West Brom v Liverpool predictions: Baggies to play their part in humdinger

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Liverpool to win & both teams to score
1pt 6-4 Betfred

Team news

West Brom
Loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles is available after missing the loss to his parent club Arsenal. Robert Snodgrass and Branislav Ivanovic are set to miss out.

Liverpool
Captain Jordan Henderson has failed to win his race to recover from a groin injury and won't feature again this season. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Naby Keita, Ozan Kabak, James Milner and Ben Davies are also unavailable.

Match preview

Liverpool's hopes of earning a fifth successive top-four finish received a huge boost on Thursday when they left Old Trafford with a morale-boosting 4-2 win over Manchester United, and they can put some added pressure on fourth-placed Chelsea by winning at West Brom on Sunday.

The Old Trafford victory followed on nicely from a 2-0 triumph at home to Southampton last weekend and extended their unbeaten streak in the league to seven.

Jurgen Klopp's men stumbled their way through the early stages of 2021 and after losing six of seven games in February and early March, a run that culminated in a hugely disappointing defeat at home to Fulham, they had slipped down to eighth in the standings.

But they have shown character to bounce back and will end this weekend just one point adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea and three behind Leicester in third if they pick up a win at West Brom.

With FA Cup finalists Chelsea and Leicester set to square off again in the league at Stamford Bridge on May 18, Liverpool are once again in control of their own fate.

Hosts West Brom have already been consigned back to the Championship after picking up just five victories and they are winless in four games.

West Brom have lost six of their 11 meetings against the established big six clubs this term, with their only victory coming at Chelsea last month when they ran out 5-2 winners.

They managed to hold Liverpool to a draw in the reverse fixture when Semi Ajayi netted late to cancel out Sadio Mane's early strike.

The Reds were just starting to wobble at that stage but they have settled down now and they should prevail this time with a Champions League spot in their sights.

Attackers Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota have all been among the goals and the Reds have the firepower to collect all three points.

Salah has registered 21 times this campaign and is firmly in the race for the Golden Boot, while Firmino's brace against United has edged him closer to double figures.

West Brom's woeful defensive record - they have shipped 68 goals, more than any other top-flight club - also offers optimism for the visitors to enjoy a successful afternoon in the final third.

Sam Allardyce's initial intention to shore things up at the back appears to have gone swiftly out of the window and with little left to play for they have thrown caution to the wind.

Of the 32 goals West Brom have scored this season, 12 have come in their last six games and Liverpool's makeshift defence could once again be tested.

With several key defensive casualties over the course of the term, Liverpool have managed only ten clean sheets, while the Baggies can boast just six shutouts, so both teams scoring looks likely too.

Key stat

Both teams have scored in each of the last three meetings between West Brom and Liverpool in all competitions.

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