Liverpool face Ipswich at Anfield in the Premier League with the hosts looking to consolidate their position at the top of the table.
Arne Slot’s side begin the day six points ahead of Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in a campaign that has seen them stay strong as rivals have faltered. A perfect Champions League record was preserved by victory against Lille in midweek, with a deep squad showing its worth as Slot’s substitutions provide consistent impact.
Their opponents this afternoon are a struggling Ipswich still reeling from a heavy 6-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend – and things don’t get any easier here. Kieran McKenna’s side occupy 18th place in the table, below Wolves on goal difference, in what looks a developing three-way fight to avoid joining Southampton in dropping to the Championship. An upset win here would certainly boost the visitors’ hopes of staving off relegation.
Follow all of the latest from Anfield in our live blog below:
Liverpool vs Ipswich LIVE
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Liverpool face Ipswich in the Premier League, with kick-off at 3pm
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The Reds have a six-point lead at the top after last week’s win over Brentford
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Ipswich lost 6-0 to Manchester City in their previous outing and are 18th in the table
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Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
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Ipswich XI: Walton; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves; Burns, Morsy, Phillips, Davis; Hutchinson, Delap, Philogene
Liverpool FC – Ipswich Town FC
Virgil van Dijk makes 300th Liverpool appearance
14:06 , Will Castle
Big day for Reds skipper Virgil van Dijk, who hits the 300-appearance milestone for the club.
In that time, Van Dijk has won 208 games, drawn 47 and lost 44. An incredible record for one of the league’s greatest ever defenders.
Arne Slot’s dad unimpressed by son’s success
14:03 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot may have lost only two matches all season but there are still occasions when he cannot impress his dad.
The Dutchman regularly calls his father Arend after matches but following the 2-1 midweek Champions League win over Lille, which extended their 100 per cent record in the competition to seven matches, Slot senior was not particularly impressed.
It would have been difficult to match the drama of the two goals in stoppage time which secured the Premier League leaders’ victory at Brentford last weekend but Slot’s dad felt the team should have been more adventurous against the Ligue 1 side.
However, Slot, whose remarkable maiden season has seen him win 26 of 33 matches with just one Premier League defeat, said patience will be important as he expects struggling Ipswich to pose a tough test at Anfield.
“It is difficult for fans and my father is a fan as well,” he said.
“When I called him after the game he says, ‘ah, it wasn’t as exciting as other games of Liverpool’ when he watched the game against Lille.
“I had to try to explain to him these games you can easily lose if you are starting to force all kinds of difficult balls but he’s not always agreeing with me then.”
Philogene makes Ipswich debut
13:56 , Will Castle
Kieran McKenna has handed Jaden Philogene his debut in an Ipswich shirt following his move from Aston Villa earlier this month.
Can the tricky winger help throw a spanner in the works of Liverpool’s title push?
Liverpool vs Ipswich team news
13:51 , Luke Baker
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Diaz, Salah, Gakpo.
Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Elliott, Tsimikas, Danns, Quansah, Bradley.
Ipswich XI: Walton, Burns, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy, Phillips, Hutchinson, Philogene, Delap.
Subs: Muric, Johnson, Godfrey, Townsend, Luongo, Taylor, Broadhead, Enciso, Hirst.
Team news on the way…
13:40 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The XIs are imminent at Anfield. How much rotation will Arne Slot feel he needs?
Kieran McKenna says Ipswich still on the hunt for additions
13:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Kieran McKenna says Ipswich are still in the market to improve their starting XI during the remainder of the January window.
Ipswich signed Julio Enciso on loan from fellow Premier League side Brighton on Thursday.
Manager McKenna insists any further signings will need to improve the starting line-up.
“We’ll have to wait and see. Look, we’ll go to the last day and try to improve the squad in any way possible,” he told reporters.
“We have enough depth in the squad. It’s only if we can add players who we think can have a really big impact on the starting XI or the matchday squad and improve us over the remaining games.
“If we can do that, we’ll do it. If that’s not possible we have good depth, everyone’s on board and everyone’s hungry.”
Liverpool labelled ‘best team in the world’ after maintaining Champions League perfection
13:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The Champions League win over Lille prompted high praise from visiting forward Jonathan David – and it’s hard to argue with the Canadian’s declaration:
Liverpool labelled ‘best team in the world’ amid Champions League dominance
Arne Slot explains Liverpool’s new problem: ‘All of them are in a low block’
12:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Liverpool are having to find solutions, though, as teams figure out Slot’s style, as the manager articulated last weekend.
Slot explains Liverpool’s new problem: ‘All of them are in a low block’
How Liverpool’s squad was expertly built – and why Arne Slot is now reaping the rewards
12:35 , Richard Jolly
Liverpool haven’t had it all their own way of late, relying on their replacements to help them out of tough moments. But it goes to show the strength of a squad built over a long period – and one which Arne Slot is really beginning to hone…
Liverpool’s squad was expertly built – and Arne Slot is reaping the rewards
Liverpool vs Ipswich LIVE
Friday 24 January 2025 15:37 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s LIVE coverage of Liverpool vs Ipswich, a meeting of two clubs at either end of the Premier League table. Arne Slot’s hosts are top of the tree both domestically and in Europe and will bid to keep their title charge rolling against relegation-threatened visitors.
Kick off at Anfield is at 3pm GMT.
Read the full article here