Liverpool vs Leverkusen betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
Football betting tips: Champions League
2.5pts Liverpool and under 4.5 goals at 11/8 (Sky Bet)
1pt Trent Alexander-Arnold 1+ assists at 4/1 (Ladbrokes, Coral)
BuildABet @ 16/1
- Liverpool to win
- Both teams to score
- Under 4.5 goals
- Alexander-Arnold 1+ assist
In the immediate aftermath of Jurgen Klopp's announcement that he would be stepping down as Liverpool manager, all speculation pointed towards the man who will be in the opposition dugout on Tuesday night being his obvious replacement.
When Xabi Alonso made his own announcement to commit to Bayer Leverkusen, speculation moved to the man who will now take charge of Manchester United.
Quietly in the background, Liverpool were preparing a deal to appoint a more understated manager who had already turned down Leeds United and Tottenham.
It's a funny old game.
What are the best bets?
Arne Slot has gone about his work in the same business-like manner that led to his appointment, overseeing an exceptional 13 wins from 15 games, meaning Liverpool legend Alonso, a goalscorer in the dramatic 2005 Champions League final, faces quite the task on his Anfield return.
There has been an unsurprising regression for Leverkusen after a record-breaking 2023/24, one that saw them go unbeaten domestically to win a first Bundesliga title, as well as the German Cup, with a solitary defeat coming in the final of the Europa League.
Nine games into this Bundesliga season Alonso's side have already conceded 15 times and failed to win five matches (D4 L1); last term they conceded just 24 goals and only failed to win on six occasions.
While they have fared better in Europe, their participation in the Champions League perhaps goes someway to explaining the overall drop-off.
Since thrashing Feyenoord 4-0 away in their opening fixture, Leverkusen have drawn five and won three of their subsequent eight games in the Bundesliga and Champions League, with results in the latter far less convincing (1-0 at home to AC Milan and 1-1 at French club Brest) than their dominant initial victory.
Keeping things simple on Tuesday night and taking LIVERPOOL TO WIN AND UNDER 4.5 GOALS at 11/8 is advised.
Only two of the Reds' fixtures this term have seen more than four goals, with both those in the Carabao Cup.
Though there are tempting bigger prices on offer at lower lines, there have been signs of Liverpool's defence not being quite so secure over recent weeks with just one clean sheet in five matches, a run that has coincided with the absence of Alisson Becker.
It should come as no surprise given that previously Slot's men were over-performing the data from a defensive perspective, something a team is far less likely to keep getting away with without one of the world's best goalkeepers in their lineup.
Elsewhere, it's worth backing TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD TO PROVIDE 1+ ASSISTS at a standout 4/1.
The Liverpool full-back has been superb this season, with his lack of assists (two in all competitions) simply a result of team-mates not converting opportunities.
Across Premier League and Champions League action he has created exactly the same number of big chances (seven) as Mohamed Salah, with his expected assists (xA) total of 3.46 far superior to the Egyptian's 2.42.
Salah has seven assists to his name and Alexander-Arnold has just two.
That won't last.
Team news
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is expected to be missing after going off injured at half-time against Brighton, with Joe Gomez likely to start having drawn praise from Arne Slot for his performance off the bench.
Alisson, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota all remain out.
Leverkusen will be without defender Nordi Mukiele after he was injured at the weekend, joining Amine Adli and Jeanuel Belocian on the sidelines.
Predicted line-ups
Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Nunez.
Leverkusen XI: Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Garcia, Grimaldo; Terrier, Wirtz; Boniface.
Match facts
- Liverpool have won three of their four UEFA Champions League matches against Bayer Leverkusen, losing the other 4-2 in the second leg of the 2001-02 quarter-final and going out on aggregate.
- Bayer Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in November 2016; they’ve lost both of their two visits to Anfield.
- Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), with that one defeat coming against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002. They’re unbeaten in 13 games since then (W10 D3).
- Liverpool have won all three of their UEFA Champions League games under Arne Slot, while only once previously have they won their opening four in a single campaign – in 2021-22 under Jürgen Klopp (first seven), when they finished as runners-up overall.
- Since the start of last season, no team have won more games (11) or scored more goals (37) in European competition than Bayer Leverkusen. The German side’s only defeat across their last 17 games in Europe came in last season’s UEFA Europa League final (0-3 v Atalanta), winning 11 and drawing five of the other 16 matches in this run.
- Liverpool have been ahead on the scoreboard for longer than any other team in the UEFA Champions League this season (213:47), with the Reds leading for 73% of their total match time so far. However, Bayer Leverkusen are one of only six teams to have not been behind at any point of the 2024-25 edition.
- Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has scored in each of his last five UEFA Champions League appearances at Anfield (five goals). The last player to score in six consecutive home games in the competition for an English club was Ruud van Nistelrooy, for Manchester United in April 2003 (6).
- Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz has scored three goals in three games in the UEFA Champions League this season, with all of them coming in away matches. Only two players in the competition’s history have scored in each of their first three away games while aged 21 or younger: Erling Haaland in 2019 and Manor Solomon in 2020.
- Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch has recovered possession more times than any other midfielder in the UEFA Champions League this season (26), while he’s also the midfielder with the most interceptions (10) so far.
- Aleix García has made 13 line-breaking passes ending in the final third in the UEFA Champions League this season; the most of any midfielder. The Bayer Leverkusen man has also completed 100% of the long passes he’s attempted in the competition this term (16/16).
Odds correct at 1100 GMT (04/11/24)
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