A touch of a battle of Britain will commence on Thursday night in Scotland, as Liverpool head north of the border to take on Hearts in the Europa League. Things started well this season for Brendan Rodgers at Anfield, as he saw his side ease past FC Gomel in the third qualification round and now have a shot at the play-offs to get into the group stage. Liverpool stated that European competition was important for them this season, and it could be a welcome break already from the Premier League after the nightmare they suffered on the weekend. The Reds crashed to a 3-0 defeat at The Hawthorns against West Brom in their opening match, being reduced to ten men with a red card shown to Daniel Agger. Without Agger being sent off, Liverpool still looked second best to a very enterprising and hard working West Bromwich Albion side.
Liverpool did have the lions share of possession, as expected under Rodgers, but the same problem which they suffered from last season, the failure to convert chances haunted them again. They could have been comfortable in the first half, but were wasteful. They are looking as if they are going to rely too heavily on Luis Suarez again this season and the defeat was a big wake-up call. Naturally there is going to be a bit of a transition period as Rodgers implements his style and gets new players settled in. Despite their heavy loss, they do still start as heavy favourites against Hearts.
Hearts have made a steady start to the new Scottish Premier League season, picking up a win and two draws. Hearts boss John McGlynn will have been a disappointed man on the weekend as well after seeing his side two goals up against ten man Inverness. But the they threw it away, conceding a penatly then a late equaliser in stoppage time. Early days for both clubs of course, but Hearts v Liverpool betting does pose some interesting questions. How will Liverpool respond to their performance on the weekend? How will Brendan Rodgers handle this? Will he keep first team players back? Will Hearts be up for the challenge of claiming a big scalp? Rememberer this is over two legs and the men in maroon will want to get something on the board and should take the initiative. Liverpool may be happy enough with a draw to take back to Anfield.
Hearts v Liverpool Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365
Liverpool 4/9, Draw 16/5, Hearts 13/2
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