booked), 25 Onomah, 28 Carroll (11 Lamela 61'), 14 Nkoudou (39 Harrison 83'), 9 Janssen.
Subs not used: 5 Vertonghen, 30 López Sabata, 45 Walkes, 46 Amos.

Match Stats: Liverpool-Tottenham
Attempts: 18-9
On target: 9-5
Corners: 6-6
Fouls: 12-19
Possession: 46%-54%

Referee: Jonathan Mass
Man of the match: Daniel Sturridge
Attendance: 53,501

Pictures taken from the BBC match report

Click here for my previous LFC match report

Liverpool brush champions aside 4-1

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 4:1 LCFC

The new expanded Anfield enjoyed their team outplay and easily beat Premier League champions Leicester 4-1 in the first home game of the season for the Reds.

It was nearly perfect for Jürgen Klopp's men, a strong, dominant and in control performance, except for Lucas Leiva's giveaway to Jamie Vardy just seven minutes before the break. It was a shocker.

Before that muck up, Roberto Firmino had opened the scoring off James Milner's pass, stepping inside Robert Huth before netting the ball into the bottom corner.

Skipper Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge combined well, the latter's heel cheekily finding Sadio Mané to score on his home debut and make it 2-0 with just over half an hour gone.

The team and crowd were on fire, to be quenched by Lucas' inexplicable blooper of a pass, intended for keeper Simon Mignolet, but ending up perfectly across goal, fit for Vardy, an easy tap in for the profound striker.

This gave Claudio Ranieri's men hope and a breath of fresh air, however, Liverpool got their act together again in the second half, Adam Lallana making it 3-1, firing a shot into the top corner.

And to wrap up the win, Firmino doubled his score and made it 4-1 thanks to an unselfish Mané, who rounded an oncoming Kasper Schmeichel, to pass the ball to the Brazilian, who made no mistake of beating the Leicester defence to steer it in.

The score is harsh in the Danish stopper who made seven saves in an otherwise strong performance, but shows how crushing the Reds were, wearing and tearing down their opposition. So much so, Klopp lost his glasses in all the excitement, once again. Someone contact his optician/insurance/provider...

Liverpool Goals: Firmino 13' & 89', Mané 31' and Lallana 56'.

Leicester Goal: Vardy 38'.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 20 Clyne, 32 Matip, 21 Lucas, 7 Milner; 20 Lallana, 14 Henderson (c) (booked 44'), 5 Wijnaldum (35 Stewart 76'), 19 Mané (18 Moreno 90'+3'); 15 Sturridge (10 Coutinho 76', 11 Firmino. 4-4-2
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 16 Grujic, 17 Klavan, 27 Origi.

Leicester Team: 1 Schmeichel; 17 Simpson (2 Hernandez 34'), 5 Morgan, 6 Huth (booked 82'), 28 Fuchs; 26 Mahrez, 13 Amartey (booked 28'), 4 Drinkwater, 11 Albrighton (23 Ulloa 65'); 20 Okazaki (7 Musa 45'), 9 Vardy. 4-4-2
Subs not used: 3 Chilwell, 10 King, 21 Zieler, 22 Gray.

Match Stats: Liverpool-Leicester
Attempts: 17-12
On target: 11-3
Corners: 1-7
Fouls: 4-8
Bookings: 1-2
Possession: 62%-38%

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Roberto Firmino
Attendance: 51,232

Pictures taken from BBC match report

Click here for my previous LFC match report

Liverpool take a point at White Hart Lane

Sports - Football - Premier League - THFC 1:1 LFC

It ended all level 1-1 at White Hart Lane, but with plenty of talking points. On the one hand Liverpool will feel more like two points dropped because of Sadio Mané's disallowed goal. But Spurs were pushing and dangerous, especially with Harry Kane, so, better than nothing. Fair result in the end, intense game, both going for it, both getting something from it.

The game started mixed, the home side on top, keeping the Red back line and keeper Simon Mignolet the busier, producing a couple of top notch saves against Kane. Both sides did not give each other much space, so possession changed quickly and regularly, both pushing again and again on the counter, Michel Vorm with some good stops of his own against Philippe Coutinho early on.

