Shrewsbury Vs Liverpool
Sunday 26th January 2020 – 17:00 Kick-Off (Live on BBC One)
English FA Cup
Pick: Liverpool & Under 4.5 Goals
Odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: Coral
(All betting odds displayed in this article were correct at time of writing: 24th January 2020 at 11:20)
Preview: The lucky recipients of drawing Liverpool in the FA Cup Fourth Round were League One club Shrewsbury Town. The Shrews welcome none other than the reigning champions of Europe to their sold out New Meadow stadium in Shropshire for what promises to be a memorable evening for players and supporters alike.
FA Cup Betting at 22Bet
Table of Contents
Shrewsbury Preview – Shrews seeking a low-scoring outcome?
Unsurprisingly, Sunday’s match-up at home to the European champions is a sell-out at New Meadow. Nearly ten thousand spectators will fill out a stadium that is already on to its fourth hosting duties in this competition. This is now the team’s sixth FA Cup encounter this season, after requiring replays in order to oust Bradford (1-1 & 0-1) and, more latterly, Bristol City (1-1 & 1-0) either side of eliminating Mansfield with a 2-0 scoreline in Shropshire. The club are 16th in League One.
The majority of their encounters in this competition have so far been competitive, though, as well as being closely-fought. Only one settled by more than a single goal. All five featured no more than two goals, meanwhile, something that has been a regular theme down in League One for The Shrews in 2019/20. Almost two-thirds of their matches in the third tier, where only bottom side Bolton (20) have netted fewer than themselves (24), finished with more than two goals scored.
A low-scoring affair would appear a real possibility then, which would enhance the prospects of Shrewsbury earning a lucrative replay at Anfield. Victory on Sunday might be pushing it, however. As across their last seven competitive games, only Championship side Bristol City, who lost a third round replay against Sam Rickett’s men in the final moments at New Meadow due to a superb long-range effort from defender Aaron Pierre, succumbed to a loss (W1 D4 L2).
Liverpool Preview – Klopp to again ring the changes?
England’s ‘Mentality Monsters’ were at it again on Thursday night as the Premier League’s runaway leaders extended their phenomenal start to the season by securing their 22nd win in their 23rd fixture (W22 D1). Unprecedented anywhere in Europe. The problem now, however, is the timing of this next encounter – less than 72 hours after what was an absorbing and physically demanding battle with a very good Wolves side on the night.
Roberto Firmino netted the winner at Molineux, supplied by his captain and subsequent man of the Match, Jordan Henderson, who had earlier powered his team in front via a rare headed effort early into proceedings. Now, Jurgen Klopp must decide who survives that clash unscathed for this trip to Shropshire, on a more testing surface than they are accustomed to. The German heavily rotated in the previous round against Everton and that was undoubtedly a tougher assignment on paper, so changes do seem inevitable.
Fortunately, Klopp can seemingly do no wrong at the moment. His young Reds more than held its own versus their Merseyside rivals last time out in this competition, eliminating the noisy locals after a 1-0 win at Anfield. Several to have featured that day will probably come into contention here but ,potentially, alongside a number of high-quality individuals in need of vital minutes. Joel Matip, Adam Lallana, Fabinho and Divock Origi are among those who should feature, in what will nevertheless be a strong line-up.
Betting Summary
It should be a packed out New Meadow for this FA Cup Fourth Round clash with the Premier League champions-elect, and it should be a full-strength Shrewsbury side which greets European champions Liverpool. Whether this is enough to earn a positive result, against the illustrious visitors who are likely to be much-changed from their win on Thursday, remains to be seen. In making it this far Shrewsbury dumped out Bradford, Mansfield and even Bristol City, while Liverpool eliminated Everton in their only tie up till now.
Shrewsbury Vs Liverpool – Key Facts:
- Shrewsbury overcame Bristol City in a replay in the previous round – a late 1-0 victory marking their only win across their previous seven competitive matches (W1 D4 L2).
- Liverpool‘s sensational league campaign continued as recently as Thursday when beating Wolves 2-1 on the road – their seventh consecutive win in domestic competition.
- Both teams have seen five of their last six games in league and cup produce no more than two goals.
Even the prospect of a weakened Liverpool team doesn’t greatly endear us to a shock materialising at New Meadow. By the same token, it would almost certainly increase any potential for an upset should, as we expect, Jurgen Klopp name a mixture of youth with those currently on the first-team fringes. Neither team have found themselves involved in many high-scoring contests of late, however, which gives the impression any final scoreline could resemble something more modest than bookmakers are anticipating.
Best Betting Odds for Shrewsbury Vs Liverpool
Shrewsbury – 11/2 Boylesports
Draw – 4/1 Unibet
Liverpool – 1/2 Coral
