Liverpool false favourite for Sunderland road trip

Liverpool is a false favourite for its English Premier League away match versus Sunderland and must be opposed until such time that it gets its act together under new manager Brendan Rodgers, who is feeling the heat already.

The Reds have one point and a negative goal difference of five goals to show for their first three English Premier League games of the season and they were pretty lucky to scrape past Hearts in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round, requiring an 88th-minute Luis Suarez goal in the second leg at Anfield to defeat the Scottish side.

Liverpool was desperately poor in losing 0-2 to Arsenal last time out and the international break will have done nothing to assist Rogers. Most of his club`s players have been away with their national teams and, in the meantime, the media has ramped up the pressure on the former Swansea boss.

Sunderland, also managed by a Northern Irishman in the shape of Martin O`Neill, does not lose many matches in front of its fervent fans. Indeed, so far in 2012, the Black Cats have won seven, drawn four and lost of their 14 competitive home games, with their defeats coming against Arsenal, Everton and Manchester United. So no weak sides, really.

Liverpool is around 5-4 to win on Wearside. Frankly, only the most one-eyed Kopite should even think about snapping up those odds and, after thinking about it, they should keep their money in their pocket. The Reds should be underdogs.

Consequently, there is value in backing Sunderland across a wide range of options, with the pick of them being the most straightforward, namely a win bet on the Black Cats. They are around 9-4 to defeat Liverpool at the Stadium of Light for the second English Premier League season in a row.

Elsewhere on Saturday`s English Premier League coupon, there are cases to be made for backing Aston Villa at decent odds to beat Swansea, West Bromwich not to lose away to Fulham and Manchester City to travel home from Stoke with a win.

The Aston Villa play is a value one. The Birmingham-based team is around 11-8 to defeat Swansea and, having shown some promising signs when drawing 1-1 at Newcastle, those odds are a couple of rolls over where they should be for a Villa Park match between two sides who are very likely to end the English Premier League season close to each on the ladder.

It has been profitable to follow Swansea so far this term but, before everyone gets carried away with the Michael Laudrup-coached team, remember that it has faced Barnsley, Queens Park Rangers, Sunderland and West Ham in its four competitive games. The Swans have had a soft early draw.

Fulham is in disarray and in danger of imploding after losing some of its key players to bigger clubs, whereas Albion has made a promising start under Steve Clarke, who has filled the void left by England coach Roy Hodgson.

West Bromwich is only just odds on not to lose at Craven Cottage and that seems like a fair bet. Basically, Fulham is too short at around even money to beat the Baggies.

Finally, Manchester City has proven that it has the stomach for English Premier League matches versus Stoke in recent years and the Citizens should have way too much quality for the Potters at the Britannia Stadium. Roberto Mancini`s quality players are around 8-11 to earn three points.

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14/09/2012     © Frixo 2024