Leeds United vs Liverpool Betting Tips (17/04/23) – Can Reds Build On Second Supremacy Over the Gunners?

If any game sums up the Jekyll & Hyde nature of Liverpool’s season, it was the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday. Armchair spectators were treated to one of the most entertaining Premier League games of the season so far, while Reds fans inside Anfield witnessed the most ‘football is a game of two halves’ performance since the phrase was coined.

Disjointed attacking play and more woeful defending looked likely to condemn Liverpool to yet another defeat – they simply could not lay a glove on the Gunners in the first period, and the Londoners ran up a 2-0 lead within half hour.

More slack individual defending granted Gabriel Martinelli all the time and space he needed to put Arsenal ahead after just eight minutes, before Gabriel Jesus was granted the freedom of Merseyside to nod home as Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson watched on helplessly.

As the Anfield crowd grew restless, the Liverpool players found their passion as a coming together between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Granit Xhaka seemed to light the blue touchpaper under the Reds.

They pressed harder and more aggressively, and found a way back into the game just before the break when Mo Salah slotted home.

After half-time – and after the infamous ‘elbow’ from the linesman to Andy Robertson that drew headlines around the world, Arsenal chose to sit back and protect their lead….you wonder if they will regret that passive stance come the end of the title race.

But that’s not to take anything away from Liverpool, who resembled the title-winning team of 2019/20 as they threw the kitchen sink at the Arsenal goal in search of an equaliser.

The Reds won a penalty when Diogo Jota was brought down in the area, but Salah confounded everyone when he stroked the ball wide – his second successive miss from the spot.

Thankfully for the Egyptian, second half substitute Bobby Firmino would extend his fine goalscoring record against Arsenal by nodding home a late equaliser, and there was even time for Liverpool to go and win it – Gunners stopper Aaron Ramsdale making fine saves from Salah and Ibrahima Konate, who couldn’t quite bundle the ball home from a yard out.

So honours even then, although Liverpool might have walked away from the game feeling like winners – in that second half, the tally for shots taken inside the 18-yard box finished 10-1 in the Reds’ favour.

But will they back that up with a similarly strong showing at Leeds United on Monday evening?

Liverpool Team News

Whatever the catalyst for Liverpool’s improved second-half showing against Arsenal, there’s no doubt that Thiago and Darwin Nunez – introduced as 60th minute substitutes – added extra creative flair and instantly made the Reds look more dangerous as a result.

And so we expect them to start against Leeds United on Monday, which will be a leap of faith for Thiago given his lack of game time following injury, but his presence is vital in this Liverpool midfield.

There’s good news too with the return of Luis Diaz. The mercurial attacker surely won’t be risked from the start against the Yorkshire outfit, but the Colombian will enjoy a rousing reception from the away fans if – or when – he appears from the subs’ bench.

Leeds United Form

Leeds United have been perfectly consistent in the Premier League since the February appointment of Javi Gracia as manager: three wins, one draw and three defeats.

That trio of victories have come against similarly relegation-threatened Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Southampton, although defeats against Chelsea, Arsenal and a 1-5 shellacking at the hands of Crystal Palace last time out suggests Liverpool should be warm favourites for this one.

But complacency should be avoided, as Leeds drew 2-2 with a high-quality Brighton side in March.

Leeds United vs Liverpool Betting Tips

Despite what’s gone before, Elland Road will be rocking on Monday evening – that home support is very useful to a side that has lost just 5/15 on home soil all season.

But based on the evidence of last weekend, we have a Leeds side tonked by Palace and a Liverpool outfit that would have walked away from the Arsenal game feeling like winners – so odds of 3/4 on the Reds to win seems fair.

The rest is rinse and repeat for Liverpool this term: they boast an almighty goal-threat but are so poor at the back that Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams to Score seems a high probability outcome: you can double those together at 5/6.