Liverpool head to Wales on the back of an 18-match run without defeat; a win could see the Reds back up to third, while hosts Swansea are rock bottom of the Premier League.
Happy hunting
Last season on this ground Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1. Leroy Fer scored for the hosts before Roberto Firmino and a late James Milner penalty clinched a Reds victory.
The sides last met on Boxing Day when Liverpool won 5-0 at Anfield.
Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring—his last goal for the club— and Roberto Firmino netted twice, with Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring his first Anfield goal and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completing the rout late on.
Dejan Lovren scored his first Liverpool goal against Swansea in a 2-1 League Cup victory at Anfield in October 2014—a 95th minute winner.
Jordan Henderson has scored more league goals against Swansea (three) than he has done for Liverpool against any other team.
Adam Lallana has scored twice in a game for Liverpool on two occasions in his career—the first coming in the 4-1 home win over Swansea in December 2014.
Virgil van Dijk‘s first goal in English football came against Swansea in Southampton‘s 3-0 home win in September 2015.
Goal trail
Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane have scored 50 goals between them for Liverpool during this campaign in league and cup.
Salah has found the net in 13 of his last 18 Liverpool appearances (18 goals in that time), while Sadio Mane has scored in two of the Reds’ last three games.
Roberto Firmino has netted 10 times in his last 11 starts.
50 goals have been scored in the Reds’ 11 away league games this season.
Salah chasing records
Mo Salah has scored nine away goals in the top-flight this season. Only three times in the Premier League era has that total been beaten by a Liverpool player.
Salah’s nine away goals have come in 10 appearances.
He has has scored 18 top-flight goals this season; in the Premier League era only four different players have scored 20 in a league season for the Reds—Robbie Fowler (twice), Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez (twice) and Daniel Sturridge.
Unbeaten run
Jurgen Klopp‘s men are unbeaten in the last six away from home in the league (five wins and a draw) scoring 21 and conceding six.
Avoid defeat tonight and it will be the first time since the end of the 2013-14 campaign (when they went nine) that they have gone seven away league games in succession undefeated.
The Reds are looking to record a sixth successive win in all games—a feat never achieved before under Jurgen Klopp.
They could also win a fifth successive league game for the first time since Klopp took charge in October 2015.
The Reds are unbeaten in 14 league games and in 18 in all competitions. Not since October 2008 have they gone as many in league and cup without suffering defeat.
Battling the drop
This is Swansea’s seventh season in the Premier League. Last season’s finish (15th) was their worst.
Swansea were bottom of the table on Christmas Day—only 3 clubs have ever survived relegation from the Premier League despite being bottom at Christmas: West Brom 2004-05, Sunderland 2013-14 and Leicester 2014-15.
Carlos Carvalhal was appointed 2 days after the loss at Anfield last month.
His first game in charge brought a 2-1 win at Watford followed by a 2-0 home defeat to Spurs and a 1-1 draw at Newcastle.
Swansea have won one of the last 20 Premier League meetings against the ‘big six’—at Anfield a year ago when they won 3-2. They have drawn 4 and lost 15 of the other 19.
They have kept one clean sheet in the last 10 league games—in the home win over West Brom.
Home discomforts
The Welshmen have scored more than one goal in one of the last 15 league games, winning just two of those.
At home in the league this season they have won twice.
They have lost seven at the Liberty Stadium—no team has suffered more home defeats in the top flight.
In front of their home fans they have scored six times in 11 league games, the lowest tally of any top-flight team.
In the last 6 home league games they have scored twice.
Scorers this season
Liverpool: Salah 24, Firmino 17, Coutinho 12, Mane 9, Can 4, Oxlade-Chamberlain 4, Alexander-Arnold 3, Sturridge 3, own goals 2, Henderson 1, Klavan 1, Lovren 1, Matip 1, Milner 1, Van Dijk 1, Wijnaldum 1
Swansea: Ayew 7, Abraham 5, Bony 3, Fer 3, Mawson 2, Clucas 1, Narsingh 1
* Stats courtesy of LFC statistician Ged Rea.
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