David John has a 27/10 selection as Liverpool travel to Hoffenheim for their Champions League play-off clash on Tuesday.
Recommended bets: Hoffenheim v Liverpool
Hoffenheim v Liverpool (1945BST, BT Sport 2)
So how close Jurgen Klopp is to solving Liverpool’s continuing defensive headaches is the burning question as the Reds begin their attempt to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Twice they were undone against Watford from set-pieces on Saturday while they looked all at sea for the other goal as the Hornets found a way into the penalty area and ultimately through to the goal in a clumsy opening 3-3 draw for one of the Premier League’s leading title fancies.
The Germans have been early movers in the betting here too with punters hoping to capitalise on Liverpool’s shortcomings once more as various news outlets have highlighted the fact that the Hoffenheim squad last season was on average among the tallest in Europe.
The conclusion to tentatively draw is to expect another aerial bombardment for the visitors to deal with at a sold-out Rhein-Neckar Arena from a team that finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season having progressed from the fifth tier of German football at the start of the century thanks to the cash input of software mogul Dietmar Hopp.
Back to Saturday, and there was no obvious excuse for Liverpool conceding the first goal at Vicarage Road as a handful of players stood around in their ‘zone’ and watched a Jose Holebas corner met by Stefano Okaka on the edge of the six-yard box. There was though no help from the officials for Watford’s last-gasp equaliser with Miguel Britos looking suspiciously offside.
It is a quick turnaround for Liverpool with limited time to iron out any serious wrinkles amongst the back line but surely Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and company will have some sort of discussion in a bid to pop a sticking plaster on the problem in the short term at the very least.
Hoffenheim’s new league campaign does not start until next weekend but they have enjoyed a competitive outing already courtesy of a 1-0 away victory over Rot-Weiss Erfut in the German Cup when Nadiem Amiri came up with a nifty second-half winner from close range.
This will be a high-profile challenge for youthful head coach Julian Nagelsmann and his side did not suffer a defeat on their own patch last season in the league but were involved in an inordinate amount of draws – 14 out of 34 games ended in stalemate.
Nagelsmann will certainly have been impressed with the application of his players in the Erfut fixture considering this much more glamorous tie loomed large on the horizon and it makes some sense that punters see them as viable challengers at around the 2/1 mark to beat Liverpool.
Klopp’s current number nine Roberto Firmino spent four and a half years with Tuesday’s rivals before a big-money transfer to Merseyside and the Brazilian is 15/8 in the anytime scorer betting for those keen on a blindingly obvious connection in that market.
I will sidestep that though and it may go against the grain somewhat, but I actually think the Watford game will act as a huge wake-up call for Liverpool.
The 27/10 on offer for the hosts not to score is a little bit overpriced with an away clean sheet such a valuable commodity over the two legs.
Verdict: Hoffenheim 0-1 Liverpool
Posted at 1430 BST on 14/08/17.
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