Leicester host Liverpool in the English Premier League on Tuesday and we have goals markets and goalscorer betting tips courtesy of @Olimp_SA
Leicester vs. Liverpool, EPL Round 20, 28 December 22:00
It was a Christmas to forget for Brendan Rogers’ men after they came up short in a nine goal thriller at the Etihad on Sunday that ended 6-3 in favour of the hosts. Early on it was evident that the Foxes defensive issues still need a lot of work after Manchester City showed no mercy with four goals in the first 25 minutes. Credit should however be given to Leicester for not lying down after their horrible start and hitting back with three quick goals in the second half. Unfortunately the damage had already been done early on and despite their spirited fight back their weak defense would come back to haunt them and let in another two goals in the remainder of the match.
Sunday was the second consecutive game that the Foxes scored three goals and walked away without a victory after losing to Liverpool in the EFL Cup earlier in the week. They now sit in tenth place on the EPL table with 22 points and have conceded a whopping 12 goals across their last five EPL matches. Their attack have managed an impressive 10 goals in the same number of matches, but unfortunately it takes more than just a good attack to secure games as is evident in Leicester’s results. Their next challenge is against the top-scoring team in the league and if their defensive woes continue on Tuesday then chances are good that we will see the same results as last week’s EFL Cup quarter-final.
Klopp’s Reds enjoyed an extended Christmas break after their Boxing Day match against Leeds was postponed due to a Covid outbreak in the opposition camp. Luckily for Liverpool their players have been able to avoid illness and they should be well-rested and ready to return from the break with a bang on Tuesday. The Reds are still in second place on the EPL table with 41 points and even though they are now six points behind league-leaders City they do have a game in hand and still have a shot at catching them. Liverpool are undefeated in their last seven EPL matches and their only defeat of the season came in London against West Ham at the beginning of last month.
Although Liverpool now share the crown of top-scoring team in the league with Manchester City, their attack has probably been the best in the league. They are averaging over 2.5 goals per match and they have scored at least two goals in all but two of their matches this season which is really impressive. Unfortunately for Liverpool their defense has been opening up slightly in the last couple of months and they have now conceded more goals than their fellow Top 3 clubs Chelsea and City. However, I would still consider their defense one of the best in the league and as long as their attack is able to make up for it like they have been doing I don’t see their defensive efforts being a cause of concern for the Reds.
In the last five EPL clashes between the sides Liverpool have won three, Leicester have won one and there has been one draw. Liverpool were able to pull off a remarkable comeback when the sides met at Anfield last week in the EFL Cup, but the last time these two sides met in the league back in February Leicester won comfortably 3-1. This was their first victory against Liverpool in as many as eight EPL clashes and even when having home advantage victories don’t come often for the Foxes against Liverpool. Six out of the last eight EPL clashes have featured both teams scoring, while seven out of the last eight EPL clashes have seen over 2.5 goals.
Prediction
Although the Foxes took Liverpool to the brink in the EFL Cup last week I don’t think we are going to see a repeat of this performance on Tuesday. Right now the Foxes just have too many defensive troubles and we saw against Manchester City exactly what will happen against top teams until this problem is sorted out. The Reds are the top-scoring team in the league for a reason and I can easily see them putting a number of goals past the Foxes in their own backyard. I do believe Leicester will make it onto the scoreboard in this match, but it’s most likely going to be the same situation for them as usual – their defense letting in more goals than their attack can score.
Generally the clashes between Liverpool and Leicester have been high-scoring in the past and the bookies have rightly set the total goals line at 3.5 instead of 2.5. However, with both team’s defense being far from perfect and Liverpool having the potential to replicate Manchester City’s Boxing Day performance I believe this can be covered. I can’t see any result other than a Liverpool victory here, but with the odds being so low for the away win I will rather go for Liverpool to win and both teams to score which is just over even money. For goalscorers I will stick with my pick from the Leeds match which was Diogo Jota to score the first goal. As of late the Portuguese striker is making a habit of scoring first for his team and could very well do the same on Tuesday against the Foxes.
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