Champions League Betting – Liverpool vs. Basel

Liverpool (-137) vs. Basel (+350) (Draw +275)

Tomorrow, Liverpool will host Basel at Anfield in the last match of the Champions League’s Group Stage for both teams.  Liverpool needs a win to advance to the Round of 16, while Basel only needs a draw to move on.  Kick-off will be at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

Though they trail Basel by two points in the standings and have managed just one win in the Champions League so far, Liverpool is a significant betting favorite, sitting at -137 in the moneyline.  In contrast, Basel is at +350 and the draw +275.

Liverpool has yet to beat Basel in the Champions League in three tries (two draws and a loss).  Basel won on home soil (1-0) earlier this season, and earned a draw (1-1) in their only previous Champions League visit to Anfield back in 2002-03.

Basel is currently second in Group B with six points (2W, 0D, 3L) and a +1 goal difference.  The Reds are in third with 4 points (1W, 1D, 3L) and an embarrassing -4 goal difference .  With a draw or better, Basel would secure its first knockout-stage appearance since 2011-12, while a Liverpool win would see them move on for the first time since 2008-09.  Both teams are well back of the still-perfect Real Madrid, who have already clinched first place in the group.

After drawing in Sofia against Ludogorets (2-2) last fixture, the Liverpool Manager, Brendan Rodgers, was frustrated. He saw the game as a missed opportunity.

“It is frustrating to end the game 2-2. The reaction, to come from behind, was great. It showed our character. We come away with a point, but we could have scored a third goal. There is a disappointment as we had defended well. Real won against Basel so now it comes to the last game against Basel at home,” said Rodgers.

On the other side, despite losing to Real Madrid (1-0) at home, Basel coach Paulo Sousa liked the way his team competed against arguably the best club in Europe.

“I’m proud of the players, the team and the fans. It was fantastic how we were supported this evening, with such enthusiasm – I would like it to always be like that. We deserved more. The players are increasingly taking on board my ideas. You can see that we can compete better and better with big teams. The team’s belief in our ideas is growing, you could see that in the second half,” said Sousa.

Liverpool has been underwhelming in both the Champions League and the Premier League this season, and were crushed by Real Madrid (3-0) in their last Champions League match at home (though they were +375 underdogs).  Nonetheless, Anfield remains a difficult stadium for opposing teams, and Rodgers should have his team ready for this all-important match.

Bet Liverpool to win by a goal.

(Photo credit: Biser Todorov (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)