Liverpool Vs West Brom
Liverpool Vs West Brom Sunday 27th December 2020 – 16:30 (kick-off)
English Premier League
Pick: Liverpool Win to Nil
Odds: 3/4
Bookmaker: BetVictor
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 22nd December 2020)
Preview: A familiar face returns to Anfield seeking to become the first visiting manager to win a Premier League fixture away to Liverpool since he lead Crystal Palace to victory in April 2017. That man being Sam Allardyce, who in just his second game at the West Brom helm takes his latest team to the home of the English champions.
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Table of Contents
Liverpool – No upset expected at fortress Anfield?
It was seven of the very best from the English champions in their most recent encounter, playing some sublime football at Selhurst Park where Crystal Palace were on the receiving end of a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of a ruthless Liverpool (W9 D4 L1). The Reds, who in turn ensured they would spend Christmas top of the pile for a third successive season, recorded their biggest ever margin of victory in the top-flight.
More could be yet to come, though, as next up are a West Brom side languishing in the relegation zone having shipped more goals than all bar leaky Leeds, and are still acclimatising to the rigours of a new regime under Sam Allardyce. The latter has history in this fixture, however: his former Palace side remain the last visiting team to win a Premier League fixture at Anfield, after a 2-1 win in April 2017.
Liverpool, then, will need to have their wits about them as they attempt to consolidate their four-point lead at the top of the table. Speaking of Anfield, Jurgen Klopp’s men have so far been flawless there this season, registering seven wins out of seven. The last against Tottenham, who were unbeaten away beforehand. They are also unbeaten in the league since that now infamous 7-2 loss at Aston Villa in October.
West Brom – Allardyce requires time to perfect his ideas?
Any new manager bounce West Brom (W1 D4 L9) were seeking to harness from appointing ‘Fireman Sam’, the Premier League’s resident relegation firefighter otherwise known as Sam Allardyce, wasn’t immediately obvious when the Baggies lost their opening fixture under a manager renowned for his pragmatism. That it was in meek fashion, losing 3-0 at home to rivals Aston Villa, made it all the galling.
We can expect this team to improve as Allardyce spends more time on the training pitch with these players, with a very particular focus on making them difficult to score against, and thus more difficult to beat. How much of this will be in evidence at Anfield, however, remains to be seen, but we shouldn’t forget that Big Sam was the last manager to take a team to Anfield in the Premier League and win.
Yet the Palace side Allardyce inspired to a 2-1 victory here in April 2017 was, with all due respect, a great deal more balanced, defensively sound and generally more cohesive than the West Brom he is inheriting now. This, after all, is a side boasting one win all season – 1-0 vs winless Sheff Utd – whilst boasting some of the worst figures in the league for goals scored (10 – third-fewest) and conceded (29 – second-worst).
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Liverpool vs West Brom Betting Advice
No team to have visited Anfield in the Premier League in 2020/21 has escaped Merseyside unscathed. That accounts to seven victories at home for Liverpool, scoring two or more each time as they average close to three-a-game in front of what again be a 2,000-strong following inside the ground. However, five of their wins here were without a clean sheet, conceding the opening goal on three occasions.
Liverpool Vs West Brom – Key Facts:
- All seven Liverpool victories at Anfield in the Premier League this season featured a total of three or more goals scored between the sides, with both teams scoring in five.
- West Brom last managed more than one goal in any Premier League fixture in their 3-3 draw at home to Chelsea in October (5 goals in 11 games since).
- Liverpool are unbeaten across their previous five home league meetings (W3 D2) with West Brom, since the latter secured back-to-back to nil victories in 2012 and 2013
Considering their propensity to concede at home this season, a Liverpool win with both teams scoring (15/8 Betway) should hold some appeal. Particularly as West Brom recently held Man City to a 1-1 draw at the Eithad in their latest away fixture, having also scored twice on Merseyside in September when going down 5-2 away to Everton. This is an Allardyce team now, though, and they created a measly 0.04 worth of xG in the 3-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in his first game since replacing Slaven Bilic.
Best Betting Odds – Liverpool vs West Brom
Liverpool – 1/7 (Unibet)
Draw – 8/1 (Betfair)
West Brom – 28/1 (BetVictor)
