Sheff Utd vs Liverpool Prediction: Gakpo to add to blunt Blades woes

Jurgen Klopp will be hoping for an easier time of it at Bramall Lane on Wednesday night (19:30), as his Liverpool side face Chris Wilder's Sheffield United.

The 56-year-old has been reappointed as Blades boss, more than two years after he first left the club, with Paul Heckingbottom paying the price for an awful start to the season that has seen them pick up just five points from their first 14 Premier League games.

Whether Wilder is on the sidelines for Wednesday remains to be seen, but regardless of who is in charge of the South Yorkshire club Liverpool will expect to secure victory, and they will want to do it in less dramatic fashion than Sunday, when they required two late goals to down Fulham 4-3.

Team News

With the managerial situation up in the air at Sheffield United, it's anyone's guess as to who will name the starting line-up on Wednesday, and who will be featured in it.

One player that definitely won't be is Oli McBurnie, who received a red card against Burnley on Saturday. George Baldock is a major doubt after being substituted through injury against the Clarets, and he would join Chris Basham, John Egan and Rhian Brewster on the sidelines.

The likes of Yasser Larouci, Jayden Bogle, James McAtee and Benie Traore could be handed opportunities to impress, though.

Liverpool are expected to make several changes as they juggle multiple competitions heading into the festive period. Caoimhin Keller will definitely keep his place in goal with Alisson Becker still out, but he could have some different faces in front of him from the start on Wednesday, with Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate set to start.

Virgil van Dijk should begin the game with Joel Matip out injured, and Klopp must decide whether to rest Kostas Tsimikas or Trent Alexander-Arnold, who could also start in midfield.

Curtis Jones looks likely to start on the left-hand side of Liverpool's midfield, with Wataru Endo also pushing for a start after scoring his first Premier League goal on the weekend. Cody Gakpo is a certainty to start in attack for the Reds, meaning one of Darwin Nunez or Luis Diaz could drop to the bench.

Match Odds

Sheffield United are huge outsiders to win this match at 12/1, with Liverpool as short as 2/11 to pick up the three points. The draw is available at 6/1.

Both teams to score is priced at 8/11 and over 3.5 goals is 8/11.

Cody Gakpo to score anytime @ EVS

The Dutchman hasn't scored in the Premier League since the controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on September 30, when he was taken off at half-time with an injury. The five league appearances that have followed, though, have only brought about a single start, so it's only really been two 90's in terms of minutes played.

The 24-year-old should be afforded plenty of time to score on Wednesday, though, with Klopp likely to rotate his forward line, particularly with Diogo Jota out injured. Gakpo had a major part to play in Sunday's winning goal against Fulham, as it was his powerful shot that forced a save from Bernd Leno and led to Nunez hooking the ball back in and Alexander-Arnold eventually firing home.

Gakpo also scored twice on his last start - a 4-0 win over LASK in the Europa League last Thursday - and he should fancy his chances of adding to his season tally of six against - statistically - the worst defence in the league.

Liverpool to win to nil @ 6/5

Sheffield United are the Premier League's lowest scorers with 11 goals, which is three fewer than the next lowest Crystal Palace (14). They've scored seven in as many games at Bramall Lane, including four in the last three, but half of those came from McBurnie, who is suspended for both of their fixtures this week.

Liverpool shipped three at home to Fulham on Sunday and are yet to keep a clean sheet on their travels this season, while they haven't won away since September 16, losing one and drawing three since.

However, if there's a place to end an unwanted record, it's Bramall Lane against a Blades side that have just been hit for five without reply by Burnley. Changes are expected in the Reds backline but there will still be the ubiquitous influence of van Dijk at the heart of it, while adding Konate and Gomes should, in theory, make them more defensively solid.

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