2 hours ago
3
Liverpool has taken 14 points from its last six Premier League games, and a win over Leeds will further boost the Reds' chances of a top-four finish
Liverpool can boost its chances of Champions League qualification with a win over Leeds on New Year's Day after Manchester United and Chelsea both slipped up in what looked like very winnable home games.
Wolves, rooted to the bottom of the the table and destined for the Championship, avoided defeat for the first time in 13 games to claim a point with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth, also in torrid form, clinched a point at Chelsea, leaving the Stamford Bridge club with just one win in seven top-flight games.
Those results mean that Liverpool can solidify its position in the table with a win over Leeds: a victory will see the Reds move onto 35 points – five clear of Chelsea and United in fifth and sixth respectively.
READ MORE: Arsenal sends frightening warning to Liverpool and Premier League title rivalsREAD MORE: John Aldridge tells Liverpool to make January transfer - but there's a problemExplaining why United found it so difficult against Leeds, head coach Ruben Amorim said: "Strange game. We knew it would be a different game to Newcastle.
"We needed more imagination today to create chances. We struggled in the first half trying to steal the ball. They put a lot of men in the midfield. We tried but the quality was not there. We need to recover to the next one."
Referencing the absentees who are at AFCON, like Bryan Mbeumo and Amad, Amorim said: "We tried to overload one side but in Premier League you need one v one and you need that and we didn't have it today. We don't have the guys that play outside - we tried to overload the middle but today was not our day.
"Even against Everton it was three points lost, West Ham was two points lost. Always frustrating. Football is like that. If you focus on the performance, we struggled today."
Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca neglected to conduct his media duties after Chelsea's game due to illness, with assistant boss Willy Caballero speaking to the press instead.
"Yes, he is not feeling well," Caballero said. "He did not feel well the last two days, but he made the decision [to manage tonight]. I don't know how he found the strength to do it because we saw him working and he was suffering with a temperature and other stuff.
"Today he asked me to come to replace him because he did not feel well."
English (US) ·