2.5pts Liverpool to win and under 4.5 goals at 11/8 (Sky Bet)
1pt Trent Alexander-Arnold 1+ assists at 4/1 (Ladbrokes, Coral)
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 and Tottenham.
It's a funny old game.
Arne Slot has gone about his work in the same business-like manner which 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 and 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 of 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 line-up.
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 shortage of assists (two in all competitions) simply a result of team-mates not converting opportunities.
Across Premier League and Champions League action he's 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.
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 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.
Liverpool: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Gakpo; Nunez.
Leverkusen: Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Garcia, Grimaldo; Terrier, Wirtz; Boniface.
Odds correct at 1100 GMT (04/11/24)
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