Hopefully you have all had a wonderful Christmas the red side of the Merseyside but now you should be ready for it to be ruined as Sam Allardyce is back at Anfield and with West Brom of all teams.
It is just going to be hell.
The last manager to win at Anfield was Sam Allardyce with Crystal Palace and the last time West Brom were in the Premier League at Anfield they scraped the most disgusting 0-0 draw with Alan Pardew in charge.
Then in that same season West Brom beat Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield in the FA Cup.
So, in recent history it has been annoying to come uo against West Brom so match that up with Big Sam at the helm you can only imagine how dull it is going to be.
Luckily, he has only been in charge for a short period of time and in his first game West Brom were poor losing 3-0 to rivals Aston Villa and finished with an expected goal of 0.02 which is astounding.
Liverpool should have the quality to break them down but teams to managed by Allardyce are always so tough which Klopp mentioned saying in his press conference saying: “Of course, it’s tricky one. We analysed it this morning and it is a mix of Everton when Sam was there and what I expect is a tough opponent.
“Always tough vs his teams. West Brom will go for a proper fight. Sam is a specialist for this type of fight. A tough game.”
Klopp’s only ever won two games against West Brom out of seven as well so he will want a win to improve that poor record as well s obviously increasing the lead at the top of the table.
A good few players have been returning to training in preparation for the game.
James Milner and Xherdan Shaqiri will be in contention for some minutes against West Brom but unfortunately the game looks set to come too early for Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara who will be in full contention against Newcastle.
After a nice long break between games for a change there is loads of games at once now so we should expect some interesting team choices from Klopp but one player who has gave Klopp a good dilemma is Takumi Minamino.
He finally bagged his first league goal against Crystal Palace and when starting with the first choice eleven he has looked like he did at Red Bull Salzburg so after nearly a year at the club he is looking like an established option for Klopp to choose.
Fabinho is set to play again at centre back and on form he has been one of the best central defenders in the league and it will be his 100th appearance for the club on Sunday, what a signing he has been.
West Brom will be without captain Jake Livermore after his red card against Aston Villa making the challenge for The Baggies that bit harder.
For the 2,000 going to the game, it will feel like a strange feeling of normality going to the ground after Christmas and the atmosphere could make all the difference against what is expected to be eleven men behind the ball.
For the ones who will be watching at home well have some more chocolates, another Christmas bevy because why not or even another Christmas dinner and enjoy this fabulous Liverpool team play for your entertainment.
Written by Elliot Thompson
