CHELSEA host Liverpool on Tuesday night in an FA Cup 5th Round contest. We asked Tom Love (@TomLove_18) to source the best bets.
Chelsea v Liverpool | Tuesday 3rd March 2020, 19:45 | BBC1
Liverpool were finally beaten in the league this season as Watford deservedly recorded a 3-0 win at Vicarage Road on Saturday evening. It’s rarely been the case that the Reds have to come back after a defeat but it could be argued that they’ve hit a little bit of a sticky patch with a loss in Madrid followed up by a narrow win from behind against West Ham, and then the loss at the weekend.
Even with that it is a surprise to see them priced up as big as 2/1 to win here.
I’d be surprised if Liverpool go with a second string side, the league is pretty much sewn up and to really cement themselves as one of the great teams of recent times some may argue they need to dominate both leagues and cups. If they win the Premier League and nothing else then surely Manchester City’s achievement of the treble last year has to go down as a greater success?
The Merseysiders have gotten this far largely with a group of youngsters playing but you’d have to think the former Dortmund gaffer will opt for a stronger side here but the likes of Neco Williams and Curtis Jones could come in.
I’d expect a hybrid of first team players, youngsters and peripheral players such as Adam Lallana and Takumi Minamino to come into the starting XI. Joel Matip should replace Dejan Lovren after a disappointing performance in Hertfordshire.
Frank Lampard, on the other hand, has noted that he will be going with a strong selection. With them pretty much out of the Champions League already after a 3-0 home loss to Bayern Munich, it’s little surprise that Lamps has placed a greater degree of importance on this competition. He will be hoping for a weakened Liverpool team but managers and players alike often talk about the beauty of having a match so soon after a defeat, they’ll be eager to put things right.
The Blues still have a strong squad despite their recent transfer ban. They may make a few changes here and there but they will be without the likes of N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic and there’s also doubts over Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Without the knowledge of possible team line-ups can cause a headache writing these previews as the odds could swing massively in the hour leading to kick-off. Therefore I’ll tend to play smaller stakes until I know teams.
I do expect Minamino to get a start though for the visitors, he’s had to bide his time but from what I saw of him at Salzburg he looks a real livewire. With not much data to go off from his short spell at the club I’ve delved into his statistics when playing for the Austrian side.
Minamino recorded two or more shots in 5/6 Champions League games and providing he starts in the front three I think there’s some juice in the 10/11 quotes (SkyBet) on the Japanese international recording 2+ shots in the game. The same bet is 2/5 elsewhere!
I’m also happy to back a request a bet that has landed a lot for me recently and that’s both teams to have a corner in each half and 10+ Bookings Points each team, which is again available at 10/11 with SkyBet.
I’m expecting a pretty even game all-in-all and with potential changes there could be players incoming who will be eager to get stuck in and show what they’re about. The referee is Chris Kavanagh and he showed seven cards at the weekend in the game between Everton and Manchester United so he’s not shy of dishing them out. This also pits the two sides ranked second and third for corners gained this season.
Best Bets
Chelsea v Liverpool – Takumi Minamino 2+ shots (10/11 SkyBet)
Chelsea v Liverpool – 1+ Corner each team in each half, 10+ Bookings Points each team (10/11 SkyBet)
