Liverpool vs Fulham Prediction: Reds to overcome spirited Cottagers again

Fulham are enjoying a fine 2024/25 season so far, taking 23 points from their first 15 Premier League games, and last Sunday's 1-1 home draw with Arsenal made it three unbeaten this month. Their next assignment, however, is arguably their toughest yet, as they embark upon a trip to Merseyside on Saturday (15:00) to take on league leaders Liverpool at Anfield.]

Read on for my Liverpool vs Fulham prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker made his return from injury in Tuesday's 1-0 win at Girona in the Uefa Champions League, pulling off some impressive saves to keep a clean sheet on his comeback appearance. The Brazilian is set to keep his place on Saturday, with deputy Caoimhin Kelleher demoted to Carabao Cup duties instead.

With Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate and Kostas Tsimikas all out injured, head coach Arne Slot has few options to choose from in defence, meaning Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson should start once again, with Jarell Quansah providing back-up on the bench.

Like in midweek, Alexis Mac Allister is suspended, so Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones are expected to start again, with next Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash away to Southampton providing a better chance for the likes of Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo to break into the starting XI.

Up top, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz should get the nod, with Darwin Nunez out for Cody Gakpo likely to be the only change from midweek.

Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa are in training and could make Saturday's squad.

Football Odds

Calvin Bassey will serve a one-game ban on Saturday after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign in last Sunday's stalemate with the Gunners, and with Joachim Andersen still sidelined, Fulham boss Marco Silva is likely to hand a full Premier League debut to Spanish centre-back Jorge Cuenca, who joined in the summer from Villarreal.

Tom Cairney is also suspended for the Cottagers' weekend trip to Liverpool following his red card in the 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, while Reiss Nelson and Harrison Reed are still injured.

Liverpool vs Fulham Odds

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Liverpool are 3/10 to chalk up a ninth straight success (fifth in the Premier League) at Anfield since their 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in L4 on September 14. Those odds give the Reds an implied win probability of 76.9%, while Fulham are 17/2, or a 10.5% chance, triumph for the third time on their league travels this season.

The Cottagers have drawn two of their last three away games, including their last trip to Merseyside against Everton (1-1) on October 26, and you can get 5/1 by backing another stalemate on Saturday.

Salah has scored at least once in his last seven Premier League appearances and is 5/6 to strike anytime this weekend to make it eight in a row, while Fulham's joint-top scorers in the division this season, Raul Jimenez and Alex Iwobi (five goals apiece), are 3/1 and 5/1, respectively, in the market.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Liverpool & Yes @ 6/4

Liverpool and Fulham faced off four times last season, twice in the Premier League and twice in the Carabao Cup, but despite the Reds winning three of the head-to-heads and drawing the other, it's fair to say the victories were not comprehensive.

The Reds won the corresponding league fixture 4-3 in December last year but had to come from 3-2 down to claim all three points, equalising in the 87th minute through Endo and netting the winner a minute later via Alexander-Arnold. Then, in January, Liverpool came from behind again to win 2-1 in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie at Anfield before drawing 1-1 at Craven Cottage to advance to the final, where they beat Chelsea 1-0 after extra-time to lift the trophy.

The fourth and final meeting between the two teams came in west London in April, and despite the Merseysiders winning by two goals in a 3-1 victory, they were made to work for their victory.

So, both teams to score landed in all four head-to-heads last season, with Liverpool winning three of those games, and BTTS - Yes has been a consistent feature of Fulham's matches this term, too, with 80 per cent (12) of their 15 league outings finishing with a least one goal on either side.

Both teams scoring has been much less frequent for Liverpool, who have only seen BTTS - Yes land in 43 per cent (six) of their 14 Premier League games. However, 71.4 per cent (five) of their last seven league matches have seen both teams score, and the Reds have still won four of them, only drawing away to Arsenal (2-2).

Considering all of the above, backing a Liverpool win and both teams to score feels like a sensible selection at 6/4.

Bet Builder - Mohamed Salah (LIV) Anytime Goalscorer & Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) 1+ Shots on Target @ 4/1

A return of 16 goals and 12 assists in 22 appearances across all competitions at the start of this season has Salah marked down as the most in-form attacker in the top five European leagues, and he's showing so signs of letting up anytime soon.

The 32-year-old struck from the penalty spot to win Tuesday's game in Girona and has scored in his last seven Premier League outings, netting against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa, Southampton (twice), Manchester City, and Newcastle United (twice). Everton were primed to become victim number eight last Saturday but adverse weather conditions saw the Merseyside derby postponed, meaning Fulham have been bumped down the order from nine to eight.

Salah needs to score in his next four Premier League games to equal Jamie Vardy's record of 11 consecutive games with a goal, set by the Leicester City striker in 2015. He could catch up with the Foxes forward by the end of the calendar year with league contests against Tottenham, Leicester and West Ham United to follow the Fulham fixture.

The Egypt international should be encouraged by his record against the Cottagers having scored in half (four) of his eight previous games against them, although he did blank in both league outings last season, albeit he was only introduced as a 74th-minute substitute at Craven Cottage.

As impressive as Fulham have been in 2024/25, Silva's side have only kept two Premier League clean sheets, the first of which was at Nottingham Forest in a 1-0 win on September 28, and the second in a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on November 9.

Saturday's visitors have conceded in their last four matches, shipping four at home to Wolves (1-4) at the start of this run, and will do well to keep out a rampant Reds attack - spearheaded by Salah - that has scored at least twice in their last seven league games.

I expect Slot's charges to net a couple at least on Saturday, and it would be a big surprise if Salah wasn't among their goalscorers.

The second and final leg of this Bet Builder requires Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold to record a shot on target, something he easily achieved in both league meetings with Fulham last season as he scored home and away against the Cottagers.

The Reds vice-captain found the net with the last of his four shots at Anfield and also struck the post with a first-half free-kick before scoring a free-kick in the reverse fixture earlier this year.

To add some more meat to the bones, the 25-year-old shot three times and hit the target once in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Fulham in May 2023, meaning he has either scored or worked the goalkeeper in his last three appearances against the west Londoners.

Admittedly, Alexander-Arnold is only averaging 0.2 shots on target per Premier League game this season, but a contest with a favoured opponent of his should bring about more joy for the England star.

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