Premier League: Liverpool to Batter Struggling Blades

Liverpool vs Sheffield United

It has been a rough last couple of Premier League games for reigning champions Liverpool. After suffering a shocking 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa, they had a controversial 2-2 draw at the Merseyside derby, where they lost star centre-back Virgil van Dijk to a serious knee injury and were denied a late winning goal by VAR.

The Reds will be eager to finally get back to winning ways in the league, and they couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to do just that as they host struggling Sheffield United at Anfield.

The Blades have had a disastrous start to their second season in the Premier League as they’ve failed to pick up a win in their first five games.

And despite Liverpool’s current injury concerns, the Premier League 2020 betting odds are still heavily against the Blades’ chances of getting a positive result on their visit to Anfield.

Talking Points

Liverpool coping with injuries

Liverpool’s squad depth is getting a significant test during this opening month of the season. Not only have they potentially lost centre-back Virgil van Dijk for the rest of the season due to Jordan Pickford’s awful tackle in the derby, but they are also still without goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

But despite their key injuries, the Reds still pulled out a 0-1 away win in their opening Champions League match against Ajax. The Reds’ performance against the Dutch giants was hardly convincing — they won due to a Nicolas Tagliafico own goal — but they showed that they are still able to grind out results.

Adrian continues to deputise for Alisson and still has some nervy moments at times. But Fabinho is a more than capable replacement for van Dijk in the middle of defence. The Brazilian filled in well for the Dutchman in the derby and had another excellent game against Ajax, where he made a goal-saving clearance off the line.

Young Curtis Jones got the start in midfield against Ajax, but captain Jordan Henderson — who replaced the teenager at half-time — is likely to make his way back to the starting XI against Sheffield United.

Meanwhile, none of Liverpool’s famed front three had a particularly good game in Amsterdam. But Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have both been in brilliant form in the league with 10 goals already between them, and they will fancy their chances of adding to their tally against a struggling Sheffield United side.

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Sheffield United’s second season syndrome

Sheffield United are officially in a sophomore slump. After having such an impressive first season back in the top flight last year, Chris Wilder’s side have been struggling to rediscover that form in the early part of this campaign.

The Blades’ Premier League 2020 results have been terrible. They have just one point in their first five matches (four losses and a draw) and are currently tied for bottom with newly promoted Fulham.

The fact that they were outplayed by Fulham in their most recent match and had to come from behind to salvage a draw at home against them was another deeply worrying sign. They likely would have lost their fifth match in a row had Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic not missed a penalty.

Sheffield United already had quite a tough time scoring goals last season, but it’s gotten even worse this year. They’ve scored just two goals in their first five outings, the lowest total in the league. They have also attempted just 40 shots, which is tied for the second-fewest in the league. They played relatively well in their Yorkshire derby loss to Leeds but were still unable to find the net.

The Blades tried to address their desperate need for more goals during the transfer window by breaking their transfer record to sign striker Rhian Brewster from Liverpool for €26m.

However, the 20-year-old, who made his debut against Fulham, is still completely untested in the Premier League level and it remains to be seen whether he is capable of providing the goals they desperately need.

History

Liverpool have the significant edge over Sheffield United in their historical head-to-heads. In their 138 all-time meetings, the Reds have 62 wins to the Blades’ 45, with 31 draws.

But with Sheffield United’s infrequent stays in the Premier League, the two sides have faced each other just four times in the league since 2006. Liverpool have won three of those four meetings, including each of the last three.

The Reds did the double over Sheffield United last season. Salah and Mane both scored in their 2-0 win over the Blades at Anfield.

Betting Tip

	Liverpool vs Sheffield United	Liverpool Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.78
	October 25, 03:00 (GMT+8)

Given Sheffield United’s poor form of late, Liverpool seem like a lock to get the win. The SBOTOP odds bear that out with the Reds priced at 1.26 to win at Anfield, while the Blades are massive 9.25 underdogs.

The Asian Handicap is a better choice for this sort of match, and backing Liverpool to win by more than one goal seems like a winning bet.

After all, Liverpool have scored at least two goals in 26 of their last 28 home matches, which speaks to their remarkable consistency. Meanwhile, the Blades’ attack looks so blunt that it would be shocking if they posed much of a problem for the Reds’ defence.