Team
Dominik Szoboszlai returned from suspension and Conor Bradley and Andy Robertson were brought back in to the XI as Arne Slot made three changes.
Liverpool: Alisson, Bradley (Chiesa, 79), Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson (Kerkez, 66), Gravenberch, Jones (Mac Allister, 66), Szoboszlai, Frimpong (Ngumoha, 84), Wirtz (Gakpo, 66), Ekitike.
Unused subs: Mamardashvili, Ramsay, Nyoni, Lucky.
First half
A couple of Leeds set-pieces passed by without incident in the earliest phases of football at Anfield in the New Year.
In response, Lucas Perri had to shovel out a low left-footer from Hugo Ekitike, who had combined with Curtis Jones and chopped inside Gabriel Gudmundsson.
Liverpool were thwarted, and aggrieved, on 14 minutes.
Ibrahima Konate’s hoist over the top sprung Ekitike and he reached the area and nudged the ball across to Florian Wirtz, amid insisting he had been wrestled down by Jaka Bijol.
Wirtz’s close-range finish was blocked at the last, too, with the recovering James Justin in the way.
Ethan Ampadu failed to capitalise upon an errant Alisson Becker pass out of his box, the Leeds captain’s strike back towards a partly exposed net gratefully scooped in by the goalkeeper.
Ekitike then misjudged a header from a rasped Jeremie Frimpong delivery into the middle.
But the half-time whistle arrived with neither team having produced a major threat on the opposition’s clean sheet.
