Liverpool are among 12 teams who play twice in Double Gameweek 29 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
With their final blank of 2022/23 behind them and another double to come in Gameweek 34, the Reds are back on the FPL radar.
But is Gameweek 29 one round too early?
Jurgen Klopp’s side contest two away fixtures in the upcoming Gameweek – and they have won only three times on the road this season.
And they’re not just any old away matches in Gameweek 29, being as they are against Manchester City and Chelsea.
In this article, we delve into the numbers to see if their travel sickness is just an anomaly or a cause for concern.
“Concerned, yeah, I see it. I think with the home games we are top four, if I’m right. With the away games we are not even in Europe. There is always a reason for the situation you are in and our away record is for sure [one of them]. We could have had more points at home as well – or maybe should have. Away, definitely. It was a big strength of us in the last years, it made a real difference between, but that’s how it is when you are successful, when you do the things consistently in the right way, with the quality we have, we have a good chance to win away or get away results as well. This season not often enough. It’s a clear point, to be honest.” – Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool’s away form, speaking after 1-0 reverse to Bournemouth in Gameweek 27
LIVERPOOL’S AWAY RECORD: 2022/23 v PAST SEASONS
| 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | |
| Played | 13 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Won | 3 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 13 |
| Drawn | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| Lost | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Goals scored | 13 | 45 | 39 | 33 | 34 |
| Goals conceded | 20 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 12 |
| Points | 12 | 43 | 36 | 44 | 44 |
Liverpool were winless on the road until Gameweek 15, while their only away victory of this calendar year came against 10-man Newcastle United in February.
Trips to lowly Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Everton have not only seen the Reds fail to win but also fail to score.
Even if they are victorious in all of their remaining fixtures on the road, they’ll still finish with their worst away points tally since 2015/16.
LIVERPOOL’S AWAY DEFENSIVE STATS: 2022/23 v PAST SEASONS
| 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | |
| Shots conceded | 11.2 (4th) | 8.6 (2nd) | 9.2 (3rd) | 8.9 (2nd) | 9.6 (2nd) |
| Shots in the box conceded | 8.6 (7th) | 5.7 (3rd) | 6.2 (3rd) | 6.1 (2nd) | 5.7 (2nd) |
| Shots on target conceded | 4.8 (9th) | 3.2 (3rd) | 3.6 (4th) | 2.6 (1st) | 2.9 (2nd) |
| Big chances conceded | 3.3 (20th) | 1.6 (6th) | 2.3 (15th) | 1.9 (9th) | 1.1 (2nd) |
| Expected goals conceded (xGC) | 1.7 (15th) | 1.1 (4th) | 1.2 (7th) | 1.1 (3rd) | 0.8 (2nd) |
| Non-penalty expected goals conceded (NPxGC) | 1.5 (15th) | 1.1 (4th) | 1.1 (4th) | 1.1 (4th) | 0.8 (2nd) |
Above: Underlying numbers for Liverpool’s defence on the road in 2022/23. All figures are ‘per match’.
The big concern is at the back – and if you’ve watched Liverpool at any point this season, that won’t come as a shock.
Liverpool are rock-bottom for big chances conceded on their travels in 2022/23, while they rank 15th for xGC. In every department have they deteriorated from the previous seasons listed above, from plain old shots conceded to NPxGC.
Were it not for Alisson (£5.4m), the damage could have been even worse. The Brazilian shot-stopper has been responsible for preventing 3.1 xG in away fixtures this season:
Above: FPL goalkeepers sorted by expected goals prevented (xGP) in away matches this season.
Not that things have been much better at Anfield.
The Reds are ranked a poor joint-18th for big chances conceded in home fixtures, although their rate of xGC is the division’s sixth-best. In short: they may not be conceding tonnes of shots but the chances they do allow are high-quality in nature.
LIVERPOOL’S AWAY ATTACKING STATS: 2022/23 v PAST SEASONS
