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Today’s secondary featured game is the English Premier League game in Merseyside between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. In the past, Liverpool would have been considered to be the better of these two sides but I’m not sure that we can realistically and objectively say that any more.
The effects of Dalglish returning to Liverpool have been…interesting. I won’t say that he’s their Messiah, here to stop the rot. No, but what he has brought is team spirit to Liverpool again and a sense of belief that was previously missing. This is useful to Liverpool for obvious reasons but it’s not the saviour-esque solution that they were looking for.
I mean, this determination is all well and good if it’s produced in every game but it’s not. The fact remains that Liverpool tend to struggle against lesser opposition whilst doubling their work ethic and focus for the bigger games. Hence them outplaying Manchester City more times than not this season and hence them not losing to Manchester United in either home game this season. The other side of the coin is that they’ve failed to win at home against Norwich City, Swansea City, and Blackburn Rovers in the current Premier League campaign, which is really quite unacceptable if Liverpool intend to achieve what they hope to achieve. Therefore, I’m in two minds as to what to make of Dalglish’s return.
That said, it doesn’t really matter what I think, does it? I’ve no doubt that Liverpool will show up today to frustrate another top side at the difficult Anfield venue with their vociferous support in full flow. Credit where it’s due, too – Liverpool have played well lately and have taken their chances well. Craig Bellamy has been outstanding lately and Luis Suarez’s return should further inspire Liverpool to do well today.
Will Liverpool win the game, though? I wouldn’t bet against it. There’s some special power that they have at Anfield that I’ve never really been able to explain but I always respect it. Tottenham have got better players than Liverpool en mass but that doesn’t really mean anything without results backing it up. If Spurs win at Anfield then I’ll happily eat my words but I just don’t think they will.
That said, the attacking options that they posses in Adebayor, van der Vaart, Bale, Modric, and Lennon should mean that Spurs at least cause Liverpool problems today. Their pacey wide game, their quick-passing game, and their convincing finishes certainly convince me that they’ll score against what I’d describe as a decent but overrated Liverpool defence. Redknapp is playing his usual game by stating that Defoe, Lennon, van der Vaart, and Adebayor are injury doubts but I’ll apply my usual logic to his comments of this nature; at least three of those four players should start the game. It’s funny how Redknapp’s top attacking players are always “doubts” before big games, isn’ it? Still, let’s wait and see if he’s telling the truth <insert Redknapp tax evasion case joke here>.
Spurs play some fabulous football, though, so I won’t rule them out from nicking a cheeky win here. They score lots of goals away from home and they have plenty of players capable of damaging Liverpool tonight. This relentless attacking of theirs does leave gaps at the back, though, and they will concede goals as a result. Spurs woud love to capitalise on United’s 3-3 draw with Chelsea yesterday but to do that they have to win this game. Therefore, I expect a pretty open game and we should see some goals with a bit of luck.
Liverpool have only kept three clean sheets and have only been prevented from scoring twice at home in the Premier League this season. Spurs have only kept two clean sheets on the road this season and have only been prevented from scoring once during that run – against Manchester United. With those statistics and the above analysis taken into account, I believe that taking both sides to score is the best approach for this game.
Verdict: Both sides to score at 4/5.
Injury & suspension list, probable line-ups, players info and full team stats can be found at LeagueSpy.com.
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Monday’s Picks
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
Australian A-League:
Perth Glory vs Gold Coast United (6) 1-0
Cypriot Division 1:
Alki Larnaca vs Ermis (5) 1-0
English Premier League:
Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur (6) 1-1
Finnish Liiga Cup:
IFK Mariehamn vs Haka Valkeakoski (5) 1-1
Spanish Primera Liga:
Granada vs Malaga (4) 2-1
Turkish Super Lig:
Eskisehirspor vs Istanbul BB (6) 1-0
Karabukspor vs Samsunspor (4) 1-1
Ankaragucu vs Manisaspor (7) 0-2
Enjoy your free betting tips!
