Sports Blog 07/01/2016: FA Cup 3rd Round Preview – Exeter City vs Liverpool, Friday 8th January 2016

Continuing Liverpool’s intensely cluttered New Year schedule is a trip to the Shed, where they face Exeter City on Friday evening in the 3rd round of the FA Cup!

Playing their fourth match in 10 days, and their second cup fixture of the week, Liverpool are certainly feeling the strain, a League Cup semi-final 1st leg win over Stoke coming at a cost. With Sturridge, Sakho, Skrtel, