Big Sam's men to get a late Christmas roast
Current champions and league leaders Liverpool play host to a West Bromwich Albion outfit that inexplicably recently swapped out Slaven Bilić for Sam Allardyce in an attempt use the latter's experience of steering sides away from relegation trouble in the Premier League. Another costly red card in the midst of a 3-0 reverse at home to Aston Villa underlined the scale of the task ahead of him, and the last place he'd have wanted to travel next is to Anfield. Read our preview here:
A Firmino hand on the tiller
After enduring some relatively poor results of their own, there is now a distinctly ominous look to Liverpool again. Four points clear of nearest challengers Leicester City, they've reached the summit without a whole slew of names that would walk into most other XIs easily. Others have stepped up in their absence, most notably 19 year-old Curtis Jones at the heart of midfield. Takumi Minamino is starting to prove he's a viable alternative to the more established names in the group, and Robert Firmino has rediscovered his scoring touch in some style. He laid on an assist and weighed in with two goals of his own during the 7-0 monstering away from home of Crystal Palace, and the way he can dovetail with the rest of the fluid front three is beginning to resemble their predatory best. The combined movement of the triumvirate will bamboozle the Baggies' suspect defences whilst enjoying the support of the marauding full-backs.
Semi switched on
As already mentioned, West Brom are almost certainly in for a decidedly torrid time at the back. Semi Ajayi has been reasonably solid in a team that have conceded 29 and gained only seven points to date. His tendency to play short passes will be severely tested on the 27th, and that aspect will probably be one of the first casualties under Allardyce's reign. Elsewhere, Romaine Sawyers looks ill-suited for a solitary pivot role screening the four-man defence, and is far more at home on the front foot, carrying the ball on the transition. Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher has been the best performer, carving out a niche in midfield by allying reliable contributions in defensive situations to being a threat in the opposition penalty area, scoring two for his temporary side.
Shellacking, Part Deux
The truncated nature of the season has left little room for any new manager to come into a side and properly assess their squad's credentials on the training ground. Instead, games are coming thick and fast that are almost serving as 'exhibitions' themselves. The precarious position the Baggies are situated in doesn't lend itself to crossing off too many matches as unwinnable whilst things are reorganised on and off the pitch, and Allardyce is sure to find that out in ruthless fashion on Sunday. 888sport are offering odds of 3.4 for Liverpool to win with a handicap of -3, and that seems like more than a plausible outcome based on recent evidence.
