Reds to get back on track against table toppers
The holders Liverpool are up against it after opening match defeat face off with RB Salzburg for the first time in their history, the visitors caught the eye by winning their tournament opener 6-2 in front of a joyful home crowd.
Impeccable thus far domestically the Reds ground out a 1-0 win at newly promoted outfit Sheffield United to maintain their five point lead at the summit of the league. Following their 2-0 defeat to Napoli due to mainly late defensive errors we could see a more reserved approach defensively, however that is not the Liverpool way especially at Anfield so expect goals.
Recent form
Liverpool are unbeaten in 22 European home games and have kept a clean sheet in their last five on the trot. Salzburg have scored an intimidating 45 goals in their last 10 games in all competitions. Not messing about. They tend to burst out of the blocks as well having registered two or more first half goals in 9 of their 12 matches so far this season. After the opening round Salzburg are unsurprisingly top of Group E with the reigning champions in third, Jurgen Klopp has spoke publicly before about the difficulty of retaining the trophy, possibly hinting towards the Premier League being more of a priority.
Erling Braut Håland
This 19-year-old Norwegian frontman just about stole the show in the opening round of fixtures, bagging his fourth hat trick of the season in the crushing win over Genk. He already has 17 goals this campaign and was signed from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s old employers Molde for £4.5million on New Years Day. Born in Leeds but having been capped twice by Norway, the FA and Gareth Southgate will be left seeing a missed opportunity with the obvious potential of the 6ft 4in forward. It will be interesting to see what sort of a threat he poses to the likely pairing of Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk.
Team news
The trio we are accustomed to seeing of Alisson Becker, Xherdan Shaqiri and Nathaniel Clyne are all still sidelined so it will be the familiar eleven with maybe a change or two in midfield that will be given the task of winning this important encounter. Salzburg cannot compete with the European Champions and their win demonstrates the ineptitude of Genk more than anything else though it will be a hostile and tough atmosphere for any team that makes the trip to Austria this season.
Liverpool will be tested but ultimately come out on top quite easily in this one. Salzburg will not be able to replicate anything of the sort of pressure they put on throughout matchday 1.
Liverpool – RB Salzburg Betting Tip
Liverpool to Win + Over 2.5 goals with Coral at odds of 73/100.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
Klopp's Reds suffered a scare as they were pegged back to 3-3 from 3-0 up however Mohamed Salah got the winner to get his sides' first Champions League points of the season.