Sheffield Utd (Bramall Lane) - Match Preview & Discussion Thread (December 6)

Liverpool are back on the road with a trip to Sheffield for Wednesday's Premier League clash with Paul Heckingbottom's side.

Match Preview and Metrics

Liverpool’s first of three consecutive away matches begins with a trip to Bramall Lane on Wednesday evening.

Curtis Jones and a Kean Bryan own goal gave Liverpool a 2-0 win on their last visit to Bramall Lane back in February 2021.

Ratings Performance Index

Update from PT: on the morning of the match, this is the Ratings Performance Index table. As you can see, Arsenal have had the easiest games so far based on opposition points per game, and duly face Aston Villa, Brighton and Liverpool in their next three games.

Even if the Reds beat Sheffield United tonight, their RPI score will fall because they’re playing the worst team (albeit you can’t factor in the new-manager bounce difficulty, other than Liverpool are the first team to play someone with a brand-new manager.)

I colour-coded the top 10 on RPI scores for Opponent PPG, to show the contrast between teams playing under 1.30ppg and over 1.30ppg. Man City have had the 2nd-easiest fixtures; and again, this doesn’t take into account home and away, with Liverpool having gone to City, Spurs, Newcastle and Brighton, as well as Chelsea.

Weirdly, Liverpool are yet to play any of the promoted sides at home; and none of the title contenders has had to contend with Anfield.

This match preview, and all commenting, is for paying Main Hub subscribers only.

Please also use this thread to discuss the weekend’s Premier League games.