3 Key Battles For Sunderland vs. Liverpool: Coates To Keep Benteke Quiet?

Sunderland vs Liverpool: 3 Key Battles

Liverpool finally got back to winning ways with their 1-0 victory over Leicester City. The win was an important one for the Reds and manager Jurgen Klopp as the club had not registered a victory since the demolition of Southampton 6-1 in the League Cup more than a month ago.

The games come thick and fast in the festive period and Liverpool will now have to travel to take on Sunderland who lost their last game 4-1 against Manchester City. The Black Cats will be hopeful of a better performance against a club that is still trying to find its feet under new manager Jurgen Klopp.

Sam Allardyce could play the ex-player card with Fabio Borini, who spent a couple of years at Liverpool before making his move to Sunderland permanent at the start of the season and there could be a few more interesting battles taking place all across the pitch at the Stadium of Light.

1. Jermain Defoe vs. Dejan Lovren

The former Tottenham striker returned to England after a stint in the MLS and well it seems that he hasn’t lost any of his goal scoring ability. The 33-year-old still has great pace and finishing and can stretch any defence on any given day.

The task will be tough for Defoe as he would have to take on Dejan Lovren, who seems to be Liverpool’s best defender and was the Man-of-the-match against Leicester. The Croatian has been brilliant since Klopp came into the club and could well put up another solid display away from home.

2. Sebastian Coates vs. Christian Benteke

While one ex-player could score against Liverpool, another might want to keep things tight at the back. Despite Sam Allardyce signing to manage the team, the defence hasn’t been the best for the team and Sebastian Coates would have to be on his guard against his old club.

The Uruguayan defender would have to deal with Christian Benteke, who scored an important goal in their 1-0 win and will start once again after the injury sustained by Divock Origi against Leicester. Benteke will have the bit between his teeth as he takes on the Sunderland defence and he could bully them into making a mistake where he ends up with the ball in the back of the net.

3. Yann M’Vila vs. Jordan Henderson

There was a time when Liverpool were trying to get the services of M’Vila but Sunderland somehow managed to sign the combative midfielder and he has been one of the highest rated players for the Black Cats. M’Vila has a rating of 7.24 based on stats from Whoscored.com and will look to disrupt the Liverpool midfield on Wednesday.

Liverpool though have a midfielder who seems to be getting back on track after an injury plagued season so far. Jordan Henderson might not be the creative element in Liverpool’s team but he is the heartbeat of the midfield and his endless running could have a huge role to play as the team look to make it back-to-back wins under Jurgen Klopp.