12 Jun 2019
A significant clash at both ends of the Premier League table takes place on Sunday, as leaders Liverpool travel to relegation-threatened Cardiff City.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are two points ahead of Manchester City heading into the weekend’s fixtures, having played a game more.
The Genting Casino Premier League odds have Liverpool as 11/10 underdogs to win the title, with City, who host Spurs on Saturday, at 8/11.
Liverpool’s remaining games are Huddersfield (H), Newcastle (A) and Wolves (H). They also have to face Barcelona in a two-leg Champions League semi-final and are 5/2 to win that competition.
Cardiff won at Brighton on Tuesday to keep their hopes of playing in the top tier next season alive.
They are still 1/3 to make a quick return to the Championship, trailing Brighton by two points. The Bluebirds have a vastly inferior goal difference, too. Neil Warnock’s side still have to face Fulham (A), C rystal Palace (H) and Manchester United (A).
Brighton, who are 9/4 to be relegated, travel to Wolves on Saturday. Their last four games comprise Tottenham (A), Newcastle (H), Arsenal (A) and Manchester City (H).
Liverpool come here on the back of a thumping 4-1 win on the road in Porto to set up a clash with Barcelona in the Champions League, who were 1/20 to go down before their clash at Brighton, stunned their hosts and belied the odds of 3/1 to win 2-0 at the Amex.
Cardiff are 14/1 to beat Liverpool for the first time since 1959, having lost four of five subsequent meetings (they drew the 2012 League Cup final 2-2 after extra time, which Liverpool eventually won on penalties).
Liverpool, who bid to extend their winning run in the Premier League to six games, are 1/5 to win in Cardiff. The draw, which has occurred just three times in the last 33 meetings dating back to 1922, is on offer at 6/1.
TEAM NEWS
Neil Warnock’s Cardiff side will be without Callum Paterson, who will miss the rest of the season with after picking up an ankle injury on international duty with Scotland.
They will also be without Matt Connolly, who dislocated an ankle, and Sol Bamba, who will also miss the rest of the campaign with knee ligament damage.
Liverpool will likely shuffle the pack, although Joe Gomez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain sidelined.
REDS MARCH ON?
Cardiff have played well in recent weeks. They should have got something from games against Chelsea and Burnley and on both occasions were left ruing some controversial officiating decisions.
Their win at Brighton was a major boost to their survival chances and Liverpool’s record in Cardiff is historically poor, having lost five of their last six trips to south Wales before winning a 6-3 thriller there on their last visit in 2014.
And for all their dominance in recent weeks, it must be remembered that Klopp’s side have still looked vulnerable at the back at times. They have conceded in each of their last four road games, including at struggling Fulham and Southampton.
They also face a quick turnaround after their game in Portugal on Wednesday.
Liverpool beat Cardiff 4-1 at Anfield in the reverse fixture in October with two goals from Sadio Mane, and early strike from Mo Salah and another from forgotten man Xherdan Shaquiri. Mane has scored the first goal six times in his last 11 appearances and is 11/4 to do the same on Sunday. He is 3/4 to score at any time in a fixture where goals have traditionally been bountiful.
No less than 17 of the last 19 meetings have produced three goals or more in normal time. It is 8/15 that over 2.5 goals will be scored in total and 5/4 that over 3.5 goals will fly in.
Both sides have scored in eight of the last 10 meetings and while Paterson, who scored for Cardiff at Anfield in October, is missing, the Bluebirds are 11/10 to score at least once (over 0.5 goals). Cardiff have scored at least once against the Reds in each of their last 10 meetings and following that historic trend, the 8/11 for Liverpool to win to nil might begin to look a little skinny.
Warnock knows that this is a free hit. He will likely set his side up to frustrate Liverpool early on and Klopp’s side may have to be patient. Therefore the second half might be the most fruitful for goals and it is Evens for more to be scored in the second half.
To see all the odds on this clash, click here.
