Will the Reds stroll into the next round?

English football fans will remember this fixture from the legendary milk commercial from the 90s, where a young Liverpool fan is warned that if he doesn’t drink a lot of milk, he’ll end up at Accrington Stanley and not in the Premier League. “Accrington Stanley – Who are they?” – “Exactly.” Now, with a delay of around thirty years, the fourth division team has the unique opportunity to return the favor to the advertising agency and the LFC for this humiliation.

But the Reds also have something to make up for after the surprising 1-0 defeat to Tottenham. However, a win in the second leg could still make up for it. Now they want to reach the next round in the FA Cup. Away from the stories from the advertising world, the tip for the home win of the Scousers also seems relatively without alternative in the Liverpool v Accrington game.

After all, Accrington Stanley, a team from League Two, is visiting Anfield Road. The visitors from Lancashire in north-west England have won both of their competitive games so far in 2025, but still only rank 19th in League Two. So, our prediction for Liverpool against Accrington is a clear and comfortable home win for the Reds, who shouldn’t have too many problems with the underdog, even with a B-team.

After all, the LFC has no lack of self-confidence across the board. The Reds have not lost in 24 consecutive competitive matches since September 14, 2024 (20 wins, four draws), before they had to admit defeat to Tottenham in the EFL Cup with 0:1 during the week. Consequently, the only question in this third-round FA Cup tie should be how high they win by – and, of course, who Klopp successor Arne Slot puts out there. Despite the enormous importance of the competition, it is unlikely that the first team will play, given the weakness of the opposition.

But if the B-team or youth players get the chance to attract attention, it could be decided all the more quickly, which is why we at Betano recommend the handicap bet of -2 on the Reds.

Liverpool – Statistics & current form

Liverpool FC said a reluctant farewell to Jürgen Klopp last summer, who not only gave the Reds another trophy in 2019, but also led the club to its first-ever Premier League title in the early 1990s in the summer of 2020.

The Merseyside players were also able to win the FA Cup in the summer of 2022 under the German cult coach, whose big footsteps were quickly filled, however. Under successor Arne Slot, the Scousers are currently on the verge of winning another Premier League title.

Liverpool is still dancing on all weddings

After 19 league games, LFC leads the English Premier League table with 46 points. They already have a six-point lead over Arsenal FC, and the Reds even have a pending game in hand against city rivals Everton, in which they could extend their lead to a whopping nine points.

These days, the focus is therefore on the other competitions. In the Champions League, Liverpool are top of the table after six games, and the last word has not yet been spoken in the EFL Cup either after the 1-0 defeat at Tottenham. The Scousers could still reach the semi-finals with a corresponding win in the second leg. Now, nothing should stand in the way of the FA Cup either.

Liverpool have not lost since September

Given that Liverpool are against Accrington, the tip that the slot troop will advance is probably just a formality. However, in view of the fact that Liverpool have a tricky away game at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League next Tuesday, rotation is definitely to be expected.

However, this also represents a good opportunity for the second team and any young players to recommend themselves for the first team, which is why we expect a very strong team, which remained unbeaten in 24 consecutive competitive games (20 wins, four draws) before the Tottenham defeat, to win comfortably and smoothly.

Provisional Liverpool line-up:
Kelleher – Tsimikas, Nallo, Quansah, Bradley – McConnell, Endo – Gakpo, Jota, Chiesa – Núnez

Accrington – statistics & current form

Accrington Stanley Football Club is based in the town of the same name, Accrington, in the English northwest, more precisely in the county of Lancashire. However, this town is not known for its football club, which currently only ranks 19th in the fourth-tier League Two, but rather for its bricks.

The so-called Accrington NORI were used, among other things, for the substructure of the Empire State Building. The ‘Owd Reds, as the ASFC players are also known, are given their own goal, but by no means as consistently walled up.

Accringtons defensive is too porous

The fact that Accy Stanley can only be found in 19th place in the fourth-highest English division and is embroiled in the relegation battle is ultimately due to a lack of defensive stability. The 40 goals conceded in 23 league games are only bettered by Swindon Town (41) across the league, making the ‘Owd Reds the second-weakest defense in League Two.

Our prediction that the fourth division side will be crushed on their first trip to Anfield is correspondingly consistent. The Apple Pay betting providers also see it that way, because Liverpool against Accrington are offering odds of around 45.00 for the away team to win, which clearly underlines the role of the clear underdog.

Accrington with a good start to the new year

At least Accrington Stanley are not lacking in momentum. The north-west English side got off to an excellent start to the new year, following up their 3-2 home win on New Year’s Day with a 2-0 away victory at Colchester last Saturday. Prior to these two wins, however, they had not won in eight competitive games (four draws, four defeats).

Although the chest has grown a little and Accrington is back above the line thanks to the important six points, anything other than a clear defeat on the Mersey would be a minor sensation given that seven of the previous twelve League Two away games in the 2024/25 season have also been lost (three wins, two draws).

Predicted Accrington lineup:
Crellin – Batty, Aljofree, Rawson, Love – Woods, Quirk – Costolloe, Martin, Quirk – Brown

Liverpool – Accrington Direct comparison / H2H record

There has never been a competitive game between the two teams before. It is therefore the first trip to the historic Anfield Road for the fourth division club. This means that there is no “head to head” data that could affect our prediction for Liverpool v Accrington.

Liverpool – Accrington Tip

The betting odds of the top betting providers are clearly and unequivocally in favor of Liverpool against Accrington, who have only lost one of their last 25 competitive games (20 wins, four draws) and are the clear leaders in the Premier League table. The current number 19 of the fourth-tier League Two is now visiting the English high-flyers, which says it all when it comes to the balance of power.

Of all the incredible “David versus Goliath” stories that football has written, if fourth-division Accrington should actually make it to the next round at the Premier League leaders, it would be one of the greatest sensations in the 144-year history of the FA Cup.

Accordingly, our tendency is clearly towards LFC, whereby we set a handicap of -2 on the Reds for our betting recommendation. Odds of 1.53 are available for this against Liverpool against Accrington, which we play with four units using the handy Betano app.