There’s a top of the table clash this evening, as Liverpool welcome Tottenham to Anfield today (8pm Wednesday). Will it be the visitors who continue to bowl along in front? Or can the hosts overtake Mourinho and his men? Read this Liverpool vs Spurs preview from JustBookies, with betting tips and odds, to find out.
Reds wobbling
Liverpool come into this match without tasting defeat in five, though they have been far from at their brilliant best of late. Injuries have come at the wrong time and they are indeed without key players, none more key than the imperious Virgil Van Dijk. It appears the injuries have led to a drop in performances, even if results have been largely alright.
The champions did make light work of beating Wolves at this venue a week ago, but they looked very, very sluggish when scoring a late penalty to secure a point away against Fulham at the weekend. It’s no exaggeration to say that Jurgen Klopp’s men were somewhat fortunate to leave West London with anything, after they were outplayed by the Cottagers for large parts of the contest. A better performance will most certainly be needed if they are to get the better of the league leaders on Wednesday.
The Mourinho effect
It took Jose Mourinho some time to get to grips with his new role at Tottenham. For most of the previous campaign, Spurs were leaking goals left, right and centre and were generally defending like anything but a side coached by the special one. However, now that time has passed and Mourinho has had a lengthy period of embedding his ideas, Tottenham look like a solid outfit, one that is up for the fight and gets the job done.
Tottenham come into this match off the back of drawing 1-1 away at Palace, though it was a game that they were unfortunate not to win. Except for the heroics of Eagles’ keeper Vicente Guaita, Spurs would’ve won the game with relative simplicity. Even with that draw, Mourinho’s men remain in a strong position. They’re top of the league and our shortening all the time in the Premier League title race odds. They are without defeat in the EPL since the opening day and have conceded just one goal in their last five Premier League matches.
Strong on the road
Much of Tottenham’s league success this term can be attributed to strong away form. Spurs are yet to taste defeat away from the comforts of North London, winning four and drawing two of their six travelling matches. In those six matches, they’ve conceded just four goals and have kept three clean sheets. They have also done a good job of limiting the chances that teams create. In only two of their away matches this term have Tottenham conceded upwards of 0.9 expected goals. On average, they surrender 1.0 expected goals per 90 on the road, which is among the best in the league. An average of 1.0 xG against per away game looks rather useful next to an average of 1.66 xG for.
Imperious at home
Unfortunately for Tottenham, they’re coming up against the best home team in the division. Liverpool have won six out of six at Anfield, and when we dig deeper and examine the underlying numbers, it’s impossible to say that they’ve not deserved to do so. In addition to scoring two or more in each of their six home games, scoring a total of 18 goals, Liverpool boast an average of 2.58 expected goals for per 90 minutes on their own patch. Whichever way you want to look at it, such a figure is impressive. At the other end, they’ve had a few wobbles, especially when conceding three against Leeds on the opening day, and they have kept just two clean sheets, but they’re generally creating quite a bit more than they’re conceding, so it’s hard to criticise the home efforts of Klopp’s men.
Where’s the money going?
Given the above, it’s hard to argue with the fact that Liverpool are warm favourites for this encounter (see betting odds comparison table below), even though they are playing against one of the best travelling sides and against a side steered by a manager known for masterminding wins in fixtures such as this. That said, given that they come into this fixture off the back of a weak display at the weekend, coupled with the fact that they’re up against strong opposition, it would take a brave punter to get behind the hosts at odds-on.
Player props the best option
Rather than siding with either team in the betting or indeed going down the goals route, there is a player prop that catches the eye at an appealing price. ‘Harry Kane to score anytime’ should do the job for those punters looking to get a decent run for their money.
It is rare to see the Spurs hitman priced at anything more than about evens to find the net, though on this occasion, punters can take advantage of 7/5 in the early betting. Now Spurs are of course going to Anfield, a venue they’ve not done particularly well at in recent times, but it’s not as if Liverpool have kept teams out with regularity at home this term, while we’re also talking about one of the best goal-getters in world football.
What’s more, the England captain has found the net in three of last five away matches against Liverpool. Add in the fact that Kane comes into this match with two in his last two in the league (and nine this season), as well as a lofty average of 0.57 expected goals for per 90, and it’s hard to think that a bet on the Spurs’ no.10 to bag on Wednesday is anything other than a good one at the odds currently available. So the betting tips advice of this LFC vs THFC preview is:
- Bet on Harry Kane to score at any time @ 7/5 with BetVictor.
Compare LFC vs THFC Outright Winner Match Betting Odds from Bookies
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 10/11 | 10/11 | 10/11 | 5/6 | 10/11 | 10/11 |
| Draw | 29/10 | 11/4 | 13/5 | 11/4 | 29/10 | 14/5 |
| Tottenham | 11/4 | 11/4 | 3/1 | 11/4 | 3/1 | 14/5 |
Bradley Gibbs is an experienced football writer. He is an expert analyst on Premier League, and all global football leagues & tournaments, for Just Bookies. Bradley has been published by many respected outlets, including USA Betting and the Racing & Football Outlook. He has also written betting strategy guides.