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The Premier League is back for 2021/22 and any Liverpool fans who are fond of an omen will have been delighted to see the Reds get their campaign underway with a match against Norwich. The Canaries provided Liverpool’s opposition for the opener in 2019/20 and were swept aside, just as the rest of the competition were in their relentless pursuit of a first league title for 30 years.
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Daniel Farke will hope his side can catch Liverpool cold with a hot start. While they lost 4-1 at Anfield on the opening weekend two years ago, Norwich did beat Manchester City 3-2 in their third match at Carrow Road that season. Two of their final total of five victories came in their opening quintet of matches too, and the home crowd will be rocking having spent the vast majority of 2020/21 sat at home.
Saturday 5.30pm: Norwich v Liverpool
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Liverpool (-2)
However, they have bid adios to Emi Buendia, and his move to Aston Villa will leave them with a huge creative shortfall. He was their only player to register more than six assists last season, and the only one who topped three in their previous Premier League campaign.
The Argentine was also the top creator of clear-cut chances in the second flight, but while his absence will be felt by Norwich, Liverpool will have no such problems. The Reds had the highest number of big chances in the top flight last season – yes, even more than City – and have had at least five in each of their last three warm up matches.
Billy Gilmour will be a fine addition for Norwich this season, but can he hold back the red tide? Everything points towards Liverpool dominating this match and having a sack full of decent chances, so even though they haven’t yet shaken off their wastefulness in front of goal from 2020/21, they should be able to win by three goals here, thus beating the Liverpool (-2) handicap.
Over 3.5 goals
There’s something about the warmth and optimism that greets the start of a new campaign which turns Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool into the great entertainers. In their five season-starters under their current manager the Reds have only scored fewer than four goals once and have conceded three in three of the matches too.
Their league games under Klopp have averaged 3.1 total goals, yet that rises to 5.8 on the opening weekend. Goals are a familiar factor in this fixture too, just ask Luis Suarez.
Liverpool’s Premier League average of 2.8 goals per game against Norwich is the highest for any team who has faced another at least 18 times in the competition. While it’s unlikely the Canaries will score too many, the Reds will field a combination of centre-backs who are either newly arrived in England or returning from long-term injury. This should be another goal-heavy opening day clash for Liverpool which will feature Over 3.5 goals.
Mohamed Salah to score first
Liverpool have had quite a strange pre-season campaign with two of their games only lasting 30 minutes while another two were for an hour each against the same team on the same day. Jurgen’s playing five-dimensional chess and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Sadio Mane has scored three goals, while Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota and Takumi Minamino have netted two apiece. But what of last season’s top scorer, Mohamed Salah? He’s drawn a blank, smacking the bar against Bologna and seeing a great effort saved against Bilbao.
However, the Egyptian is the king of the opening weekend, having scored in the first match of each of the four seasons he has spent with Liverpool. No player has ever done so in five consecutive Premier League campaigns, so a match with Norwich offers Salah a great chance to become the first and it’s worth siding with Salah to Score First as well.
Sadio Mane To Have 2 Or More Shots On Target
With Mane in fine form this summer, he wouldn’t be a bad choice for a goal scorer bet either. He bagged the only goal of the game the last time these teams met too. But as Salah has that covered, let’s back Mane to have two-or-more shots on target.
He was joint-ninth in the Premier League for putting shots inside the goal frame last season and had at least two in matches against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. The first of those teams are better than Norwich, so Mane must have a good chance of having two shots on target here.
Norwich v Liverpool Bet Builder
Liverpool (-2)
Over 3.5 Goals
Mo Salah to Score First
Sadio Mane To Have 2 Or More Shots On Target
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