Football Bet of the Day: Reds to run riot against Cottagers

Wednesday night sees Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool host Fulham in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, and the Reds should feel confident of claiming another victory at Anfield.

Liverpool have been unbeatable at home for nearly a year, with their last defeat in any competition at Anfield coming against Real Madrid last February, a streak of 23 consecutive games.

Marco Silva’s Fulham have struggled on their travels in recent weeks, with their only win on the road in their last five coming in the previous round of this competition via a penalty shootout victory at Everton.

Liverpool’s dominance at Anfield includes an enthralling encounter with Fulham earlier in the season, with late goals from Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold claiming a 4-3 victory over the Cottagers in early December.

The famous stadium has been the place to be for goals this year, with the Reds scoring at least three times in 11 of their 15 Anfield games this season.

Fulham have an abject record away to Liverpool this century, with a pair of 1-0 victories the best they could muster since 2000.

In fact, the Cottagers have had big issues away from Craven Cottage this season, with just one victory and three draws registered in their ten league games, while only bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United have netted fewer goals on their travels than Fulham’s nine.

Their attacking options have not been helped by the departure of Nigerian Alex Iwobi, who has left for the AFCON tournament, while Spaniard Adama Traore remains on the sidelines.

The Cottagers have rarely been dominant in this competition this year, netting just five times with no player registering more than just a single goal.

Liverpool will therefore likely take up the goalscoring mantle, although a gaping Mohamed Salah-sized hole will be difficult to fill with the Egyptian also part of the continental cup.

The Reds, buoyed by their recent 2-0 victory at stumbling Arsenal in the FA Cup, have plenty of quality to fill in for their talismanic forward, with Luis Diaz netting in that win as well as Cody Gakpo, who has scored three times in this tournament this season.

The quarter-finals saw Liverpool emphatically thump West Ham 5-1 and another drubbing could be on the cards given their brilliant record in the competition, lifting the trophy a record nine times, including as recently as 2022.

Fulham’s recent pedigree in the EFL Cup is less glamorous. In ties where the club were eliminated, they have failed to score in each of their last six, including shock defeats to lower league Bristol Rovers and, last year, Crawley Town.

Progression to their first ever League Cup final is therefore unlikely for the Cottagers, with Liverpool looking a strong bet to win the first leg by a healthy margin.

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