It did not take long for the tide to swing and Jürgen Klopp's men to take over, the front three Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Mané challenging the Spurs' back line. Just before the break, the pressure bared fruit. Firmino was brought down in the box by Erik Lamela chasing back. James Milner sent keeper Vorm the wrong way and netted the spot kick into the left corner, sending Liverpool into the interval 0-1 ahead.

The second half started just as intense, both teams not leaving each other much room to play with, possession not lasting long, giving away a lot of throws and free kicks. Mané and Danny Rose kept clashing after both had already been booked in the first half for their rants and tangles, keeping each other on their toes and tensions high.

The Reds should have had their lead doubled on 57' after a lovely move that involved Georginio Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana and Mané, the latter netting and celebrating, only to be flagged for offside. It was a very close call.

And it did come back to bite them indeed, Mauricio Pocchetino's men given too much time and space, even though there were six Liverpool players in the box. Rose was able to easily squeeze the ball in the near post to level the score with just under 20 minutes to go.

Kane was surprised to be taken off late on, youngster Joshua Onamah replacing him, Tottenham pushing for a win. Disgruntled Daniel Sturridge came on eventually, Mané coming off in the final minutes. But both changes were in the vane, the game continued and ended how it was all along, mix and match, give and take, great build-up and chances to clumsiness and giveaways.

This display sums up both sides' mixed season so far quite well. They both showed quality, but also plenty of points in need of improvement. 1-1 reflects this. After their embarrassing defeat at Burnley last week, Liverpool can be relieved and look forward to their first home match at the revamped Anfield against champions Leicester after the international break in a fortnight.

Here is my full coverage of the match, relive all the action on ByTheMinute LFC.

Interesting OptaJoe stats from the match:

Before the match:

0 - Harry Kane has never scored a Premier League goal in August.

9 - There have been more own goals scored in PL games between Spurs & Liverpool than any other fixture (9).

3 - Liverpool are the first team to play away in their opening 3 top-flight league games of a season since Chelsea & Bolton in 1997-98.

5 - Simon Mignolet has conceded the last five shots that he has faced on target in the Premier League.

HT & 2nd half:

41 - James Milner has never been on the losing team after scoring in a PL game (W34 D7 L0 before today).

6 - Six of Danny Rose's eight Premier League goals have come at White Hart Lane, including each of the last five.

10 - Harry Kane has not scored in any of his 10 Premier League appearances in the month of August.

FT:

42 - James Milner is now unbeaten in 42 PL games that he's scored in (W34 D8 L0); only Darius Vassell (46 games) has a better record.

Tottenham Goal: Rose 72'.

Liverpool Goal: Milner pen 43'.

Tottenham Team: 13 Vorm; 3 Rose (Y29', G72'), 5 Vertonghen (Y52'), 4 Alderweireld, 2 Walker (9 Janssen 28'); 12 Wanyama, 15 Dier; 23 Eriksen (29 Winks 93'), 20 Alli (Y77'), 11 Lamela; 10 Kane (c) (25 Onomah 83'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 31 McGee, 38 Carter-Vickers, 33 Davies & 7 Son.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 7 Milner (pen 43'), 6 Lovren (Y63'), 32 Matip (Y94'), 2 Clyne; 5 Wijnaldum, 14 Henderson (c) (Y85'), 20 Lallana (35 Stewart 94'); 10 Coutinho (Y46', 27 Origi), 11 Firmino, 19 Mané (Y33, 15 Sturridge 88'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 13 Manninger, 16 Grujic, 18 Moreno & 21 Lucas.

Y = yellow card, G = goal, pen = penalty

Sky Sports Match Stats: Tottenham-Liverpool HT & FT
Possession: 48.6%-51.4% & 49.4%-50.6%
Attempts: 4-6 & 11-13
On target: 1-3 & 4-3
Corners: 2-1 & 5-5
Offside: 0-3 & 2-6
Free kicks: 11-6 & 17-11
Bookings: 1-2 & 3-5

Referee: Robert Madley
Ground: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 31,211
Man of the match: Dejan Lovren

Pictures taken from BBC match report

Click here for my previous LFC match report

Reds stun Gunners in 7-goal thriller

Sports - Football - PL - AFC 3-4 LFC

What an introduction to the new season that was! The first Super Sunday clash of the season at the Emirates saw seven goals, a penalty save, plenty of close calls and blunders, with a certain crazy German going mental and losing his glasses on the side-line, whilst the older Frenchman in the opposite dugout seemed less involved and left facing the boos and blushes.

