Paul Merson and Chris Sutton agree on Fulham vs Liverpool prediction as title race impacted
Liverpool faces a crucial trip to Fulham on Sunday as it bids to keep its Premier League title hopes alive. The Red sit third in the table, two points adrift of Manchester City and three off Arsenal, who beat Wolves on Saturday.
Jürgen Klopp's side exited the Europa League in midweek despite beating Atalanta and lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace last weekend at Anfield. The match is the start of three away games in the league with trips to Everton and West Ham to follow later this week.
Yet pundits Chris Sutton and Paul Merson sense a challenging afternoon ahead for Liverpool at Craven Cottage, with the two sides having already faced off three times this season. They played in the Carabao Cup semi-final earlier in the campaign.
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Merson is tipping the match to finish 1-1, saying in his SportsKeeda column: "Fulham has caused teams problems this season and Liverpool is coming on the back of an abysmal week.
"They are struggling a bit in front of goal and look like they have sort of fizzled out in recent weeks. I think they'll drop points once again, effectively ending their title hopes.
"Klopp knows the Premier League title is not in his hands anymore. Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez have misfired in front of goal. Diogo Jota is a top-class player and could be in with a chance of breaking into the starting XI."
Ex-striker Sutton also expects Liverpool's pursuit of the Premier League crown to hit another snag this weekend at Craven Cottage. In his predictions for BBC Sport, Sutton wrote: "All three games between these teams this season have been close, and I am expecting more of the same on Sunday.
"Liverpool won a thriller 4-3 at Anfield in the league, followed by a 2-1 home win in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. I was at Craven Cottage for the second leg, which ended up a 1-1 draw. This is a must-win for Jurgen Klopp's side to keep their title hopes alive, because their season has started to unravel."
"What happens there will tell us a lot about where Liverpool are at, but if they show any weaknesses at the weekend, Fulham are good enough to punish them. Liverpool 1-1 Fulham."
Liverpool.com says: At any other time, a draw away at Fulham wouldn't be the worst result in the world. But it is no good for Liverpool right now. Klopp will know that three points is a must at Craven Cottage to keep the pressure on Manchester City and Arsenal. Anything less and the title hopes are as good as over.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.