Premier League fixtures – 21/02 – Injury-hit Liverpool has chance to go four points clear at the top
Liverpool will face Luton tonight in front of a home crowd, with a win seeing the Reds go four points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Liverpool have been hit with a string of high-profile injuries as of late, with Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones the latest to join the injury list.
For Luton, who currently sit in 18th place, a win would see them move out of the relegation zone, though it’s a big ask, especially at Anfield, they may feel a little emboldened given Liverpool’s many injuries.
| Premier League fixture | Kick-off | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool vs Luton Town | 19:30 | Not televised |
Why isn’t Liverpool v Luton on TV?
Despite the Premier League being the top flight of English football, it sometimes feels like it’s we’re being starved of matches, especially when those outside of the UK can watch the full season. So why is it so hard to watch the Premier League in the UK despite it being an English league?
Traditionally, most games on a Saturday are supposed to be played at 3 pm, although some are moved for TV rights. The rule states that in England, no football is allowed to be broadcast on live television on any Saturday between 2.45 pm and 5.15 pm – it’s often referred to as the 3 pm blackout rule. It was introduced in the 1960s over fears that televising top-tier matches would affect lower-league clubs’ attendance.
Liverpool’s home fixture against Luton was originally scheduled to be played this weekend but had to be brought forward due to the Reds progressing to the Carabao Cup final, where they will face Chelsea at Wembley this Sunday.
Liverpool vs Luton wasn’t selected for TV coverage and was scheduled for a 3 pm kick-off on Saturday, which is why it is not available to watch this evening even though it has now been moved to a midweek evening slot.
Football injury list
Liverpool will be without Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Joel Matip and Dominik Szoboszlai. Darwin Nunez will need to be assessed.
Luton’s Elijah Adebayo is out after suffering a hamstring injury in the warm-up against Manchester United.
Fellow forward Jacob Brown has had knee surgery and so also misses out.
Mads Andersen and Marvelous Nakamba are still on the sidelines.
Predictions – score and lineup
Liverpool 3-1 Luton Town
It should be a fairly routine win for Liverpool, regardless of the injury list, the Reds’ class and depth on the bench should see them secure all three points and take them four points clear at the top.
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
Luton XI: Kaminski; Mengi, Osho, Bell; Ogbene, Lokonga, Barkley, Chong, Doughty; Morris, Woodrow
MATCH FACTS
The latest match facts from BBC Sport.
Head-to-head
- Anfield is the ground Luton have played the most matches at in their league history without a victory, drawing six and losing eight of their 14 visits to face Liverpool.
- The Reds have only faced Grimsby Town (18) at home in the league more often without losing.
- This is Luton’s first visit to Anfield since January 1992.
Liverpool
- Liverpool have lost just one of their last 54 league games at Anfield (W41, D12).
- The Reds have only been defeated in two of their past 50 top-flight matches on a Wednesday and have won their last 11 such games in a row, dating back to a 1-0 loss to Brighton at Anfield in February 2021.
- Liverpool’s substitutes have been directly involved in 20 top-flight goals this season, the joint-most the Reds have registered in a Premier League season with 2015-16.
- Mohamed Salah is one assist short of becoming only the second player after Wayne Rooney to register 10 or more goals and 10 or more assists in five different Premier League seasons.
- Against Brentford, Salah became the fourth player to both score and assist in 30 different Premier League games after Rooney (36), Thierry Henry (32) and Alan Shearer (31).
- Darwin Nunez’s tally of nine league goals is as many as he managed in the entirety of last season.
Luton Town
- Nine of Luton’s 14 league defeats this season have been by a one-goal margin.
- Their run of scoring at least once in their last 12 Premier League games is the longest by a promoted team since Burnley did the same between December 2016 and March 2017.
- Among current Premier League sides, only Tottenham (37) are on a longer scoring run in the top flight than the Hatters.
- They have picked up five points and scored eight goals in their last three away games, which is more than they managed in their first eight Premier League matches on the road.
- Carlton Morris has either scored or assisted in each of his last five league appearances (four goals, two assists). Only Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka (twice), and Rasmus Hojlund have enjoyed longer runs in the top flight this season.