Football Betting Basics

For Advanced Bettors

Football Betting Tools

"The Infamous Beach-ball Goal"

English Battle of the Reds

Last season the main games of the English Premier League season were between Manchester United and Liverpool and although Liverpool were triumphant in both games, United managed to triumph at the end of the season.

That indicates that being the top team in individual matches isn’t always the most important thing but with the intense rivalry between the two teams, it is apparent that this weekend’s matchup between the two teams will create a lot of interest. Liverpool are so far off the pace at the moment with regards to the EPL.

Home Side Struggling for Form
The home side are entering this match on their worst run of form since 1987 having lost four games in a row. Two of these matches have come in the Champions League with Fiorentina and Lyon beating the Reds but the away defeat at the Stadium of Light was the one that really set the black cats amongst the pigeons.

You have probably seen the goal by now but a beach ball thrown in by the Liverpool fans was the reason why the Reds lost that match, with Darren Bent deflecting in off the inflatable. Rafa Benitez’s team still had plenty of time to turn the tide and get a goal back but they were unable to breach the Sunderland defence and salvage something from the match.

That was bad enough but losing 2-1 at home to Lyon in the Champions League put Liverpool in a dangerous place. A trip to France to take on the French giants is not something that many teams would look forward to but Liverpool know they must avoid defeat to get their Champions League campaign back on track. The fact that the Liverpool crowd finally cracked and turned on Rafa Benitez who replaced Yossi Benayoun with Vorononin, no doubt the Spaniard thinking endeavour would be better for the team than guile and craft. There is no doubt that Rafa Benitez is still living off the glory of his first season when Liverpool rebounded from 3-0 down to defeat AC Milan on penalties.

That must seem like so long ago for the current Liverpool fans and if they are to look to the current injury list, they may not be too happy about the team which will take to the field against Manchester United. Many fans will suggest that Liverpool are a two man team in Gerrard and Torres and when these players do not play, they fall way short of expectations. Worryingly, neither of the players look set to be fit for the Anfield match on Sunday which may just give Manchester United the edge when it comes to the big match of the weekend.

United enter the weekend as league leaders after an eventful weekend where they just about held on at home versus Bolton Wanderers. Chelsea were losing to Aston Villa and Liverpool were losing away to Sunderland in the beach ball game of the weekend.

99 Red Balloons
So, what can we look forward to this Sunday? The first thing is that it is obvious that Manchester United fans will try to have a laugh at Liverpool’s expense for Beach-ball Gate. Allegedly the beach ball kit has sold out on the Liverpool website, with Manchester United fans probably snapping up the kit in droves.

There is a promised massive shakedown of fans entering Anfield on Sunday with the Liverpool stewards very keen to prevent United fans from entering the stadium with too many of these offending products. Then again, a beach-ball that isn’t blown up can be hidden in numerous places around the body and there are likely to be a great number getting past the Anfield security cordon.

Red Devils on Some Form
Manchester United can enter the game at Anfield on a bit of form, even though they also have injuries but their 1-0 win away to CSKA Moscow will give the club a greater degree of confidence entering the tie. Before United played in Moscow, the media attention focused on their previous final versus Chelsea and the abject performance England put in when playing on the plastic surface. What the media tends to forget is the fact that Celtic went to Moscow on the artificial surface against Spartak Moscow and secured a 1-1 draw.

In fact, if Scott Brown wasn’t rubbish and had an element of a first touch, the Scottish club would likely have triumphed away from home in Moscow. There was nothing to worry about though as Celtic managed to overcome their Russian opponents on penalty kicks in an enthralling encounter at Celtic Park.

Manchester United went one better than Celtic by managing to win in Moscow and the fact that they played a weakened side indicates that United are developing some form. Liverpool may cling to the hope that an extra day’s rest will give them an advantage over United but the fact that United know what it takes to win title after title may see them carry an advantage to Liverpool.

Fergie and Rafa Don’t Get On
There may not be too many miles between the two clubs nor is there much love between both fans but this game remains one of the most absorbing of all the English matches. Rafa Benitez has never managed to match up to Alex Ferguson in the head to head stakes with Fergie always being more concerned with voyeur Wenger or the Special One Mourinho.

United also have a number of injuries to contend with and if they are missing Wayne Rooney, it could be as damaging as the home side missing out on Fernando Torres. United are not quite the one or two man team that Liverpool appear to be but if you were to take away the star men from Ferguson’s main line-up, some cracks would start to appear in the line-up.

This game at the weekend is important for Manchester United but it is absolutely massive for Liverpool and if the Scousers slip to their fifth defeat in a row, Rafa Benitez could be looking at the sack in no time at all.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

Click Here to Become a Member of The Silver Circle.

1. Receive J Armstrong's personal picks through both email and SMS.
2. Direct access to J Armstrong though email.
3. Access to Members' Area and support.
4. Access to protected information reserved only for members.