Liverpool V Tottenham Hotspur: Liverpool to defy the odds?!

Premier League Tips

 

Liverpool V Tottenham Hotspur

 

Wednesday, 20th January – 20:00 GMT (Sky Sports 1)

 

 

Matt’s Tip: Liverpool to WIN – 2.45 Expekt.com

Alternative: Dirk Kuyt Anytime Scorer – 3.40 Expekt.com

 

 

In a game Liverpool must win, they will have to do so without a handful of their best players; Torres, Gerrard, Johnson & Benayoun to name just a few of the important absentee’s. Tottenham themselves will also be without a few key individuals, mainly in defence, with Johnathan Woodgate, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who scored Tottenham’s opener in the 2-1 victory over the reds’ at White Hart Lane, and Alan Hutton. However, Harry Redknapp’s biggest loss is Aaron Lennon as his pace down the right would have caused Liverpool, most probably Insua, all sorts of problems.

 

Without a doubt, though, it’s Liverpool who are suffering the worst with injuries as the remainder of the squad just doesn’t look the same without their talismanic duo of Steven Gerrard & Fernando Torres. However, Rafael Benitez will be expecting others to raise their game in their absence and the likes of Ryan Babel, Maxi Rodirguez and Alberto Aquilani now have the perfect opportunity to stamp their authority on a first-team claim with a big performance this evening. However, this is also a very good opportunity for some of their flops; Lucas, Insua & N’gog, to make amends for their recent abysmal showings by putting in a match winning performance tonight.

 

Liverpool’s record at home this season in the league currently stands in at 6-2-2, but their last appearance at Anfield was a miserable one, one of many it would seem, as they were sent packing out of the FA Cup by Championship side, Reading, losing 2-1 after extra-time. That defeat will still be fresh in the memory of the Liverpool players but this is an ideal game to banish what was such a nightmare of a night for Liverpool fans. In the league, however, Liverpool have won their last two at home with victories over Wolves (2-0) and Wigan Athletic (2-1), and will feel safe in the knowledge that they did comfortably beat their oppo0nents 3-1 in the same fixture last season, although they did so with Torres and Gerrard.

 

 

Betting View: We know Liverpool are in crisis, both on and off the pitch, and have been for pretty much the whole of the campaign, but you don’t often see odds of 2.45 on a Liverpool win at Anfield, rarely even against the ‘Big Four’, so there is definite value if you can ignore their latest mishap with Reading. Tottenham are playing extremely well and they should push Liverpool, but they’ve come unstuck in their two previous visits to top four opponents, losing at both Chelsea (3-0) and Arsenal (3-0), and we mustn’t forget that although Liverpool’s squad is now wafer thin, they do still have enough quality to beat Tottenham Hotspur, especially at Anfield. The 2.45 on offer with Expekt.com looks too big in our eyes, although we can see why they are such big odds, but in a must win game for the reds’ we quite fancy a small wager on them regaining that winning feeling against a Tottenham side who could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to Hull City at the weekend.

 

No to N’gog: Also, Liverpool weren’t actually that bad at the weekend when they took on Stoke at The Brittania, a very tough venue to come away unscathed. Liverpool were just mere minutes away from recording what would have been a morale boosting victory before Roberth Huth levelled from two yards, but their performance was far better than we nor anyone else expected. The only problem was David N’gog up front who was and has been terrible ever since his first game in a Liverpool shirt. If Benitez does decide to go with N’gog up front again then we could easily envisage Liverpool struggling in front of goal as the kid has no positional awareness of any form. Perhaps opting for Dirk Kuyt or Ryan Babel would be a better alternative, but it would be surprise not to see N’gog up front for this game as we know Benitez all too well.

 

 

Ryan Babel to score anytime – 4.00 PaddyPower

Dirk Kuyt to score anytime – 3.40 Expekt.com

David N’gog to score anytime – 3.00 SkyBet

 

 

Statistics:

 

Liverpool‘s home record: 6-2-2

Liverpool‘s home goal-difference: 26-11

 

Liverpool are unbeaten in three league games, their longest unbeaten run in the league since early December when they went on a four match unbeaten run.

 

Liverpool haven’t lost a home fixture with Tottenham in 12 years, with Tottenham’s last victory at Anfield coming way back in 1998.

 

 

Tottenham‘s away record: 4-4-2

Tottenham‘s away goal-difference: 16-14

 

Tottenham are unbeaten in their last four away outings, but have suffered defeats at two similarly tough venues when losing at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea and The Emirates to Arsenal, both by a 3-0 scoreline.

 

Tottenham haven’t conceded a goal in the Premiership for over 450 minutes of play, a run of five straight clean sheets.