English Premier
2026-01-01 - Liverpool vs Leeds United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Thursday 1st January 2025 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Liverpool
There are times in the season when you just need to get over the line and Liverpool made sure they did that in picking up three points against Wolves in the last game played in 2025. They will be looking to back that up immediately on the first day of 2026 as Liverpool host another team in the bottom third in the Division.
It has not been the first half of the season that Arne Slot would have expected, but Liverpool are back into the top four following the win over Wolves last Saturday. The Reds were also able to improve the record at Anfield to 6-1-2 in the top flight this season as they moved 3 points ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United in the standings.
Liverpool are not only unbeaten in 7 games in all competitions, but they have won 4 in a row to build up some momentum. Since losing heavily to Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven in consecutive games at Anfield, Liverpool are unbeaten in 3 here and have beaten Brighton and Wolves in consecutive Premier League fixtures.
Dominic Szoboszlai is back from a suspension, but Joe Gomez remains a doubt.
Leeds United
If you could go back a month and ask Leeds United fans how they felt about Daniel Farke with the team 2-0 down at Manchester City at half time, the consensus would have been that the club need to make a managerial change. Perhaps Farke felt the same as he ripped up plans and set his team up in a different way and Leeds United have produced some quality performances and results since that moment.
They were beaten at Manchester City, albeit having fought back to 2-2 before conceding in injury time, but results have improved and Leeds United are 16th in the Premier League table and 7 points clear of the relegation zone. The side have a 1-2-6 away record in the top flight this season where Leeds United have scored 8 goals and conceded 20.
Leeds United are unbeaten in 5 Premier League games since the late defeat at the Etihad Stadium and they have earned 9 points from a possible 15 in that run. There has been plenty to like in the last couple of away Premier League games at Brentford and Sunderland, although Daniel Farke may feel his team deserved more than 1-1 draws both times.
Lukas Nmecha is hoping to travel with the squad, but Joe Rodon is set to miss out having suffered an ankle injury twice against Sunderland and having to come off.
Head to Head
They may have fell 0-2 and 2-3 behind when these teams met at Elland Road in early December, but Leeds United ultimately held Liverpool to a 3-3 draw.
Liverpool had won 5 in a row at Anfield against Leeds United, but were beaten 1-2 when these teams met most recently here in October 2022.
Prediction
The last time Liverpool and Leeds United faced one another, the 3-3 draw ended up being overshadowed by Mo Salah's comments about his personal situation at the club.
While Arne Slot and the player have looked to have settled things down, the manager will be most pleased that his squad have responded by putting together a solid run of form.
Mo Salah has left for the African Cup of Nations, but that has not stopped Liverpool winning 4 in a row in all competitions. They beat Wolves on Saturday really short-handed, but Dominic Szoboszlai is back for the home team and this has the makings of being another really entertaining game between the clubs.
Liverpool will always come forward at Anfield and they will cause problems with the attacking talent that is still available to the manager.
However, Arne Slot will know that his team need to respect a Leeds United team that have looked very confident over the last month and who have eased the building pressure on manager Daniel Farke.
It felt like it was an inevitability that Daniel Farke would be removed as manager as Leeds United struggled, but a tweak to the system has worked a treat. Former Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in top form and Leeds United will not fear a Liverpool team that have struggled defensively all season.
Both teams scoring would surprise no one on current form.
However, Liverpool at Anfield is still a big test and Leeds United are not quite as composed as the home team can be and that may ultimately prove to be the difference with The Reds coming through in a high-scoring battle.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Liverpool 3-1 Leeds United
