Betdistrict.com
Liverpool will return to Champions League football with a game against the Bulgarian rookies of Ludogorets Razgrad. Real Madrid and Basel are also in the Group.
Liverpool had an inconsistent start to the season, alternating wins and excellent performances (like 3-0 at Tottenham) with losses, as was the 0-1 defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend. The Reds brought in a high number of players after Suarez left and they look to have great potential but maybe they just need a little more time to gain cohesiveness. The team is playing the same offensive style of football under Brendan Rodgers and will be eager to get going with a solid win against Ludogorets, also to forget the painful defeat to Villa.
Ludogorets got its first taste of big stage football last year when they reached the last 16 in Europa League, knocking out Lazio and losing to Valencia. The Bulgarians are an emerging team, they gain popularity in Bulgaria just 2-3 years ago when a new owner started pumping money into the club. They are clearly the best team in Bulgaria but that does not say much, and so far Ludogorets has failed to impress this season even in the domestic league – winning just 4 out of 8 games and standing on the 4th place. The team was also shaky in the Champions League qualifiers, winning 3 ties despite gaining just 2 victories in 6 matches! Ludogorets needed away goals to defeat Partizan and a penalty shootout (with a historic twist, as defender Moti had to play keeper) to beat Steaua, neither opponent having too much quality.
Team news & lineups
Can, Sturridge, Allen, Johnson, Flanagan and Markovic are out for Liverpool. Ludogorets has the 2 main goalkeepers (Cvorovic, Stoyanov) unavailable so they will have to use the third choice keeper at Anfield or, as the coach joked, defender Cosmin Moti – who saved 2 penalties in the dramatic playoff win over Steaua.
Liverpool: Mignolet – Manquillo, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno – Henderson, Gerrard, Coutinho – Balotelli, Lambert, Sterling
Ludogorets: Argilashky – Caicara, Moti, Terziev, Minev – Espinho, Dyakov – Aleksandrov, Marcelinho, Misidjan – Bezjak
I always respect the fact that quality difference does not automatically mean wins or big handicaps, but this just does not look like a potential upset. Firstly, Ludogorets is not playing too well, and upsets very rarely happen when the underdog is not in top form. Then, Liverpool has all the arguments to play good, focused football – it`s their first match in Champions League after a long time, they play at home, they need to recover after the Villa loss and also need these points, as the group could get dangerous with Real and Basel. Ludogorets is a team with very little experience (or none) in these kind of matches so that could hurt the visitors as well. Liverpool showed they can play solid football this year, they are offensive minded and can cover handicaps – I can`t see Ludogorets standing any chance here and it should be a comfortable Liverpool win. My tip is Liverpool -2 asian handicap. The odds are excellent as well in my opinion and they are going down. Prediction: Liverpool – Ludogorets 3-0.
Pick: Liverpool (-2 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.02 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 9.18
Event date: 16 September
