Struggling Stoke City welcome Liverpool to the Potteries on Wednesday night in what looks like an intriguing clash between two sides in need of a win. Stoke City come into the game down in 15th place after winning just one of their last five matches, whilst Liverpool are currently in 5th place after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp knows that this game against Stoke is exactly the sort of match his team have dropped points in, and he will be anxious to ensure that they turn in a professional performance on Wednesday.
English Premier League – Bet 365 Stadium – Wednesday 29th November – 20:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 7/2 at Ladbrokes |
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Stoke City
LiverpoolStoke City
Stoke City were poor during their 2-1 defeat to bottom club Crystal Palace on Saturday and Mark Hughes will have been bitterly disappointed to lose after taking the lead midway through the second half. A last gasp goal from Mamadou Sakho gave Palace all three points, but Stoke can count themselves a little unfortunate to have lost the game. Hughes knows it will not be easy against Liverpool, but they have already beaten Arsenal and drawn with Manchester United at home this season, so he knows his team have big performances in them. Geoff Cameron is a doubt for the game, but Hughes has a fully fit squad to pick from.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp will have been equally disappointed to have dropped points on Saturday after seeing his Liverpool side surrender a 1-0 lead to Chelsea in the 85th minute. Mohamed Salah had given Liverpool the lead in the 65th minute before substitute Willian mishit a cross which flew over Simon Mignolet and into the back of the net. Adam Lallana made his first appearance of the season off the bench for The Reds and he will be pushing to get back into the starting line up in midweek. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were both left on the bench for the game against Chelsea, but you’d expect them to start on Wednesday.
Talking Points
- Mohamed Salah is the top scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals from his first 13 games.
- Liverpool have conceded 16 goals away from home this season, more than any other team in the league.
- Stoke City have conceded 26 goals this season, the joint most in the league along with West Ham United.
Prediction
Stoke City have already shown Arsenal and Manchester United that they can mix it with the big boys in the Premier League, but 4-0 and 7-1 defeats to Chelsea and Manchester City have also shown how poor they can be. You don’t quite know what you’re going to get from this Stoke side and Liverpool will be hoping it is the latter on Wednesday night. Liverpool have been in good form in the league recently and had won four games in a row before the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday. I’m backing Klopp’s side to keep up that form in this one and pick up another victory.
Betting Tips (Ladbrokes)
Liverpool start this game as 11/20 favourites for the win, whilst a win for Stoke City is priced up at 9/2 with the draw available at 7/2. I do think Liverpool will win this one, but those odds of 11/20 seem a little short to me considering how Stoke City played against Arsenal and Manchester United. An interesting bet could be Draw/Liverpool at 7/2 in the HT/FT market as I think Liverpool’s quality will shine through in the second half. Stoke City have plenty of height in their team and that could cause this Liverpool defence problems, so the 4/6 on BTTS looks a decent bet to me.
HT/FT – Draw/Liverpool – 7/2 (Ladbrokes)