Pundit Mark Lawrenson is backing Liverpool to thrash Swansea City 3-0 this afternoon.
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Liverpool will beat Swansea City 3-0 at Anfield this afternoon – but did have some words of criticism for manager Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds drew 1-1 away at Manchester United in their last Premier League game, and squeezed past Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup replay on Wednesday evening with a 1-0 win over the League Two.
A general view inside Anfield
Now, its back to the Premier League for Liverpool, as they take on Swansea City at Anfield this afternoon, in the hope of repeating their 2-1 success over the Swans back in October.
With Philippe Coutinho back from injury and Joel Matip now available again having received permission from FIFA to play following a wrangle with Cameroon, manager Jurgen Klopp should have somewhere near a first-choice team to pick from.
However, Swansea City aren’t quite so lucky. New manager Paul Clement saw his side lose 4-0 at home to Arsenal last weekend, and it’s five defeats in the last six games for the Swans.
Mark Lawrenson
Bottom of the Premier League table and leaking goals at an alarming rate, Swansea are struggling in their battle against the drop, but do sit just one point adrift of safety.
Clement will be hoping for a major shock result this afternoon, but pundit Mark Lawrenson, speaking to BBC Sport, admitted that he thinks Liverpool will run out 3-0 winners in a comfortable victory.
Lawrenson did though criticise manager Klopp, suggesting that Liverpool’s recent run of mixed results may be down to the German rotating his team too much for cup games, believing that a settled side over the coming weeks will help Liverpool hit top gear again.
“Liverpool have lost some of their attacking lustre in recent weeks so it is important for them to have Philippe Coutinho back in action, and getting sharper with each game he plays,” said Lawrenson. “I just wonder if the Reds’ form has tailed off a bit because Jurgen Klopp has been changing his team around for various cup games – it might help if he sticks with a team that is going to play regularly for the next couple of weeks.”
“Swansea have made a couple of signings since Paul Clement’s first game in charge – Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat by Arsenal. Norwich left-back Martin Olsson and Tottenham midfielder Tom Carroll have both come in but Clement will need to do more than that to solve his side’s defensive issues,” he added.
What’s your prediction for Liverpool v Swansea City?
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