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Salah helps off-kilter Liverpool snap skid

By Nicholas MendolaOct 20, 2018, 2:23 PM EDT
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  • Terriers outshoot Reds 12-11
  • Liverpool moves second
  • Terriers 19th with three points

Xherdan Shaqiri set up Mohamed Salah for the match’s lone goal as Liverpool beat Huddersfield Town 1-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday.

The Reds stay level on points with leaders Man City, while Huddersfield Town is ahead of only Newcastle United on the table.

Liverpool was winless in its last four matches, with draws against Man City and Chelsea and losses to Napoli and Chelsea.

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A sleepy match snapped to life off the boot of Salah, who scored a trademark goal by dragging a shot across goal and inside the far post.

Joe Gomez picked out Xherdan Shaqiri, who played Salah down the right side for a finish beyond the reach of Jonas Lossl.

And that got Huddersfield moving, and the match moved up-and-down the pitch in fitting David Wagner vs. Jurgen Klopp fashion.

Jonathan Hogg hit the bar with a shot, and Phillip Billing nearly whipped a deep free kick on target, though Alisson Becker may’ve had his post covered well anyway.

Michael Oliver somehow resisted shouts for a seemingly clear handball on James Milner.

The first half stated without much danger, but Laurent Depoitre headed a ball for Alisson to save in the 55th.

The Terriers were actually pretty wasteful, with Steve Mounie missing a point blank chance in the 82nd.

Salah forced a save out of Lossl following a slick turn two minutes from time.

[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]

[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]

Watch Live: Huddersfield Town vs. Liverpool

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By Nicholas MendolaOct 20, 2018, 12:06 PM EDT
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Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk have passed fitness tests and will start for Huddersfield Town at Liverpool on Saturday (Watch live at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and online via NBCSports.com).

WATCH LIVE, ONLINE, HERE

Roberto Firmino is on the bench, while both Naby Keita and Sadio Mane miss out. Adam Lallana gets a rare start for the Reds.

LINEUPS

Huddersfield Town: Lossl, Hogg, Schindler, Hadergjonaj, Durm, Lowe, Zanka, Billing, Mooy, Pritchard, Depoitre. Subs: Hamer, Bacuna, Diakhaby, Van La Parra, Mbenza, Mounie, Stankovic.

Liverpool: Alisson, Gomez, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Henderson, Lallana, Shaqiri, Salah, Sturridge. Subs: Mignolet, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Firmino, Origi, Matip, Alexander-Arnold.

Jurgen Klopp has some hot takes on the UEFA Nations League

AP Photo/Luis Vieira
By Nicholas MendolaOct 19, 2018, 9:30 PM EDT
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Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Jurgen Klopp loves tepid friendlies.

Of course, we’re kidding, but the Liverpool manager is not happy with the new UEFA Nations League, which has amped up matches during international breaks previously reserved for experimental XIs and low-key affairs.

[ MORE: MLS State of Play ]

With Liverpool losing several players to injury — albeit two during Africa Cup of Nations qualifying — Klopp was asked for his opinion on Friday.

The vociferous German did not disappoint. From The Liverpool Echo:

“They say ‘now we have proper games, real opponents and it’s better than having friendlies’, stuff like that. … Maybe people want to see (boxer Anthony) Joshua fighting every second night but it’s not possible. Nobody asks for it in other sports.

“Do we really want opera every night or every two months? That’s the question. We have to be careful. That’s all I said. I like competition of course but at one point someone has to step back and say ‘wait, they are players, I want to watch it, but if they don’t perform then I am angry’. How can we make sure they perform? That’s all I wanted to say.”

Now I’m all for more personalities like Klopp in sports, but I have to say this is about as poor a take as it gets. Do I want any event I watch, let alone pay to see, to be less intense? Nope. Not at all.

Do I like preseason matches, or dead rubber games late in the season? Only in-as-much as they are examples of sports I like. Sorry that your guys are hurt, Jurgen, but no one short of Liverpool fans and other club managers are giving thumbs up to your talk.

I mean, seriously, have you ever watched a game and thought, “I’m glad these guys or girls aren’t trying as hard as they can!” Doesn’t being less tuned into a game provide more chances for someone to get hurt.

I don’t buy it one bit. Anyone in Jurgen’s camp? I’m happy to argue in the comments section.

Premier League Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Liverpool

Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaOct 19, 2018, 3:50 PM EDT
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  • Huddersfield last beat Liverpool in 1959
  • Reds won both 3-0 last season
  • Liverpool winless in four across all comps
  • Reds also unbeaten on PL season

There are few endeavors in which the following sentence can accurately describe time: It’s been both a bit more than 675 minutes and also 56 years since Huddersfield Town last scored a goal against Liverpool.

