EPL Odds: Liverpool Has Shot at Top Spot
Liverpool (-125) vs Bournemouth (+400), Draw(+300)
Liverpool (9-3-1, 30 points) will travel to Dean Court to take on Bournemouth (4-3-6, 15 points) this weekend (Sunday, December 4) looking to leapfrog their way to the top of the table. Currently, Chelsea are one point ahead of the Reds in first place. But they take on Manchester City this weekend, and a loss or a draw would open the door for Liverpool if they can get the win.
If Liverpool are able to shut out Bournemouth on set pieces, they’ll take away the Cherries’ biggest threat. Six of Bournemouth’s last nine EPL goals have come from set pieces. They’ve only managed to score three goals, total, in their last five games.
That’s very good news for Liverpool. Although they’re the strongest attacking side in the league at the moment, the goals may not be coming fast and furiously this weekend; two of their top goal scorers — Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge — will be out injured.
Bournemouth will still have to deal with a flurry of potential goalscorers, including Sadio Mane, James Milner, Roberto Firmino, and Adam Lallana. What Liverpool has to worry about is their defense, and Bournmouth don’t pose too much of a threat up front.
Bournemouth will be missing midfielder Andrew Surman due to a hamstring injury, and the status of Artur Boruc and Charlie Daniels remain unknown.
If there’s ever been a time that Liverpool’s early season success looks like it’s going to hold, it’s now. Under Jurgen Klopp, this Liverpool side is playing forcing, aggressive football that is both attractive and effective.
Even defensively, they seem to be improving. The real test will be when they face off against Chelsea or Manchester City next, but it looks like their midfield is doing a much better job fulfilling their defensive duties and they have been able to start building up their attacks from the back line.
The Reds have the top of the table at their fingertips but in order to reach the top after the weekend, they need to win. Expect a motivated, though shorthanded, Liverpool team to put the boots to the Cherries.
Pick: Liverpool (-125)
Photo credit: “Liverpool FC” by John Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
