Liverpool vs Sunderland Prediction: Black Cats eyeing Anfield scalp

Liverpool overcame a three-game losing run on Sunday to beat West Ham United 2-0 at London Stadium, but the Reds are likely to face a tougher test on Wednesday (20:15 GMT, Sky Sports Football) when they host sixth-place Sunderland, a point above them in the Premier League table, at Anfield.

Below are my Liverpool vs Sunderland predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot may be tempted to stick with the starting XI that served him well in east London, but there are question marks over the durability of a few players, notably Joe Gomez, who made just his third start of the season - first in the Premier League - on Sunday.

Still, with regular right-backs Conor Bradley (muscle) and Jeremie Frimpong (hamstring) remaining in the treatment room, Slot’s options in that area are limited, especially if he wishes to keep Dominik Szobozslai further forward.

The Hungarian featured on the right of Liverpool’s midfield against West Ham, with Mohamed Salah an unused substitute. Surely, the 34-year-old won’t be happy to warm the bench again in midweek.

Alexander Isak finally got off the mark in the Premier League for Liverpool on the weekend, so it will be interesting to see whether he keeps his starting spot or if Hugo Ekitike replaces him up top.

Football Odds

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris could also name an unchanged starting XI following Saturday’s superb 3-2 comeback victory over AFC Bournemouth at the Stadium of Light.

However, Dutch forward Brian Brobbey staked his claim for a full Black Cats debut with his second goal in three games off the bench.

Habib Diarra (groin) and Ajibola Alese (shoulder) are still sidelined for Sunderland due to injury.

Liverpool vs Sunderland Odds

Liverpool haven’t been beaten at home by Sunderland since October 1983, when Gary Rowell’s 29th-minute spot-kick was enough to see the Black Cats overcome a Reds XI featuring Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush.

Slot’s side are heavy favourites to win on Wednesday, with odds of 3/10 implying a 76.9% probability of success, while Le Bris’ charges are 15/2, or an 11.8% chance, to claim a third away win of the season, with the draw, which would be Liverpool’s first of the 2025/26 campaign, available at 4/1.

Both Teams To Score & Total Goals Over/Under +2.5 - Yes & Over 2.5 @ 6/5

Liverpool kept a rare clean sheet last Sunday, but West Ham were poor, and I'm expecting Sunderland to pose far more problems for Slot's side than the Irons did.

Sunderland have scored in five of their last six games, and while they have blanked in four of their six away matches in the Premier League, they did beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in October, and with Liverpool likely to dominate possession in the same way the Blues did, this may be a match that suits the Black Cats, who could receive more opportunities to counter attack.

Today's Football Fixtures

Liverpool have played eight league games at Anfield this season, only recording a couple of shutouts, and last time out in the competition on home soil, they were beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest. Four days later, they were thrashed 4-1 at Anfield by PSV Eindhoven in the Uefa Champions League.

The Reds will have restored some confidence with that win in east London last weekend, but it wasn't a result or performance that proved they are back to their best.

Sunderland's confidence should be at an all-time high after Saturday's comeback success against Bournemouth, and it was less than a month ago that they held Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 2-2 draw on Wearside.

Granted, the Black Cats aren't on home turf here, but they will sense vulnerabilities in the Liverpool defence that they can take advantage of.

I see both teams scoring here, with Sunderland conceding in two of their last three away games, and Liverpool breached in three of their last four league games at Anfield.

Liverpool are also joint-top of the Over 2.5 Goals table, with 69% (nine) of their 13 league matches this season finishing with at least three goals, and while Sunderland (38%) are joint-bottom of that particular table, it's been a winning selection in two of their last three games.

Bet Builder - Daniel Ballard (SUN) 1+ Shots & Dominik Szoboszlai (LIV) 1+ Fouls @ 13/10

Despite three of his 11 Premier League appearances this season coming as a substitute, Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard is averaging 1.2 shots per game, and he's recorded at least one in eight of his last nine.

The Northern Ireland international has scored twice this term, and he'll be sensing an opportunity to add to his tally on Wednesday, after seeing Forest centre-back Murillo notch with one of his three shots in Liverpool's last Premier League contest at Anfield.

I'm also adding in a foul for Reds midfielder Szoboszlai, who committed three fouls at West Ham on Sunday to increase his fouls per game average to 1.3 in this season's Premier League.

The Hungary captain has been whistled seven times across his last four league appearances, recording at least one foul in three of them.