The Terriers will try to change that, of course, when injury-hit Liverpool visits the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday (Watch live at 12:30 p.m. ET and online via NBCSports.com).

[ MORE: JPW’s Premier League picks ]

The exhaustive web site LFChistory.net tells us that Huddersfield Town carried a 1-0 lead into halftime at Anfield on April 7, 1962, only to see Bill Shankly’s home side equalize and earn a draw.

Since then, the Terriers and Reds have squared off just seven times, and Liverpool has kept its sheets clean (aside from the dust of age). The scores over the ensuing half century-plus? 4-0, 0-0, 2-0, 0-1, 0-2, 3-0, and 3-0.

The good news for the Terriers is there have only been two of those matches in the 21st century, though they were both last season.

The other good news is that the international break was especially menacing to Liverpool, as Virgil Van Dijk, Naby Keita, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane were all injured and only Salah and Van Dijk trained on Thursday.

The bad news is seemingly everything else. The Terriers have not looked much like the side that impressed in last season’s return to the Premier League.

David Wagner‘s men are winless through eight matches and have managed a joint-worst four goals while allowing the second-most goals in the Premier League (17).

What they’re saying

Huddersfield Town’s Erik Durm on Jurgen Klopp’s role in his development: “Jürgen had a big influence on me; he was the first one who told me to start in a defending position because I was a striker before. He came into training and told me ‘I want you to be a defender, left or right-back’, so he had a big influence on my career. I’m very happy that he made this solution and that he saw that I could play in this position.”

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp on rarely used, $57 million Fabinho: “Everyone asks you constantly, why doesn’t he play? There’s one reason, no other. Another player fits better in the slot. As long as there’s a player ahead who is fresh then it’s about the new player to close the gap. It always took time. When you do close the gap, go and make us better. That’s the plan.”

Prediction

This one is way trickier than you’d think. On a normal “Welcome back from international break,” I’d advocate expecting Huddersfield Town to keep it close and maybe even squeeze a point out of it. But Liverpool has been itching to get back on the field, and a bunch of players will see this as an opportunity to make a statement. Reds 3-0 (again).

Injury updates: De Bruyne returns, Keita out, Barkley struggling

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By Joe Prince-WrightOct 19, 2018, 9:04 AM EDT
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Ahead of the Premier League returning this weekend after the international break there is plenty of team news to catch up on.

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Kevin De Bruyne is back fit and available to play for Manchester City after injuring his knee back in August, with Pep Guardiola confirming he is ready for selection against Burnley on Saturday (Watch live, 10 a.m. ET online via NBCSports.com).

The Belgium star was said to be out until the end of November but he is back fully-fit way ahead of schedule.

“I don’t know if he is able to play 90 minutes. He’s trained well last two weeks,” Guardiola confirmed. “He’s such an important player for us. Whenever a player is out, I like it when they come back – we will be stronger.”

So, good news for league leaders and reigning champs Man City.

Not such great news for Chelsea or Liverpool, though.

Ross Barkley, who has been in fine form for Chelsea and England so far this season, has picked up a knock during the international break. Sarri confirmed that Barkley’s issue is a small problem and he will likely be out for a few days, which could mean he misses the clash against Manchester United (Watch live, 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) on Saturday.

“As usual after the national teams we have some problems” Sarri said. “The most serious is with Ethan Ampadu. We have a little problem with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley, which are less serious. Antonio Rudiger has done better in the last two days, like Mateo Kovacic. I think they will be able to play.”

Chelsea’s midfield trio of N'Golo Kante, Barkley and Jorginho have been superb this season with a great balance of defensive and attacking play. That said, having the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Cesc Fabregas to step in isn’t bad at all…

As for Liverpool, their injury situation over the international break has been well documented with Virgil Van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita all picking up knocks.

Keita will not be available to play against Huddersfield Town on Saturday (Watch live, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC online via NBCSports.com) after picking up a hamstring injury.

“We had a session yesterday and a few trained. We’ll have to see how they react, but Naby Keita will not be available for Huddersfield,” Klopp said.

With James Milner battling back early from a hamstring injury he picked up against Manchester City before the break, Liverpool will have plenty of options in midfield. If Mane or Salah aren’t risked either, then Klopp does have the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Xherdan Shaqiri waiting in the wings. The next few weeks will test Liverpool’s squad depth.