As Atletico Madrid have shown us, Liverpool FC can actually be beaten…although the only two teams to do it in 2019-20 were from continental Europe, not England. The Aston Villa defeat in the League Cup comes with an asterisk, as the Merseyside club were forced to field their youth team for that clash, given intense fixture congestion at the time.
Can the Reds fall at Vicarage Road? Most likely not, but if you’re going to analyze this narrative, then consider this idea- perhaps the Reds will actually fall to a lower table side, one with nothing to lose and not feeling the pressure of expectations? Does Watford FC fit the bill? Maybe not as they, along with West Ham, are still in the race to get out of the relegation zone.
It looks like only Norwich City is destined to get the drop, as of right now. In terms of team news for this match, Jurgen Klopp has four potential absentees in this match. Nathaniel Clyne, still recovering from a serious knee injury and out of contract at the end of the season, may not play for the club ever again.
Winger Xherdan Shaqiri remains out indefinitely with a chronic calf problem. It remains to be seen when he’ll return to training. Team Captain Jordan Henderson is out three weeks after having hurt his hamstring in the loss to Atletico Madrid. The versatile James Milner is a slight doubt, having tweaked a muscle and missed the West Ham United win due to precautionary reasons.
Liverpool FC at Watford FC FYIs
February 29, 5:30 pm local, Vicarage Road
Liverpool starting XI: go to this link
Result Probability via Google: Liverpool win 67%, Draw 20%, Watford win 13%
Form Guide: Liverpool WWWWW (this is an easy one to update, it’s just copy and paste!) Watford LDLLD
Prediction: Liverpool 2, Watford 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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