Carra nears Liddell landmark

Jamie Carragher's next league appearance will see him play his 493rd league game in a Liverpool shirt. He will overtake Billy Liddell and move into outright second place in the list of most league appearances for the club.

In the 23 Barclays Premier League games between the clubs, Liverpool have won 12, drawn eight and lost three.

The 11 Premier League meetings at Anfield have produced five Liverpool wins and six draws.

In the last 56 league meetings home and away, Liverpool have only lost five times.

In the last 39 league meetings at Anfield, stretching back to 1936, Liverpool have lost just twice - both by a 1-0 scoreline.

Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Jose Enrique all made their Liverpool debut in this fixture last season.

Downing spent time on loan at the Stadium of Light in 2003-04, playing seven times (with three goals) while Jordan Henderson scored five goals in 79 games in all competitions for the Wearsiders prior to his Anfield move.

Luis Suarez has scored in three of his four games against Sunderland. He reached 12 league goals for the Reds this season (at QPR last Sunday) 120 days quicker than it took him to score 11 in the 2011-12 Premier League campaign. 

He needs one goal to equal his tally of last season (he scored 17 in all competitions).

Steven Gerrard has scored Liverpool's first goal of a calendar year on four occasions - 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2010.

The last time Liverpool scored at least four goals in successive league games at Anfield was in September 2009 when they beat Burnley 4-0 and Hull 6-1.

Jordan Henderson could play his 50th league game for Liverpool tonight. Injury could keep Jose Enrique from reaching the same milestone.

The Reds are looking to win the final game of one calendar year and the first league game of the next for the first time since 2006-07.

Martin O'Neill has won six of his 18 league meetings with Liverpool as a manager. He is unbeaten in his two clashes as Sunderland boss.

The Black Cats are unbeaten in their last three games with Liverpool, their longest run since 2001.

The last time they went unbeaten for a fourth game in a row against the Reds was in November 1967.

Not since February 1936 have they scored more than once in a league game at Anfield and won. On that day they recorded a 3-0 victory.

They last won successive away league fixtures a year ago tomorrow.  

The last Liverpool player to score a hat-trick against Sunderland was Roger Hunt at Anfield in February 1966. He is one of only four Liverpool players to achieve the feat.

Liverpool's biggest win at Anfield over Sunderland came in September 1922 when they won 5-1. Their heaviest loss on this ground to the Black Cats was the 6-0 defeat inflicted in April 1930.       

The Wearsiders have found the net in 10 of their last 11 league games and have scored a single goal in each of the last four.

Only Stephane Sessegnon of all current Sunderland players has reached double figures in league goals for the club. He has 13 - Steven Fletcher has eight and Sebastian Larsson seven.