*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
The FA Cup 4th round reaches its conclusion on Sunday and Liverpool v Cardiff throws up a real mismatch. We all love an FA Cup upset or two in the early rounds, and we got plenty in the 3rd round, but shock hunters might be disappointed with Sunday’s early game.
Liverpool look to be getting back to their best after a shaky period while The Bluebirds are coming out of a shocking run. They did cause a mini upset of their own at the weekend, though, beating the in-form Nottingham Forest.
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The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right nowBut The Reds are 2nd in the Premier League while Cardiff are 20th in The Championship and are looking over their shoulders at the drop zone, though they have earnt some welcome daylight over the last seven days. There’s not even the usual caveat that Liverpool might rotate after most of the squad had last weekend off.
It’s not looking good for the south Wales side, but can I summon up any hope when studying the markets? Spoiler alert; the answer is no. But let’s take a look at what I hope will be a beautiful Bet Builder for Sunday’s game.
*A Bet Builder with these four best bets pays at approximately 28/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Sunday 12pm: Liverpool v Cardiff
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Liverpool (-2)
In all honesty Liverpool should make short work of Cardiff. Jurgen Klopp’s crew have lost just once in their last 17 games across all competitions while Cardiff’s first win in eight came last weekend before they racked up another on Wednesday against rock-bottom Barnsley, keeping only their second clean sheet of the season in the process.
Liverpool’s line up should be pretty formidable for this one with their European players putting their feet up last weekend. I think they’ll be strong, refreshed, raring to go and that they’ll pass the Liverpool (-2) handicap.
Over 3.5 Goals
Even if they’re not at their best they should be able to rack up a few against a leaky defence from the league below. There were over 4.5 goals in the last round against League One’s Shrewsbury where a combined 1st and 2nd Liverpool side went behind early on but emphatically made amends.
Cardiff are actually pretty handy in front of goal themselves so I’m not discounting them ‘doing a Shrewsbury’ at Anfield on Sunday. However, the outcome could well also be the same with a big Liverpool win and Over 3.5 Goals in the game.
Diogo Jota to Score First
Diogo Jota didn’t feature in that 3rd round match but he’s been superb for The Reds this season. His importance in recent weeks has been heightened by the absence of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane who’ve been off representing their countries at AFCON.
If he starts in this match he’s got to be the pick to kick off the scoring. He’s got 14 goals this term, double that of Liverpool’s next-best available player Roberto Firmino. Kieffer Moore is Cardiff’s top scorer with five so we can happily discount the Bluebirds and side with Diogo Jota to Score First.
Over 2.5 Cards
Given the one-way nature of this game I think it’s fair to expect Cardiff to be recording high foul numbers. Indeed, in The Championship they’ve been ticking along with quite high booking numbers in recent weeks and picked up four alone on Wednesday night.
I think the bar for this is way too low and I suspect the visitors to Anfield on Sunday will pass this benchmark themselves. Liverpool are pretty-well disciplined, averaging one card a match in their last five, but The Bluebirds have notched up 13 in their last five, an average of 2.6 alone. Given how this is likely to play out I’d be very surprised if Over 2.5 Cards didn’t see us home in bad-tempered style.
Liverpool v Cardiff tips
Liverpool (-2)
Over 3.5 Goals
Diogo Jota to Score First
Over 2.5 Cards
*A Bet Builder with these four best bets pays at approximately 28/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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