Wednesday night sees a huge game in Group E taking place with Liverpool, Sevilla and Spartak Moscow still all able to qualify for the next round. Liverpool know that a victory on Wednesday night will assure them of top spot in the group, whilst a draw will be enough to see them qualify. Spartak on the other hand know that anything less than a win will see them miss out on the next round, whilst a defeat coupled with a Maribor win against Sevilla would see them finish bottom of the group and miss out on even Europa League qualification.
Champions League – Anfield, Liverpool – Wednesday 6th December – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 13/2 at Ladbrokes |
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Liverpool
Spartak MoscowLiverpool
Liverpool come into this match in fine form having won five of their previous six matches in the Premier League and they are now unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions. On Saturday they destroyed Brighton & Hove Albion 5-1 at The Amex Stadium as Jurgen Klopp’s side turned in a superb display of attacking football. Klopp made six changes for that match and a number of players were missing through injury and illness as Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Ragnar Klavan and Alvaro Moreno were all missing from the back line. Matip is going to miss Wednesday night’s game as well and the central defender could well face an extended spell on the side-lines.
Spartak Moscow
Spartak Moscow also come into this game in good form having won four matches in a row domestically, but they will have been disappointed to have drawn 1-1 with Maribor in their last Champions League match. Spartak picked up a 1-0 win against Arsenal Tulsa at the weekend but have a few players missing through injury heading into this game. Jano Ananidze, Dmitri Kombarov and Georgi Tigiev will all miss Wednesday nights match.
Talking Points
1. Liverpool have scored 19 goals in their last six matches in all competitions.
2. Mohamed Salah has scored more goals than Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar this season.
3. Spartak Moscow are yet to win away from home in this year’s competition, but they know that will have to change if they are to qualify.
Prediction
Liverpool have looked in good form of late and Jurgen Klopp has managed his squad well recently making a number of changes to keep his players fresh whilst still winning games. I’m expecting Liverpool to get the job done on Wednesday night and I think they will beat Spartak Moscow. In Mohamed Salah, Philipe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino they just have too much attacking quality not to cause Spartak problems and with Spartak having to push for the victory, I think they’ll get picked off on the counter attack in this game.
Betting Tips
Liverpool start this game as big favourites at odds of 1/4, whilst an unlikely away win for Spartak Moscow is priced up at 13/1 with the draw available at 13/2. I don’t think those odds on a Liverpool win are too appealing here, but something more interesting could be a bet on Over 3.5 goals at 1/1; three of Liverpool’s last six matches have passed that point and two of the others finished 3-0, so with Spartak having to push for a victory, I think we could well see plenty of goals in this one.
Over 3.5 goals – 1/1 (Ladbrokes)