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Leeds United vs Liverpool: Can Jurgen Klopp's Reds do the league double?

Jurgen Klopp's men have found their rhythm in away games and can bring the hosts back down to earth at Elland Road

When: Monday, April 19, 20:00 BST

How to watch: Sky Sports Main Event

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Best bets

Liverpool to win 3-1 at 12/1 (BetVictor)

Diogo Jota to score anytime at 5/4 (Paddy Power)

Nat Phillips to score anytime at 16/1 (Paddy Power)

Can Marcelo Bielsa mastermind another famous win?

Those who watched Leeds' bold and brave brand of football in the Championship were hopeful that it could take them places in the Premier League too after such a long absence.
They got their answer in the very first match of the season with Marcelo Bielsa's team playing without fear at Anfield and winning immediate praise after a 4-3 defeat.

Soon, Leeds were becoming a must-watch and that's continued throughout the campaign: sometimes they've been brilliant; sometimes it hasn't clicked at all despite the relentless running.

The black or white nature of their results and nothing much in between shows neatly in Leeds' record: 14 wins, 14 losses and a league-low three draws.
But 10th place for a promoted side is a fantastic effort and they host Liverpool on the back of their biggest achievement so far - a win at champions elect Manchester City.
A normal side would have been buried after being reduced to 10 men in the first half. Bielsa, though, thought differently. He ensured Leeds would still offer an attacking presence out wide and got his reward via a late Stuart Dallas winner.
The Elland Road outfit have now won three on the spin, their best sequence of the season.

Last three meetings

Liverpool 4-3 Leeds (September 12, 2020)

Leeds faced a baptism of fire on their return to the Premier League - an away trip to the team that had swept all before them in the previous season when winning the title by 18 points. But despite Liverpool going ahead after just four minutes, Leeds pushed them all the way in a seven-goal thriller.

Three times Liverpool took the lead through Salah (4, 33) and Virgil van Dijk (20) but three times Leeds pulled level through Jack Harrison (12), Patrick Bamford (30) and Mateusz Klich (66).

In the end, the hosts needed a second Salah penalty which completed his hat-trick to sneak over the line. At the time, it took Liverpool's unbeaten home league record to a massive 60 games, 49 of those wins.

Liverpool 2-0 Leeds (November 29, 2016)

A game that threatened to unveil a new star as Ben Woodburn became Liverpool's youngest ever scorer at 17 years and 45 days. Sadly, his career has stalled.

This was a League Cup quarter-final tie, with Leeds a Championship side at the time. The Reds rotated but were still expected to cruise to victory.

It didn't work out that way as Leeds, then managed by Garry Monk, dug in before Klopp's men finally got over the line with goals in the last 15 minutes from Divock Origi (76) and Woodburn (81). Kemar Roofe had hit a post for the visitors with the score at 0-0.

Leeds 0-1 Liverpool (September 22, 2009)

It's more than 11 years since Liverpool last played at Elland Road and - this would make a good quiz question - the scorer of the only goal that night was... Frenchman David Ngog.

Leeds hoped Jermaine Beckford might be the man to stun the Reds but he had an effort ruled out for offside and also missed a sitter. Leeds, then in the third tier, had won 15 home League One games on the trot going into the game against Rafa Benitez's men so were far from pushovers.

Last 10 head-to-head games

Liverpool wins: 7

Draws: 2

Leeds wins: 1

Liverpool scored: 22

Leeds scored: 10

Liverpool ramping up top four bid

Liverpool's season has been simplified.
They've spent most if it hoping that Europe could somehow still provide a fairytale ending in this most challenging of seasons but that storyline has now been scrubbed out.

The Reds were decent enough in the second leg against Real Madrid at Anfield, having some decent chances in a 0-0 draw.

But the damage was done via a sloppy performance in Spain when Real ran out 3-1 winners and could easily have triumphed by a bigger margin.
The frustrating part of that for Liverpool is that it was at odds with most of their other away form over the past few months.

Previously, Klopp's men had been stuttering badly on the road after a run of four wins, six draws and five defeats in 15 league outings away from Anfield.

That changed with a 3-1 win at Tottenham and since that victory in London the Merseysiders have picked up maximum points in five of their last six away games.

It's their road form that is fuelling a late bid to sneak a top-four slot and secure a return to next season's Champions League.

And with Leicester and Chelsea on FA Cup duty this weekend, the Reds could conceivably end Monday night just a point back from third place.

Liverpool's last five results

Wolves 0-1 Liverpool (Jota)

Arsenal 0-3 Liverpool (Jota 2, Salah)

Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool (Salah)

Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa (Salah, Alexander-Arnold)
Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid

Scoreline prediction: Leeds 1-3 Liverpool

It's easy to think that trying to predict what Leeds will come up with is nigh on impossible.

Results-wise it's all or nothing. In fact, the outcome is almost always decided by who nets the opener. If Leeds score first, they win; if Leeds concede first, they lose.

But maybe there's another pattern that helps form an opinion.

When Leeds do have a significant result, they often come down to earth next time out.

Some examples: a superb 3-0 win at Aston Villa followed by a 4-1 home loss to Leicester; a 1-0 win at Everton and then a disappointing display in a 3-1 defeat at Chelsea; a 5-2 thrashing of Newcastle before a 6-2 loss to Manchester United; a 5-0 romp at West Brom followed by a 3-0 defeat by Spurs; an excellent 3-1 win away to Leicester and then a 2-1 home reversal at the hands of Everton.

Logic suggests a 2-1 win at Manchester City should fuel another great performance; on the evidence we've seen so far it's more likely to lead to a disappointment.

On the plus side for Leeds, they've had nine days off but, overall, I'll go with Liverpool to continue their hot away form.

Liverpool have netted three times in the wins at Spurs, West Ham and Arsenal so can score freely on the road. They've registered 29 goals in 15 games on their travels compared to 24 in 16 at Anfield.

Leeds have a similar pattern: 28 away goals is joint fifth best but just 21 at home is only joint 10th best.
There should be goals on Monday night but I'm going to take Liverpool to score the majority of them and claim a 3-1 win at 12/1 with BetVictor.

Best goalscorer bets

Diogo Jota came off the bench against Real Madrid but could be wheeled out from the start here.

The Portuguese has been an instant hit for the Reds since his move from Wolves and it's worth noting that 10 of his last 11 goals for club and country have come away from home.

He'll get chances against this Leeds defence and he's a sharp finisher. Take the 5/4 for an anytime goal.

Leeds fans tend to close their eyes at set-pieces so I'll have a speculative bet on Liverpool's best header of the ball, defender Nat Phillips.

He's done a solid job as a stand-in centre-back, gaining in confidence all the time, and Liverpool's corner takers will be aiming for him. Phillips is 16s to score.

READ MORE: Can Liverpool's Mo Salah repeat his hat-trick heroics against Leeds United?

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