Rampant Reds To Shoot Down Toothless Tigers

Liverpool scores goals freely but Hull does not and that is why one should back the Reds to boost their English Premier League title challenge with a win over the toothless Tigers.

It was a miracle that Hull gained promotion from the English Championship to the English Premier League when one looks at the number of goals that the Tigers scored last term. Hull scored only 61 times in 46 games, a tally that 13 of its 23 second-tier rivals bettered. And Hull’s defence was just the fourth best in the division. As one said, it was a miracle.

Hull is one of the lowest scorers in this season’s English Premier League, finding the back of the net only nine times its first 12 matches. Hull is highly likely to come unstuck whenever it encounters a top-flight team that has a powerful attack and Liverpool, averaging two goals per league game this term in spite of Luis Suarez missing the start of the season through suspension, fits that profile perfectly.

Understandably, backing sides away from home at odds on is not something that one should do every day of the week but it appears worth making an exception for Liverpool, which is available at odds of 1.67 with Coral to travel back east along the M62 with three English Premier League points.

Another short-priced away team that warrants support at odds on is Italian Serie A giant Milan, which is trading at odds of 1.95 with Ladbrokes to improve its poor position on the ladder by beating bottom-of-the-pile Catania on the road.

It should go without saying that 13th in Italian Serie A is well below expectations for Milan and it will probably take the Rossoneri winning the UEFA Champions League for it to qualify for next season’s tournament because they are 14 points behind third-placed Napoli after 13 rounds. But at least Milan is starting to put together some fair results, with its 3-0 UEFA Champions League victory over Celtic in Glasgow extending its unbeaten streak to two wins and two draws, albeit including an away friendly versus Young Boys.

Milan defeated Catania home and away during last term’s Italian Serie A competition – 4-2 in Milan and 3-1 in Catania – so there are head-to-head results to support backing the Rossoneri, while their opponents have copped several hidings this season, including a 0-3 home loss to Internazionale, a 0-4 away defeat at Juventus and, also in Turin, a 1-4 road thumping at 12th-placed Torino.

Returning to the English Premier League and there is a good case for backing Chelsea and Southampton to combine for under two and a half goals at Stamford Bridge, an option that is available at odds of 2.05 with BetVictor. Chelsea’s top-flight matches this term are averaging 2.58 goals, which is relatively low for a side that is a title contender, while Southampton’s games in the competition are producing a very low mean of 1.83 goals.

A section of Chelsea fans are not happy with Jose Mourinho and the conservative style of football that the Blues are playing in the Special One’s second spell in charge. And Southampton has earned its position in the English Premier League top five by conceding only seven goals in its first dozen matches and one of those was as a result of Artur Boric’s brain snap in its 0-2 away loss against Arsenal.

Finally, there is an argument for betting on Italian Serie A strugglers Chievo and Livorno combining for under two and a half goals in their relegation six-pointer. Bookmakers are favouring under two and a half goals – Bwin is offering odds of 1.65 about that eventuality – but their prices are not sufficiently short to stop the punt. Chievo has scored six goals in its six top-flight games this season, while Livorno has managed only five goals in its six road matches since rejoining Italy’s elite and four of them came in one game.