Sunderland: What are the odds?
It's the big kick off today but have you placed your bets yet? Paul Anderson rounds up some of the best bets on offer with official Liverpool FC partner 188BET.com
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As with every season following Liverpool FC, the arrival of the new campaign brings renewed optimism and belief that the Reds can finally bring home that elusive 19th title.
And supporters have more reasons than ever to be brimming with excitement ahead of today's opener against Sunderland. In the manager's seat is the last man to carry the League championship into the trophy room at Anfield and also a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1995. The King to reclaim his throne and Liverpool to end our title drought is priced up at 9.50.
A more realistic aim may be for the Reds to finish in the top four and once again qualify for the Champions League, a trophy we've paraded on a majestic five occasions. With odds of 2.20, supporters and neutrals alike will fancy the men from Anfield to make a return to Europe's prize competition.
If we lacked attacking bite last August, we don't anymore. The King has been joined by an array of signings and bolstered his attacking options in a big way. In January, we saw strike partnership Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll arrive through the Shankly Gates and Dalglish has since added Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing to the attacking mix. If you look at the goals scored column in the Barclays Premier League since Kenny's return, we netted 35 goals in that period - equal to eventual champions Manchester United.
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We also managed to outscore Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the second half of the campaign and with those statistics and attacking options, perhaps a punt on Liverpool to end the season as the league's top scorers priced at 9.50 is worthwhile.
But what about the individual scoring markets? After seeing glimpses of a mouth watering partnership developing between Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll last season, who would put it past one of the lethal duo to lead the scoring charts come the end of the season? The Uruguay international is priced at 11.00 whereas our no.9 can be had at 17.00. An outside shot would be Dirk Kuyt, who seems to save his goals for the games that matter. The flying Dutchman is 45.00 to finish the season with the golden boot.
With the Black Cats our opponents today, many will remember last season's 2-2 draw between the sides, a repeat of last years result is 18.00. But it's worth remembering before Sunderland scored at Anfield last September, you have to go back 10 years for their previous goal in L4. A decade of solid defensive performances would suggest the Wearsiders don't enjoy travelling to Liverpool.
My tip of the day? Liverpool to win 2-0. I fancy the Reds to start the season with an important win; you have to go back to 2003 for the last time we lost an opening day fixture at home. I can see that record being improved on - Liverpool to win 2-0 is 6.00.
All odds correct at www.188bet.com at the time of writing