LIVERPOOL take on RB Leipzig in Wednesday night's Champions League Last 16 second leg showdown. Tom Love (@TomLove_18) shares his betting thoughts.
Liverpool vs RB Leipzig | Wednesday 10th March 2021, 20:00 | BT Sport
Leipzig have it all to do as they head back to Budapest for their second leg tie with Liverpool. Die Roten Bullen were poor that night but they’ve bounced back well with 4 consecutive wins in the Bundesliga.
It was individual errors and a high line that did for them the other week and given they have to come out and attack here they’re unlikely to revert to a deeper block which will give Liverpool ability to get in behind, something they’ve seldom been allowed in their dreadful Premier League performances of late.
Some might argue that Julian Nagelsmann didn’t pay enough respect to the 2019 champions of this trophy and were burnt because of their outlandish approach to that fixture, The lack of a focal point up front against rookie centre half duo Jordan Henderson and Ozan Kabak was an odd decision too, but credit to the Reds who squeezed and suffocated their opponents when they came into their attacking half.
When you get second legs like this where one team is 2-0 up, the first goal is obviously going to be vital in what way the game swings. We’ve seen the East Germans come flying out of the blocks in Europe in the past couple of seasons and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they grabbed another goal in the opening exchanges here and make a real game of it.
They might be ruing the fact this isn’t going to be played at Anfield which has come the house of horrors for Liverpool this year but there’s no point them lying down if they do concede. That makes goals an interesting play and I’m surprised you can get some even-money on both teams to score and over 2 goals on Bet365’s BetBuilder.
One things for sure, this game will have to become open at some point and it’s more likely to be earlier than later with the way Leipzig go about it. They should admirable spirit to come back from 2-0 down to defeat Monchengladbach 3-2 recently and the talisman was without a doubt former PSG man Christopher N’Kunku.
N’Kunku has put up impressive figures for some time now and I’m shocked he’s available at 5/6 with Bet365 to attempt 2 or more shots here in a game they’re chasing from the off. The Frenchman has beat that line in 10 of his 11 starts in the Bundesliga this season and He should get more opportunities to get shots off if he has a foil such as Youssef Poulsen or Alexander Sorloth holding the ball up.
Liverpool have started to concede plenty of shots of late, double figures in 4 of their last 5 league games to be exact. We’ve seen how defensively vulnerable they are at the minute and Leipzig will have to get a fair few off given their predicament in the tie.
Best Bets
Liverpool vs RB Leipzig – Both Teams To Score and Over 2 Goals (1/1 Bet365)
Liverpool vs RB Leipzig – Christian N’Kunku Over 1.5 Shots (5/6 Bet365)
