Lay ludicrously low Liverpool

Not for the first time this term, Liverpool is silly odds to win an English Premier League match so the value play is to oppose the Reds when they face Reading at Anfield.

Liverpool is around 4-11 to defeat last season`s English Championship winner on Merseyside, which is ridiculous when one considers that the Reds have won just one of their seven English Premier League games under Brendan Rodgers and their victory came against the division`s worst team, Norwich.

And Liverpool`s home record in all competitions is equally shocking, with the Reds having beaten only Gomel of Belarus in their seven Anfield assignments. A home ledger of one win, three draws and three losses is not what one expects when confronted by quotes of 4-11 and, incredibly, shorter.

Reading is not in the same class of the three sides that have beaten Liverpool on Merseyside this term - Arsenal, Manchester United and Udinese - but the odds more than compensate for that, with the Royals around 5-2 not to suffer defeat. Those odds are a few rolls over the top.

Brian McDermott`s team has found the back of the net in all bar one of its eight competitive games this season, scoring at least two goals in three of its four road matches. With Liverpool struggling to score regularly and its strike power reduced as a result of Fabio Borini`s foot injury, Reading has a real shot of not only avoiding defeat at Anfield but leaving the famous ground with three priceless points.

Any side that concedes five goals at home to Liverpool has serious defensive problems that Arsenal can expose so back the Gunners to triumph at Norwich by more than one goal.

The Canaries have leaked nine goals in their last two games and, really worryingly for Chris Hughton as he attempts to pick up where Paul Lambert left off, their heads have been dropping once they fall behind. Arsenal has not lost away from the Emirates Stadium since March, winning five and drawing the other two of their subsequent seven road matches, and Norwich is definitely its easiest away assignment since it thrashed Wolverhampton 3-0.

The Gunners are 4-7 to win at Carrow Road by any score but 6-4 to do so by more than one goal. The scoreline could get very, very ugly if Arsenal snares an early lead so snap up the odds-against quote about Arsene Wenger`s attack-minded team beating Hughton`s rabble by a comfortable margin.

Southampton is overpriced to get something out of its trip to fellow English Premier League newcomer West Ham. The Saints finished last term`s English Championship two points ahead of the Hammers but bookmakers, it seems, have long forgotten that and are using this season`s top-flight standings to formulate their markets on the game.

The Hammers have had the softest of schedules and they are guaranteed to slide down the English Premier League ladder over the coming weeks. When all is said and done, West Ham has beaten only Aston Villa, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, yet it is odds on across the board to beat a Southampton team that, for all its faults, does score goals freely.

Back the Saints in receipt of a one-goal start at the Boleyn Ground, an option that is trading at odds of around 10-11.

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19/10/2012     © Frixo 2024