Preston vs Liverpool Betting Tips (27/10/21) – Much-Changed Reds to Cash In on Feelgood Factor

How about that then? Privately, perhaps, most Liverpool fans were confident of victory at Old Trafford on Sunday. But a 5-0 romp that could have been an even wider margin? This was wildest dreams stuff.

The media headlines focused on the future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United boss, and to a lesser extent the calamitous defending of Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and co.

But such reporting does not do justice to just how good Liverpool were, with complete midfield dominance matched by a spark in attack that could have yielded more than just five goals.

The column inches dedicated to Solskjaer meant that Mo Salah’s hat-trick went under the radar too. It’s almost expected that the Egyptian will find the net these days, but his treble – and assist for Naby Keita’s opener – were a reminder, should any be needed, that he is the best player on the planet right now.

The seeds of victory were sewn as early as the fifth minute. Salah, in a central area, found so much space that he was able to look up and slide a through ball to the onrushing Keita, who made no mistake when one-on-one with David de Gea.

It was 2-0 within the next eight minutes. Trent Alexander-Arnold was set free down the right hand, and he slid a delicious ball across the six-yard box. Diogo Jota and James Milner were both waiting at the back post to slot home, with the Portuguese ace at the front of the queue.

A two-goal salvo from Salah on the stroke of half-time saw hordes of United fans heading for the exit, and those left behind at Old Trafford – who presumably thought things couldn’t get any worse – were proven wrong in the 15 minutes after the break.

First, Salah completed his hat-trick after sprinting on to Jordan Henderson’s pinpoint ball, and then Paul Pogba – on as a substitute at half time – was sent off for a reckless lunge that left Keita on a stretcher.

An eventful afternoon in Manchester came to an end thereafter, and this was as good as it gets for Liverpool fans who can perhaps once again dream of potential Premier League title glory.

For now though, those expectations are parked as the Reds head to Preston for their EFL Cup clash on Wednesday.

Liverpool Team News

You can rest assured that Jurgen Klopp will make wholesale changes for a competition he holds little regard for, and by our maths ten players from the win at Old Trafford will be rested.

From back to front, we would expect Caoimhin Kelleher to deputise for Alisson in goal, while the back four could see Ibrahima Konate restored alongside Joe Gomez, with Kostas Tsimikas on the left and Conor Bradley on the right.

In midfield, it seems certain that Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will start, and they might be joined by young Tyler Morton, who continues to impress in the youth ranks.

In attack, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino will surely start, although Kaide Gordon – who impressed in the last round of this competition – might not feature as he battles injury. Mateusz Musialowski, another who has impressed for the Under-23s, could be handed a senior debut.

Preston Form

In some ways, this game is Preston’s metaphorical cup final, and so they will field their strongest available eleven at Deepdale.

The EFL Cup is a welcome distraction for a side that has struggled in the Championship so far, with just three wins from their opening 14 games. They’ve only lost five, however, and three of those were consecutive at the start of the campaign, so there has been some improvement since.

Just six of those fourteen outings have witnessed three or more goals, which shows how boss Frankie McAvoy likes to go about his business.

Preston vs Liverpool Betting Tips

The improvements in Liverpool’s squad are such that even their reserves look more than a match for Championship opposition.

That’s the case here too, with the bookmakers having them down as a prohibitive 4/11 favourite.

The value, therefore, is perhaps in the Asian handicap lines, with Preston 28/25 with a +1.75 buffer fair enough. That would allow for a Liverpool victory – the anticipated result – while allowing for our bet to be a winner too.