Liverpool vs. Leeds United: Why Reds must "make hay when the sun shines" to win top-four race against Chelsea and Man United

Liverpool must continue winning games as tougher matches in the Premier League are around the corner that could damage their hopes of top four, Reds expert David Lynch has warned.

The Merseysiders will begin the new year with a home clash against Leeds United at Anfield on Thursday, and they will be looking for their fifth win in a row, as well as their fourth consecutive triumph in the top flight.

Victory would move Arne Slot's side five points ahead of both fifth-placed Chelsea and sixth-placed Manchester United, and they would only be four points behind third-placed Aston Villa.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch insisted that the Reds have benefitted from a kind fixture schedule, but that will soon change, saying: "You've got to make hay when the sun shines because Liverpool are on a kind of run of fixtures.

"That Arsenal game is coming around quickly and that's a game you could easily see Liverpool losing. If Chelsea and Man United win that weekend, then all of a sudden the scenario flips and you're in a different position.

"You've got to win as many of these games as possible. They have been on a slightly easier run after a horrible start to the season, but that easier run will balance itself out and there will be more difficult games to come. Liverpool have to pick up points against a relegation candidate."

Liverpool face Fulham on Sunday but will face Arsenal at the Emirates on January 8, before playing Newcastle United and Manchester City in two of their subsequent four league games.

Will Liverpool cope with the threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin?

When Liverpool faced the visitors in the reverse fixture on December 6, they were held to a 3-3 draw, with Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring a penalty.

The Englishman's physicality has proven difficult to deal with over the last weeks, with the forward scoring in each of his last six games.

Lynch argued that Liverpool will have to be wary about the threat of Calvert-Lewin from set pieces, telling Sports Mole: "If Calvert-Lewin hadn't scored the penalty at the moment in the other game, it may have been a different outcome.

"You could say the same if Liverpool hadn't conceded from a set piece, something that's such a massive weakness at the moment and something [Calvert-Lewin] is strong at.

"If Liverpool produce a similar performance but don't give away a crazy penalty and keep a clean sheet, and defend from set pieces as a number one priority, I would expect that they should win and win comfortably."

Set-piece coach Aaron Briggs was relieved of his duties earlier this week, and it is not surprising given the club have conceded 12 times from dead-ball situations in the Premier League (excluding penalties), the most in the division after 18 matchweeks.

Do Liverpool have a problem in their forward line?

The Reds are currently unbeaten in their past seven matches in all competitions, though they have had to sacrifice elements of their attacking play in order to improve at the back.

Liverpool have also been dealing with numerous injuries and enforced absences from the XI, with the likes of Alexander Isak and Mohamed Salah unavailable for Thursday's clash.

Lynch was optimistic that the club's available attackers would have enough to create numerous chances, when he told Sports Mole: "Florian Wirtz is starting to click, Ekitike is a massive threat. They've got Gakpo back as an option.

"Frimpong is contributing now, Dominik Szoboszlai can now come back into the team. I really do think that this is a game that Liverpool can win comfortably. They've got it in them to beat Leeds 3-0, but they've got to do better from set pieces."

Wirtz scored his first goal for Liverpool when the Reds beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday, and he has started to look more at home in the Premier League.

> Click here to listen to the full discussion on Liverpool's match against Leeds United