Liverpool vs Tottenham Betting Tips (30/04/23) – Reds to March On Towards the Top Five

Liverpool took another step towards an unlikely top-four finish in the Premier League with a 2-1 win over West Ham on Wednesday. It was a cut-and-paste performance from the Reds, who were once again dangerous in attack and created a number of high-probability chances.

But those were compounded by a couple of defensive lapses, with Michail Antonio missing a glorious opportunity to put the Hammers ahead just before the break.

West Ham actually took the lead in the contest, with Lucas Paqueta squeezing a long-range shot past Alisson and into the back of the Liverpool net.

But the Reds would be level just six minutes later with a long-distance goal of their own. Cody Gakpo’s strike has an xG probability of just 2%, but that didn’t stop the Dutchman from trying his luck and subsequently celebrating his equaliser.

Liverpool turned the screw during the rest of the first half, and chances were not thin on the ground. Diogo Jota, who continued his lively recent form, had two opportunities to put his team ahead – the second of those was a missed header from just four yards out and the goal at his mercy.

Antonio’s miss just before the break might have changed the nature of Jurgen Klopp’s half-time team talk, and it wasn’t long before he introduced Thiago and Luis Diaz. And yet it was a rather unlikely source that would break the deadlock and ultimately secure the three points for Liverpool.

Joel Matip, in for the injured Ibrahima Konate, had a shot saved on the line by Lukas Fabianski, but just a minute later he made no mistake – soaring highest to head home Andy Robertson’s corner.

West Ham showed pockets of resistance thereafter, with Tomas Soucek heading over when well placed and a possible handball shout against Thiago, but for those moments of adrenaline-pumping Liverpool were solid enough and played out the last minutes without a hitch.

It maintains their outside chance of finishing inside the top-four, although they’ll certainly need other results to go their way while taking care of their own business. On which note, Tottenham are the next visitors to Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool Team News

After chopping and changing his starting eleven for months, Klopp has finally enjoyed the luxury of picking the same team for a series of back-to-back games.

Admittedly, Konate missed out against the Hammers, but his absence doesn’t affect Liverpool’s patterns of play and Matip is a like-for-like replacement.

We’d expect the French international to return on Sunday, while Jota – who got a knock in his back against West Ham – is expected to be fine.

Otherwise, it could be a case of as you were, with the front three firing, a nice balance in midfield and Trent Alexander-Arnold thriving in a sort of inverted full back role.

Tottenham Form

You suspect that these Tottenham players can’t wait for the season to end.

Lambasted by former boss Antonio Conte, who questioned their fortitude and integrity, Spurs found themselves 0-3 down after just nine minutes against Newcastle on Sunday – complete embarrassment could not be avoided from there in a 1-6 defeat.

Cristian Stellini achieved the near-impossible feat of being sacked as caretaker manager, to be replaced by Ryan Mason, and it seemed as if the players reacted well to the change.

Sure, they went 0-2 down to Manchester United on Thursday evening, but they battled hard in the second period and after Son Heung-min equalised late on, some of the players ran over to celebrate with Mason.

Could that herald an improvement in fortunes?

Liverpool v Tottenham Betting Tips

United rattled up 2.03 of xG in Thursday’s game, and so Mason has yet been able to find a solution to Tottenham’s defensive woes.

His team is very much a work in progress, whereas Klopp has finally hit upon some stability late in the campaign.

Given that Liverpool also have an extra 24 hours to recover for Sunday’s game, you can see why the bookies make them an understandable – but unbackable – 11/20 to defeat the Londoners.

And so it’s back to an old flame we go for our bets in the form of the goals markets. Tottenham created 2.48 of xG against United as Mason switched to their more familiar 3-4-3 system, and that suggests his players have a chance of finding the net at Anfield – Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals is once again the play at odds of 5/6.

But Spurs do have an unhappy knack of starting games slowly, and so backing Over 1.5 First Half Goals at 6/5 seems to have legs too.