{"id":662779,"date":"2026-01-01T05:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=662779"},"modified":"2026-01-01T04:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:29:08","slug":"liverpool-predicted-lineup-vs-leeds-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/01\/01\/liverpool-predicted-lineup-vs-leeds-january\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Predicted Lineup vs Leeds United for 1 January"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool return to Anfield aiming to follow up last week\u2019s narrow win over Wolves with a more convincing display, as they welcome Leeds in the Premier League. That victory, while important, did little to fully dispel concerns, with Liverpool riding their luck at times against a Wolves side still searching for a first league win of the season. This Liverpool predicted lineup vs Leeds is likely to reflect Arne Slot\u2019s continued emphasis on control and structure, rather than wholesale attacking changes.<\/p>\n

Liverpool Predicted Lineup vs Leeds in the Premier League<\/h2>\n

How Liverpool Have Lined Up Recently<\/h3>\n

Slot has stuck with a 4-5-1 shape in recent weeks, a system designed to stabilise Liverpool after a run of games where defensive exposure became a recurring problem. The key feature has been the use of Curtis Jones alongside Ryan Gravenberch as a deeper midfield pairing, effectively giving Liverpool two holding options rather than one.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/strong>: The Best and Worst Liverpool Players to Wear the Number 1 Shirt<\/a><\/p>\n

That extra protection has reduced the space opponents have been able to exploit centrally and has allowed the Reds to manage games with greater restraint. The full-backs have still been encouraged to push on when possible, but the underlying structure has prioritised control over chaos, particularly late in matches.<\/p>\n

Recent Form<\/h3>\n

Liverpool\u2019s recent form has been functional rather than fluent. The win over Wolves delivered three points, but it was far from comfortable, with periods in the second half where an equaliser felt increasingly possible. Defensive concentration wavered, and they struggled at times to kill the game despite territorial dominance.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/strong> Best and Worst Liverpool Players to Wear the Number 7 Shirt<\/a><\/p>\n

That result followed a similar pattern to recent outings; improved organisation, but still a lack of authority in key moments. Hugo Ekitike has continued to provide a focal point in attack, stretching defences and offering a direct outlet, while the midfield\u2019s deeper positioning has helped Liverpool absorb pressure when momentum shifts. Against Leeds, the expectation will be that they impose themselves earlier and avoid another nervy finish.<\/p>\n

Team News and Injuries to Consider<\/h3>\n

The availability picture remains largely unchanged.<\/a> Mohamed Salah is still away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations. Alexander Isak remains sidelined following the ankle injury he sustained against Tottenham, an absence that has ruled him out for the foreseeable future. Joe Gomez is unavailable due to a muscle injury, while Wataru Endo also remains out with an ankle issue.<\/p>\n

Conor Bradley has returned to availability after being a doubt last week, while Dominik Szoboszlai is fit and available again following suspension. Giovanni Leoni continues his recovery from a long-term ACL injury. With no major returns expected elsewhere, Slot is likely to prioritise continuity, particularly in midfield where recent adjustments have brought greater balance.<\/p>\n

Liverpool Predicted Lineup<\/h3>\n

GK: Alisson
\nRB: Bradley
\nCB: Konate
\nCB: Van Dijk
\nLB: Robertson
\nRM: Frimpong
\nCM: Jones
\nCM: Gravenberch
\nAM: Szoboszlai
\nLM: Wirtz
\nST: Ekitike<\/p>\n

Featured Image Credit<\/strong><\/p>\n

IMAGO \/ Isosport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liverpool return to Anfield aiming to follow up last week\u2019s narrow win over Wolves with a more convincing display, as they welcome Leeds in the Premier League. That victory, while important, did little to fully dispel concerns, with Liverpool riding their luck at times against a Wolves side still searching for a first league win […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5631,"featured_media":637358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,16,1831],"tags":[9626],"class_list":["post-662779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-premier-league","category-liverpool","category-starting-line-up","tag-liverpool-predicted-lineup"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662779"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":662789,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662779\/revisions\/662789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}