Liverpool vs. Huddersfield Town
Venue: Anfield Stadium
Kick off: 3PM
David Wagner faces close friend Jurgen Klopp on Saturday afternoon as his Huddersfield Town side make the 60-mile journey west to take on Liverpool at Anfield.
The Terriers boss will be the happier of the two German coaches at this stage in the season after seeing his side adapt well to Premier League football, while the hosts are hopelessly out of form and in real need of a boost.
Even accounting for the 7-0 thrashing of a terrible Maribor side last week, plus a commendable point at home to Manchester United in a match they deserved to win, Liverpool have badly struggled to hit the heights many expected them to in recent weeks.
Two months ago to the weekend the Reds were putting four goals past Arsenal to show their Premier League title credentials, fresh on the back of navigating their way past tricky opponents Hoffenheim to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
All was well in the life of Klopp then but, fast forward eight weeks, his side find themselves ninth in the top flight – a seemingly unassailable 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City – and out of one of the domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle.
Klopp actually confessed ahead of a ball being kicked at Wembley Stadium last week that the title may already be out of Liverpool’s reach and, on the basis of the 4-1 defeat that followed, it is difficult to argue with those thoughts from the former Borussia Dortmund boss.
In the league alone 12 points have been dropped from the last 18 on offer, beating just Leicester City during that time, only putting added significance on this weekend’s match as they seek a first league win in six.
With only Chelsea and Arsenal left to play of the elite clubs before Christmas, and a passage through to the last 16 of the Champions League close to being sealed, Klopp will now be desperate to find some momentum to prevent the Reds’ season from sliding into oblivion.
Backed by many to go straight back down upon promotion from the Championship last season, Huddersfield supporters will be delighted to have proven many of their doubters wrong with nearly a quarter of the campaign now played.
Liverpool possible XI: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Matip, Moreno, Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Coutinho.
Huddersfield Town possible XI: Lossl, Smith, Schindler, Zanka, Lowe, Hogg, Williams, Van La Parra, Mooy, Ince, Depoitre.