With both sides in the midst of a cluttered New Year period Stoke and Liverpool face off in the 1st leg of their League Cup semi-final on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday’s game marks the start of a very important period for Liverpool; between the 5th and 12th January the Reds face Stoke in the League Cup, Exeter in the FA Cup (on Friday, no less) before playing Arsenal and Manchester United in back-to-back home games in the league. The close proximity of these matches doesn’t necessarily bode well for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who appeared to struggle with the intense Christmas period. December saw losses against Newcastle and Watford joined by a draw against West Brom, an admittedly notable win over Leicester and a rote victory over Sunderland. They then entered the New Year with an insipid display at Upton Park, crumbling to a 2-0 defeat against West Ham (for the second time this season) with little to answer the Hammer’s impressive performance.



To make matters worse for Klopp, Daniel Sturridge has once again suffered a setback in training. Add onto that injuries to Danny Ings and Divock Origi and all the German manager is left with is the misfiring Christian Benteke, at a Super Mega PGM of 28-33, up front. Benteke was abysmal against West Ham, an abrupt end to the barely embryonic form he had shown against Leicester and Sunderland. Goals have been a problem in general for Liverpool of late; since the extravagant 4-1 and 6-1 wins over Man City and Southampton (with a 1-0 victory over Swansea sandwiched in between) the Reds have only managed 4 goals in their past 6 games, failing to find the back of the net in three of those matches.

n comparison Stoke’s cup has relatively overrunneth with goals in the past month and a half, managing 10 in their past 6 games. And what a past 6 games it has been! 2-0 home victories over both Manchester sides were joined by a thrilling (and late) 4-3 comeback against Everton, a draw against West Ham and losses against Crystal Palace and, most recently, West Brom. It’s the kind of inconsistent form that is a) endemic of this helter-skelter Premier League season and b) the reserve of sides normally found mid-table. Yet Stoke are only a hair’s breadth away from challenging for a spot in Europe, their 29 points (in 10th place) a mere 4 points away from 5th place Manchester United.

Marko Arnautovic, at 8/1 to score first on Tuesday with a Super Mega PGM of 13-17, has been Stoke’s most potent forward force in the past few weeks, 4 of his 7 goals this season coming in the last 6 games. Xherdan Shaqiri, meanwhile, finally scored his first goal(s) for Stoke in their tenacious victory over Everton, leaving the young Swiss star at a Super Mega PGM of 9- ahead of the League Cup semi-final.

Though both sides may be in similarly erratic form, and despite Stoke’s strong record at home, the talent glimpsed in games against Chelsea, City and Southampton appears to give Klopp’s side the edge. A very narrow edge, mind you, our Spreadex traders offering a slender Liverpool/Stoke (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.1-0.3 with a Total Goals spread of 2.15-2.35.