Football Betting Tips & Predictions For Today by Betalyst

Liverpool vs Spartak Moscow – Champions League Preview– Liverpool conclude their Champions League Group Stage needing at least a point at home against Spartak Moscow to guarantee qualification into the knockout stages.

Jurgen Klopp’s men threw away a three-goal lead in Sevilla in the last matchday in dramatic fashion to draw 3-3 and now need a positive result against the Russian Champions in order to progress.

The Reds’ recent form would suggest that an upset is unlikely; having not lost in eight matches dating back to October and have won six of those fixtures in the process. The form of the Premier League’s top-scorer Mo Salah has been particularly impressive.

In fact, Liverpool’s attacking prowess in general has been terrific, scoring a remarkable 32 goals in their last 10 games. The potency in the Champions League has been equally strong, with only the fantastic Paris Saint-Germain’s record-breaking goal total (24) so far surpassing Liverpool’s 16 in five matches.

All five English clubs can and from this position should top their respective groups, an excellent turnaround from the recent underachievement from the Premier League in the world’s biggest club competition.

Spartak will hope to cause an upset at Anfield Photo Credit: goal.com

Spartak have proven they can be worthy competitors though, despite Liverpool’s dominance in the reverse fixture they held the Reds to a 1-1 draw but even more surprisingly dismantled Sevilla 5-1 earlier in the group stage.

Krasno-Belye are the country’s most successful team with a record 10 Russian Championships, and they also need to win to get into the knockout stages so must be treated as dangerous opposition.

In Liverpool’s case; after an inconsistent past few seasons, finishing fourth in the league in 2016/17 and cementing qualification into the Champions League seems like a step in the right direction. A solid showing in the competition could once again start to place Liverpool amongst Europe’s elite. Dispatching Spartak and getting into the last 16 is the first step on the road to doing that.

Stats

Despite Liverpool’s purported defensive struggles, Anfield has seen the home side collect five clean sheets from a possible seven this year and would be a strong bet to do so again this time out.

The Reds come third in the Premier League in our club corner stats table for least number of corners conceded, their total of 49 is just behind Arsenal and Man City’s 47 and 42 respectively. The pressure and intensity Klopp’s team play with often force opposition teams up the pitch away from their own goal.

Liverpool also do not concede too many fouls that lead to bookings; with only five teams having a better disciplinary record than The Reds in our club card stats table. The reds of Merseyside have garnered 20 bookings in the league this year and the one red card for an average of 15 booking points per game – not a massive total to bet on.

Salah has not only scored goals but has provided plenty of assists for his team mates Phot Credit: skysports.com

Player to Watch

Mo Salah has enjoyed a wonderful start to life on his return to English football, taking the league by storm and topping the goal-scoring charts with 12 goals in his 15 games for Liverpool. The Egyptian international also has four strikes in the Champions League in just five appearances and looks a massive threat to score every single time he steps out onto the pitch. His blistering pace and intelligent movement mean Salah consistently creates goal-scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Suggested Tips

Skybet Price Boost – Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho both to score in 90 mins – 11/2
Skybet Price Boost – Luiz Adriano to score a header – 28/1
Skybet Featured RequestAbet – Moreno, Tasci & Glushakov to be carded – 50/1
Skybet To Score a Header – Emre Can – 12/1
Skybet RequestAbet Up to 10/1 – Liverpool to score 2+ goals and 11+ Liverpool corners – 7/2
Bet365 – Total Goals and BTTS – Over 2.5 Goals and Yes – (link no longer available)
Bet365 – First Goalscorer – Roberto Firmino – (link no longer available)
Bet365 – Anytime Goalscorer – Luiz Adriano – (link no longer available)
Bet365 – Full Time Result – Draw – (link no longer available)

Bournemouth vs Southampton – Match Preview – Mauricio Pellegrino takes charge of his first South Coast derby as he takes his Southampton side to the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.

Both teams have struggled to hit consistent form so far this season and are hovering ominously in mid to lower-mid table positions.

Southampton are in 11^th but have only won once in their last five matches and lost three of the last four. In fact, the four wins gained at this stage of the season have come against three of the league’s bottom four clubs in West Ham United, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace – the other came against Everton, who’s troubles have been well documented too.

Josh King scored in the defeat to Burnley midweek and will be hopeful the goals continue Photo Credit: skysports.com

This signals a tricky start to life in England for new Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino, the Argentinian replaced Claude Puel (now of Leicester City) and has faced much of the same issues as his French predecessor – namely scoring goals.

Bournemouth endured a very poor start this year, but turned it around with a run of four wins from five matches not so long ago. A 0-0 draw with struggling Swansea and a 2-1 defeat to Burnley last time out has seen insecurities creep back in, however.

Eddie Howe achieving the heights reached of 2016/17 by finishing 9^th seems a feat unlikely to be replicated on current evidence, but the nature of the league means they are still only three points away from the top half.

Southampton’s struggles in front of goal could lend itself to Bournemouth keeping a clean sheet, despite their lowly league position of 15^th, only sides in the top 7 and Brighton have conceded less goals than The Cherries’ 16 so far this campaign.

Charlie Austin looks back to his best after scoring a brace last weekend against Everton Photo Credit: skysports.com

The goal-scoring stats suggest a low scoring game is inbound. However, in total both sides have only kept four clean sheets in the Premier League, seeing both teams in tied 11^th in our club clean sheets stats table. Bournemouth have kept a clean sheet in 33% of their home games and Southampton in 40% of their away fixtures.

Both teams certainly possess the quality in the squad to create and take opportunities and with this being the most likely rival fixture either team will see for years the stakes are heightened even further.

Stats
Betting on Southampton to have a high number of corners seems the smart suggestion; The Saints have recorded the fourth highest total in the league in our club corner stats table with 86 in total with an average of 6.6 per game – only Tottenham Hotspur and both Manchester clubs are higher in the rankings. Bournemouth are 10^th in this respect with a middling 5.2 per match.

Another glaring showing of Southampton is in our club card stats table, where Pellegrino’s side have been the ‘cleanest’ team in the division. The Saints have only racked up a total of 11 yellow cards and no red cards all season, at a league leading average of 0.8 cards and 8.5 booking points per game.

Player to Watch

There’s no doubt Joshua King is not in the exhilarating form that saw him score a career-best total of 16 Premier League goals last campaign. However, getting on the scoresheet with an instinctive poacher’s goal against Burnley in Bournemouth’s last fixture could be the catalyst he needs to ignite his form. The Norwegian international has pace to burn and his direct running and fearless shooting saw him terrorise defences in the league last year, particularly in the latter half of the season. How The Cherries could do with King hitting his stride once again.

Suggested Tips

Skybet Price Boost – Charlie Austin to Score a Header – 15/2
Skybet Price Boost – Callum Wilson to score and Bournemouth to win in 90 mins – 5/1
Skybet To Score from Outside the Area – Sofiane Boufal – 12/1
Skybet Corners Taken Band – 11-13 Corners – 2/1
Skybet Total Under Booking Points – Under 30 Booking Points – 2/1
BET365 – First Goalscorer – Joshua King – (link no longer available)
BET365 – Half Time/Full Time – Draw/ Draw – (link no longer available)
BET365 – Total Goals/ Both Teams to Score – Under 2.5 Goals and YES – (link no longer available)