English Premier
2012-09-15 - Sunderland vs Liverpool
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday, September 15th, 2012, 5:30PM GMT
PREVIEW
The final game of the day sees Liverpool travel to Sunderland to play their first match since news broke about the truth about what happened at Hillsborough all those years ago. It's going to be emotional, no doubt, but there is a match to win. Liverpool desperately need points here but they may well struggle to get them.
I know Liverpool scored twice and led at home against Manchester City but they were also shocking in defence, letting the financially doped champions back to grab the draw. That defence was exploited perfectly by Arsenal in their last match, where they failed to score in a 2-0 loss that frankly should have been a lot worse. West Brom were ruthless in the season opener as they thumped Liverpool 3-0. Now who in their right mind would risk money on Liverpool?
Sunderland have only played 2 games so far, registering a pair of draws. They held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw, showing a lot of skill at the back, and then managed to travel and lead highflying Swansea 2-0 before collapsing and drawing 2-2 against 10 men. These results give them much more cred in my book than Liverpool scoring twice against Man City.
Liverpool will not manage a clean sheet here. They have kept only 2 over their last 17 league games, and of course, none so far this season, giving up at least 2 in each game. Their awful run shows no wins this season, and if you go back to the previous season you'll find 11 losses in their last 18, a terrible stat.
Sunderland have not been brilliant going forward but then they are tight at the back and of course Liverpool are very poor with their shooting accuracy and conversions this season. Only 25% of their shots are on target through 3 games and they have scored with just over 5% of their attempts. Shocking. That they then got rid of Andy Carroll without providing cover is insane, and if Suarez does not score, you have to wonder whether this side will even manage a goal, let alone a win.
BETTING VERDICT
This is another tough game to handicap. If Liverpool win, it will be fortuitous and I'm not staking money on that. I see Liverpool frustrated yet again, with a better chance of Sunderland popping up with a winner. The unders look a good bet, but I prefer the prices on the draw and the Sunderland win.
I'm going to stick my neck out and suggest you take Sunderland. There is just too much value on this team that is being disrespected at home, as the price on them climbs higher with the public hammering Liverpool, based on the fact this is a must win, and that they will be a bit emotional. Martin O'Neill is solid and he knows exactly how to trouble Liverpool, whose defence look atrocious.
You could take Sunderland to win by 1 goal @ 5.00 or even Sunderland to win 1-0 @ 11.00! I'll stick to the straight win.
The Pick :
Sunderland to win
