THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE returns on Tuesday night. Here Adam Goodwin (@AGJournalism) picks out his favourite fancy from the match-up between Maribor and Liverpool.
Maribor v Liverpool | Tuesday 17th October 2017, 19:45 | BT Sport
Liverpool’s second game in Group E ended in a very similar vein to their first – a draw in a game they should’ve won. The Reds have dominated both group games versus Sevilla and Spartak Moscow, but failed to get the goal to kill of their opposition.
Maribor are the underdogs in Group E and achieved a superb 1-1 in their first group game against Spartak Moscow. The Purples were lucky to not be two or three goals down when they equalised in the 85th minute, but the Slovenian side dug deep to earn a point at home to Spartak.
They then suffered a 3-0 loss away at Sevilla in their second group game and looked a completely different team in Spain than they did at when they played at home.
Maribor's home comforts
I was impressed with Maribor when they held Spartak to a 1-1 draw at home. They played some great football at times and whilst most people expected them to sit deep and hold out for 0-0, but there was some free-flowing, attacking stuff.
A lot of it was counter-attacking and shots from long range which was effective for Darko Milanic’s side.
Liverpool's inability to break teams down
Liverpool’s inability to break teams down is well-documented and when teams sit deep and defend, they’re extremely vulnerable to the counter attack – something which Maribor did exceedingly well against Spartak Moscow.
Liverpool were part of the dour 0-0 at home to Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime, but I can’t see a similar game on Tuesday.
The betting angle
Maribor are incredibly 22/1 best price with Betfair and whilst I don’t necessarily think they’ll win, they’re more than capable of scoring.
I’ve already highlighted Maribor’s decent counter-attacking display at home in gameweek 1 and we all know Liverpool struggle at the back, so I fancy Maribor to score at 6/4 with William Hill.
Best Bets
Maribor v Liverpool – Maribor to score Over 0.5 Goals (6/4 William Hill)
