Sunderland vs Liverpool live: Latest score and updates after Jermain Defoe's penalty equaliser
A look ahead to the Premier League fixture at the Stadium of Light
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool can close the gap on league leaders Chelsea with victory over struggling Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Jurgen Klopp’s side appear to be the main challengers to Antonio Conte’s west London juggernaut and can go to within six points of the pacesetters on Monday.
Sunderland were woeful in their 4-1 defeat to Burnley on Saturday and increasingly seem doomed to life in the Championship next season.
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It’s a big game for…
Simon Mignolet: The Liverpool shot-stopper has been the subject of some criticism this season and will hope to silence his critics when he returns to the Stadium of Light.
Despite letting that Jon Walters header beat him at his near post against Stoke, the Belgian kept a clean sheet in the big match against Manchester City on New Year’s Eve.
Best stat…
9: Liverpool are unbeaten against Sunderland in nine games with the last time the Black Cats coming out on top being a 1-0 win in 2012.
Remember when…
Darren Bent scored the winner in a 1-0 win against Liverpool after getting a big hand by a very unusual object – a beachball.
The ball was thrown on to the pitch by a fan and diverted Bent’s shot past the helpless Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal.
Prediction
Player to watch…
Adam Lallana: The attacking-midfielder looks invigorated this season, after taking him some while to settle on Merseyside.
Lallana is Liverpool’s second top goalscorer in the league this season, bagging seven goals but he’s also managed to rack up seven assists too, making him a pivotal member of this Liverpool side. Sunderland will have to prioritise keeping him quite to try to quell the visitors’ attacks.
Past three meetings…
Liverpool 2 (Origi, Milner) Sunderland 0
Premier League, November 2016
Liverpool 2 (Firmino, Lallana) Sunderland 2 (Johnson, Defoe)
Premier League, February 2016
Sunderland 0 Liverpool 1 (Benteke)
Premier League, December 2015
Form guide…
Sunderland: WLLWLL
Liverpool: LDWWWW
Vital information…
Kick-off time: 15:00
TV: Highlights on Match of the Day, BBC One, Monday 2 January 10.30pm
Odds…
Sunderland to win: 9/1
Liverpool to win: 7/20
Draw: 9/2
I'm off to bleach my eyeballs. In the meantime, here's the team news from today's three o'clockers.
Everton v Southampton
Everton: Robles, Baines, Funes Mori, Williams, Coleman, Gana, Davies, Lennon, Barkley, Calvert-Lewin, Lukaku
Subs: Hewelt, Jagielka, Mirallas, Cleverley, Barry, Valencia, Holgate
Southampton: Forster, Cedric, Yoshida, Fonte, McQueen, Clasie, Romeu, Watd-Prowse, Tadic, Redmond, Rodriguez
Subs: Lewis, Long, Davis, Reed, Boufal, Bertrand, Stephens
Referee: Kevin Friend
Manchester City v Burnley
Manchester City: Bravo, Sagna, Kolarov, Otamendi, Clichy, Navas, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Toure, Sterling, Iheanacho
Subs: Caballero, Zabaleta, Nolito, Aguero, Silva, Stones, Garcia
Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Hendrick, Arfield, Gudmundsson, Barnes, Gray
Subs: Robinson, Defour, Darikwa, O’Neill, Bamford, Robinson, Tawkowksi, Vokes
Referee: Lee Mason
Sunderland v Liverpool
Sunderland: Mannone, Love, Van Aanhold, Djilbodji, O’Shea, Larsson, Ndong, Rodwell, Januzaj, Borini, Defoe
Subs: Mika, Khazri, Manquillo, Honeyman, Maja, Embleton, Ledger
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Klavan, Milner, Can, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Mane, Firmino, Sturridge
Subs: Karius, Moreno, Lucas, Origi, Stewart, Alexander-Arnold, Ejaria
Referee: Anthony Taylor
West Brom v Hull
West Brom: Foster, Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Brunt, Yacob, Fletcher, Phillips, Morrison, Chadli, Rondon
Subs: Myhill; Nyom, Olsson, Robson-Kanu, Gardner, McClean, Galloway
Hull: Marshall, Maguire, Davies, Dawson, Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Clucas, Snodgrass, Mbokani, Diomande
Subs: Jakupovic, Robertson, Meyler, Maloney, Weir, Henriksen, Mason
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
This is your ten-minute warning. Four more Premier League games are imminent and they include opportunities for both Manchester City and Liverpool to increase the pressure on Chelsea with the Blues not in action until Wednesday.
We'll have news of every goal, LOL and pivotal moment as they happen.
KICK-OFF: Whistles are blown simultaneously, and we are underway at Goodison Park, the Etihad Stadium, the Stadium of Light and the Hawthorns.
4 mins: Everton 0 Southampton 0: On Soccer Saturday, Alan McInally is reporting that Southampton are currently down to ten men with Cedric receiving treatment after colliding with a metal chair. Ma Gawd! Book him in for WrestleMania.
9 mins: Sunderland 0 Liverpool 0: "Sunderland are under the cosh," remarks Charlie Nicholas almost everyone at some point. A neat Liverpool move ends with Daniel Sturridge sliding an effort across goal that Vito Mannone is required to flick around the post. Good shot, good save.
19 mins: GOAL! SUNDERLAND 0 LIVERPOOL 1:
Liverpool lead and it had been coming! An outswinging James Milner corner from the left was met by Dejan Lovren. On the volley but not the fullest of connections, the ball spun into the ground and hung in the air above the six-yard box. Reacting quickest was Daniel Sturridge, who twisted on the spot before expertly looping a header beyond Vito Mannone in the Sunderland goal.
21 mins: GOAL! WEST BROM 0 HULL 1:
Another goal that had been coming, but this one is more of a surprise. Robert Snodgrass has struggling Hull City in the lead, the Scot sliding in a volley after Ahmed Elmohamady had centred from the right. As it stands, the Tigers move above Sunderland and level with Crystal Palace.
25 mins: PENALTY! GOAL! SUNDERLAND 1 LIVERPOOL 1:
Jermain Defoe levels it up at the Stadium of Light from the spot. David Moyes' team have forced a number of chances despite falling behind, and when Ragnar Klavan dived in on Didier N'Dong, Anthony Taylor had no hesitation in pointing for a penalty.
Defoe stepped up and powered a right-footed shot low past former Sunderland stopper Simon Mignolet into the bottom left corner.
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