2 weeks Ago
The Portugal international is expected to be promoted to the first XI for the clash with the Championship's basement boys, having only been a late substitute in Thursday's 4-0 EFL Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur . Jota's 18-minute cameo at Anfield in midweek marked his first appearance for Liverpool in three weeks, as the 28-year-old had previously missed four Premier League and Champions League matches with a muscular injury. A previous abdominal problem has also hampered Jota's 2024-25 campaign, but the Portuguese has displayed his well-documented ruthless touch when fully fit, netting eight goals in 20 matches this season.
Jota will now endeavour to come good once again in the FA Cup, a tournament where he has either scored or assisted in all three of his away games so far, excluding semi-finals and finals taking place at Wembley. © Imago The attacker's debut match in the competition came in a third-round replay for Wolverhampton Wanderers away to Swansea City in 2018, where he found the back of the net but could not prevent Wolves from suffering a 2-1 defeat. Jota then had to wait over four years for his next 'official' away match in the FA Cup, which took place in the 2021-22 quarter-finals, but he nevertheless scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool trumped Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground.
Last season, the former Wolves man also had a direct hand in Liverpool's 2-0 third-round success over Arsenal at the Emirates, laying on the assist for Luis Diaz to seal the win in injury time after Jakub Kiwior 's own goal. Jota was also on target in this season's 4-0 third-round win over Accrington Stanley at Anfield, keeping up his prolific exploits in the FA Cup both home and away, as he has now been directly involved in 10 goals in 12 matches in the competition. The 28-year-old has netted six strikes of his own while also providing four assists in the FA Cup, and he has either scored or set up a teammate in his last three matches in the tournament, last drawing a blank in the 2021-22 final win over Chelsea.
© Imago Jota's penchant for FA Cup contributions could go a long way to helping Liverpool end a peculiar competition curse, as they have previously played three FA Cup games on February 9 and have lost all of them. That hoodoo began all the way back in the 1900-01 tournament, when they were subjected to a 2-0 defeat to Notts County, 71 years before they were also sent packing by Leeds United in the 1971-72 edition. The Reds' run in the 2015-16 FA Cup - Jurgen Klopp 's first - also came to an end on February 9, as Angelo Ogbonna headed home a Dimitri Payet free kick in extra time to send West Ham United through at Liverpool's expense.
However, the Merseyside giants have fond memories of their last trip to Home Park, edging out Plymouth 1-0 in a 2016-17 third-round replay thanks to a solitary Lucas Leiva effort after being held to a goalless draw at Anfield..
