Arch rivals Liverpool and Manchester United go head-to-head at Anfield on Tuesday night, and with the points vital for both teams Mike Norman believes a Reds striker can step up…
Brilliant Reds still on for quadruple
Whisper it quietly – especially if Jurgen Klopp is around – but the quadruple is most definitely on for Liverpool after they beat Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final.
Having been backed at 500/1 at the start of the season, the Reds are now just 17/2 to add the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League to the EFL Cup they already have in their trophy cabinet.
Quadruple status:
Start of the season: 500/1
Today: 17/2#LFC | #Liverpool | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/gCy9ETWT5P— Betfair (@Betfair) April 16, 2022
Liverpool’s next task is to beat their arch rivals – assuming Manchester United still hold that tag ahead of City that is – at Anfield on Tuesday night and move two points clear at the top of the table for at least 24 hours.
Klopp’s men go into the game in sensational league form having taken 31 points from the last 33 available – the two points dropped coming in that thrilling 2-2 draw at Man City last weekend.
At Anfield Liverpool haven’t lost a domestic game all season and their last league defeat in front of their own fans was more than a year ago. Five of their last six Premier League wins were achieved by at least a two-goal margin.
The one concern for Klopp will be the form of Mo Salah. The Egyptian King hasn’t scored from open play in any of his last 13 appearance for club and country, a quite astonishing drought for a player of his ability.
Stuttering United back in top four race
It seems ridiculous now to even think that at the start of the season, United were being talked about as potential title challengers.
And yet in the last few weeks the Red Devils have been matched at more than three times the price Liverpool are now to win four major trophies, just to finish in the top four.
And some will say that Ralf Rangnick‘s men – Wreck-It Ralf as I like to call him – are extremely fortunate to still be even in the hunt for a Top 4 Finish, for which they can be backed at 7.613/2 on the Exchange.
After winning just one of their previous five league games, United closed to within three points of Tottenham in fourth with a 3-2 win – thanks to that man Ronaldo – over rock-bottom Norwich on Saturday, while Spurs and Arsenal were tasting defeats.
Ronaldo’s hat-trick sealed the win late in the game against the Canaries, and it’s worth pointing out that the Red Devils’ last two league wins were courtesty of Ronaldo hat-tricks. If he isn’t at the top of his game – and he rarely is these days – then this poor United team are very beatable.
Liverpool a decent price to win
I don’t like tipping up anything at less than around 1.75/7 in a football match so I won’t make Liverpool one of my recommended bets at 1.444/9 in the Match Odds, but I really do think that’s a bigger price than they ought to be.
True, it’s 2nd v 5th looking at the table, but we all know that there’s a massive gap in quality and consistency behind Man City and Liverpool, and we know for sure that the Reds are in much better form than United, and that they have home advantage.
Some will argue that Rangnick’s men are sure to raise their game for such a big fixture, but that was probably true in October when they were blown away and lost 5-0. In fact, United have conceded nine goals in their last two meetings with Liverpool, and at Anfield they’ve scored just once in their last six visits.
In short, it’s impossible to make a case for United winning this game at 8.27/1 and even a draw at 5.59/2 looks beyond them.
Bank on Jota making an impact
For my main bet in the game I’m turning to Betfair’s excellent Bet Builder feature, where you can combine two or more selections from a wide range of Sportsbook markets.
Diego Jota is the player that interests me most given that he didn’t start Liverpool’s FA Cup win over Man City at the weekend (came on for last five minutes) and therefore he’s very likely to start against United.
He’s been in superb form domestically this season, scoring 20 goals from 27 starts, and he has an excellent record against Man United, scoring a few times for Wolves against them and scoring in each of his two appearances for Liverpool against the Red Devils.
You can combine Jota to score anytime and a Liverpool win at just over 2.47/5 on Bet Builder, but at just a bit shorter – 2.111/10 – we can change the anytime goal element to anytime goal or assist for the Potruguese star.
Take a chance on an easy home win
If Jota doesn’t play on Tuesday night then we’d be left with just a short-price Liverpool win to cheer on, so I’m happy to add another selection to keep up the interest, and I’m even happier to chance another big Reds win.
As mentioned above, Liverpool scored five at Old Trafford in thrashing United 5-0 last October and the time before that they scored four in a comfortable 4-2 win.
There’s a lot of low-scoring encounters among the recent matches between these two but I think this United team under Rangnick is even worse than the one under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – in terms of performances that is – and I just think they lack the fight if they fall behind.
If Liverpool can get on the scoresheet early enough then I think we could be set for a very comfortable home win. Liverpool -2 on the handicap is available to back at 3.8514/5 and well worth chancing.
Source: Betfair Premier League