One distraught Frenchman

And it all started so well for the home side in Arsène Wenger's 50th clash against the red Merseyside club. The Gunners were in control for most of the first half against a shaky Liverpool who just did not seem to get into gear.

Left-back Alberto Moreno was the villain of the half, leaving plenty of gaps, looking flustered and all over the place. It seemed only a matter of time until the Spaniard would cost the Reds dearly.

29 minutes gone, he brought down Theo Walcott in the box conceding a clumsily cheep penalty, to luckily and amazingly see it saved by much-doubted and under-fire keeper Simon Mignolet.

The Belgian stopper levelled Chelsea's Dmitri Kharine's record as the Premier League's best penalty saving goalkeeper, having saved 5 of 11 spot kicks = 45%.

The let off did not last long though, when 68 seconds later, Walcott was given plenty of space to send an easy tidy finish into the bottom corner, Moreno again at fault for not being in position, giving the home side a deserved lead.

However, all frustration was wiped away for the visitors just before the break, when Philippe Coutinho sent a deliciously sweet free kick curling into the top left corner, giving keeper Petr Cech no chance, levelling the score and leaving Arsenal with frustrated faces during the interval.

Whatever Jürgen Klopp said during the break, it worked. The Reds, like a puzzle, seemed to have finally found and got the parts together, Coutinho to new signing Georginio Wijnaldum to Adam Lallana who netted a lovely goal to make it 1-2 in the 49th minute.

And seven minutes later Coutinho made it three, with a smacker guided into the far corner off a great drive in by Nathaniel Clyne, to give the visitors a two-goal cushion.

With just over an hour gone, Arsenal were ripped and shredded to bits and pieces by individual brilliance, new star £34m-signing Sadio Mané making it 1-4 with great pace and skill, a top quality goal.

It was the first time a team scored four league goals at the Emirates against Arsenal since Chelsea in May 2009.

But that was far from game over. Only 73 seconds later, sub Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit a goal back to make it 2-4 with a great individual skip and run, unsighted goalkeeper and deflection. Game on after a goal rush of 5 in 20 minutes.

And tension and action were raised again, when with 15 minutes to go, Calum Chambers headed in Oxlade-Chamberlain's free kick to reduce the deficit to one goal, 3-4, increasing Mignolet's nightmare of a headache.

The tense finish to the game saw pressure rising on both sides, for Arsenal to hit back, for Liverpool to hold on, the latter succeeding. The full time whistle blew, 3-4, the boos rang around the Emirates, the fans not happy with the old man, whilst Klopp and the men from the Kop could not have been more relieved, together and thriving on the outcome.

Man of the match: Philippe Coutinho

Arsenal Goals: Walcott 31', Oxlade-Chamberlain 64' & Chambers 75'.

Liverpool Goals: Coutinho 45'+1' & 56', Lallana 49' & Mane 63'.

Arsenal Team: 33 Cech (c); 18 Monreal, 21 Chambers, 16 Holding, 24 Bellerin; 34 Coquelin (booked 37'), 35 Elneny (29 Xhaka 67' booked 86'); 7 Sanchez, 17 Iwobi (booked 57') (15 Oxlade-Chamberlain 59'), 8 Ramsey (19 Cazorla 61'); 14 Walcott. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 3 Gibbs, 10 Wilshere, 13 Ospina & 32 Akpom.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 18 Moreno (booked 29'), 6 Lovren (booked 41'), 17 Klavan, 2 Clyne; 5 Wijnaldum (35 Stewart 88'), 14 Henderson (c), 20 Lallana (booked 26') (27 Origi 76'); 10 Coutinho (23 Can 70'), 11 Firmino, 19 Mané. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 13 Manninger, 16 Grujic, 32 Matip & 66 Alex-Arnold.

Match Stats: Arsenal-Liverpool
Possession: 50.7%-49.3%
Shots: 9-16
On target: 5-7
Blocked: 1-6
Corners: 5-4
Offsides: 4-3
Free kicks: 17-13
Bookings: 3-3

Referee: Michael Oliver
Ground: Emirates Stadium
Attendance: 60,033