Betting Update; Liverpool v Arsenal with the bookmakers making Liverpool their 4/5 favourites

Added: (Tue Apr 21 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Despite both sides suffering setbacks in cup competitions last time out, Liverpool and Arsenal remain the form sides in the Premiership and Rafael Benitez�s side have a formidable domestic home record to fall back on ahead of the visit of the Gunners.

The hosts may have lost the incredible Champions League tie with Chelsea 7-5 (on aggregate) last week and are without talisman Steven Gerrard again here but they are still a BP 4/5 to defeat the on-song Londoners: why? Well, they are unbeaten at Anfield in the league this season and from the 2005/06 season onwards, they have lost just 3 of 73 matches at Anfield � none of them against Arsene Wenger�s side. On top of this, the Reds have won their last 5 consecutive PL games and 3 in a row on Merseyside (all of them to nil) and crucially, have the motivation of going top of the table should they avoid defeat this evening.

Nevertheless, you still have to feel that prices of 4/1 on Arsenal winning here seem a little off. After all, they too have won their last 5 consecutive league games and Wenger�s unbeaten run in the Premier League now stands at an impressive 18 fixtures � plus they have already won 2-1 at Chelsea this season so they know what it takes to win at a big four ground. Unfortunately for them the hero that day, Robin van Persie, is out of the match here, as is chief marksman Emmanuel Adebayor. The absence of this pair coupled with Gerrard has pushed under 2.5 goals into a very lean 8/11 � too short for me to get involved given the home side need to win the game to keep their title hopes alive.

Wenger has not ruled out the possibility of his side winning the Premiership despite being 10 points behind the leaders with 6 games to play � though this is surely far-fetched, thoughts of the Gunners� taking this game lightly are almost certainly wide of the mark. Yes, they have a Champions League semi-final on the horizon and are almost certainly going to finish fourth but the Frenchman wants to make his mark on the league season � he has said so in his press conferences all week.

Personally, I won�t be getting heavily involved in this match as both teams are in great nick and injuries to key personnel, coupled with the specific circumstances of the match for Liverpool in particular, make it a bit of a minefield in the markets. Having said this, there is no doubt that Arsenal can score � even without RVP & Adebayor, Eduardo is a more than capable replacement and Theo Walcott absolutely destroyed the Villarreal defence in the Champions League last week � and who can forget his wonderful assist in the European match here last season. Two interesting trends to back this up are that both teams have scored in 7 of the 9 Liverpool vs Arsenal league games in the Benitez era while both teams have notched in Arsenal�s last 6 consecutive away games at big four sides. With a Liverpool win absolutely vital, they should be more attacking than usual at home and this could leave the gaps for Walcott & Eduardo to exploit. I am happy to split stakes on the pair to score anytime, with the Croatian a BP 10/3 and Walcott a very tasty looking 5/1.

Recommended Bets - 1/2 pt - Eduardo To Score Anytime, 10/3
Recommended Bets - 1/2 pt - Theo Walcott To Score Anytime, 5/1



� All prices correct at time of writing.

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