Will the Reds lose the final they thought they had secured?
Liverpool Football Club is currently one of the hottest clubs on the island. The Reds have a realistic chance of winning the title in all competitions. In the race for the English championship, Klopp’s team has already built up a five-point lead, a home game against a second division club awaits in the FA Cup next weekend and Virgil van Dijk and Co. will not be back in the Europa League until the round of 16 in March.
The shortest route to their first trophy of the season, however, is in the EFL Cup. At best, they only need 180 minutes to win the least important of the two English cup competitions. Before the final is played at Wembley Stadium at the end of February, LFC must first complete the mandatory task in the semi-final second leg. After the 2:1 home win in the first leg, the bookmakers’ prediction between Fulham and Liverpool is that the PL leaders will progress to the next round
Only in 25% of all cases has the team that won the first leg been eliminated in the EFL Cup semi-final. For this reason, among others, it would be a big surprise if the Londoners were to book their ticket for the title game after all. However, the task does not appear to be completely uncomplicated from the visitors’ point of view, as the Whites have a good home record and have also had much more time to recover and prepare before this second clash. You can find out which other aspects play a decisive role in the Fulham vs Liverpool betting tip in the following paragraphs!
Fulham – Statistics & current form
Fulham Football Club have been playing an expected season in the gray midfield of the Premier League table. With 24 points currently in their account, the train towards the top half of the table has virtually left the station. However, the cushion to the relegation places is a comfortable eight points. As the remainder of the season in the English top flight looks to be fairly carefree, but not necessarily exciting, the cup games in the FA Cup and EFL Cup are seen as absolute highlights. In this respect, the Whites can speak of a week of truth.
Before this weekend’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Newcastle United, the Londoners are aiming to reach the League Cup final for the first time in the club’s history. However, they will need a perfect performance on Wednesday evening to do so, as the first leg, as already mentioned, was lost 2-1 two weeks ago. Coach Marco Silva’s team will therefore be forced to play for victory. This far from rosy starting position naturally comes with an increased risk of losing the important balance between bold offensive and concentrated defensive work
Fulham build on an impressive home record in the EFL Cup
On paper, the capital side’s generally good home performances are hopeful. In the Premier League, the Whites recorded 18 of their 24 points in front of their own fans. In the separate home table, they are in a respectable ninth place. Six of the ten matches played in front of a home crowd were victorious. West Ham United (5:0) and Arsenal (2:1) were also beaten at Craven Cottage by renowned and highly rated European Cup representatives.
Even more relevant than this home record in the league, however, is the fact that Fulham Football Club have not lost a home game in the EFL Cup since 2007 (!). To put this into perspective, however, it must be noted that in most cases this was due to early knockouts away from home. Furthermore, the Londoners have never faced the current constellation. Historical anomalies or statistical patterns from the past are therefore less important and do not change the fact that our prediction between Fulham and Liverpool also tends to favor the Scousers.
This is also supported by the fact that only two meagre goals have been scored in three competitive matches in the 2024 calendar year so far and, in view of the ten-day break, the rhythm may also have been lost somewhat. The absence of Bassey, Ballo-Toure and Iwobi, who are all away at the Africa Cup 2024, makes the task even more difficult. Bassey and Iwobi in particular have been key performers for Portuguese coach Marco Silva so far.
Predicted Fulham line-up:
Leno – Castagne, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson – Palhinha, Reed – Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian – Jimenez
Liverpool – Statistics & current form
It is quite curious, but if you take a look at the overall odds for this year’s Premier League season at betting provider Intertops, for example, Liverpool Football Club are still seen as quite a blatant outsider in a potential duel with Manchester City despite their current pole position and five-point lead. However, anyone who believes the Reds can win their second championship under the management of Jürgen Klopp can currently get a very worthwhile 3.45 with the aforementioned bookmaker. As a new customer, you also have the opportunity to take advantage of the Intertops welcome bonus and thus minimize the risk of your own bet.
The fact is that LFC has only lost a single match at national level to date. 14 wins and six draws are enough for a total of 48 points. In addition, Klopp’s side still have the best defense in the English top flight and have scored the most goals behind Manchester City. Their current form could hardly be better.
There have been five wins in the last five matches across all competitions. At the weekend, they won the tough away game at the in-form Cherries from Bournemouth 4-0 thanks to a very confident second half.
Liverpool aim to reach the final with a respectable performance
It is also worth noting that the Reds have not only been able to score at least two goals of their own in the course of their ongoing winning streak, but have also kept a clean sheet in their last three victories away from home. Although Klopp’s side have been the comeback kings on a number of occasions so far this season and have been able to shift up a gear or two after falling behind, we think there is a lot to suggest that LFC will not let anything slip after winning the first leg and will score the first goal of the game in London. Interwetten is offering 1.60 for this.
In terms of personnel, the German coach in the service of LFC still has to do without a group of deserving players. Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Thiago, Bajcetic, Doak, Tsimikas and Matip are all missing through injury. Endo is away at the Asian Cup. Superstar Salah, meanwhile, has returned to Merseyside, but only because he suffered a muscle injury at the Africa Cup and is unlikely to travel to the Ivory Coast until the semi-finals at the earliest, assuming Egypt make it there.
In the absence of the top scorer, it was Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez who, as expected, scored twice in the aforementioned 4-0 win at Bournemouth. The Portuguese now has eleven goals for the season in all competitions and will again be in contention to score in the second leg at Craven Cottage. Bet365 is offering high odds in the region of 3.00 for Diogo Jota to score between Fulham and Liverpool.
Predicted Liverpool line-up:
Alisson – Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez – Elliott, Mac Allister, Gravenberch – Gakpo, Jota, Nunez
Fulham – Liverpool head-to-head / H2H result
In the first leg two weeks ago, it looked for a long time as if Fulham could pull off a surprise. A goal from Willian put the underdogs 1:0 in front, but they were unable to withstand the Reds’ pressure in the second half. Liverpool improved from minute to minute, pinned the Whites back in their penalty area and finally turned the game around through Jones and Gakpo (68 and 71) within three minutes. Bernd Leno had an outstanding day, otherwise the win would have been much higher. The teams had already faced each other in the Premier League at the beginning of December. Back then, LFC narrowly won 4-3 at home, also after falling behind.
Fulham – Liverpool betting tip
While Liverpool’s routes to silverware in the Premier League, Europa League or FA Cup are real marathons, the EFL Cup can almost be described as a 400m sprint. After four wins in four games, the Reds are on the brink of reaching the final. Klopp’s side still have to survive 90 minutes at Craven Cottage in London to reach the final. Thanks to the 2:1 first-leg victory at home, the chances are of course exorbitantly good. In the run-up to the second leg between Fulham and Liverpool, for example, the odds on the Whites advancing are at 6.00 at the top.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see whether the Reds fans will have a relatively quiet Wednesday evening or whether they will have to tremble again if they fall behind. The starting position clearly plays into the visitors’ hands. Fulham will have to abandon their beloved defensive and counter-attacking tactics at some point, giving LFC space
In our opinion, you should therefore primarily consider betting on an away win for the favorite between Fulham and Liverpool. We found the highest odds, which are 1.78, at Betano. The stake is six units.
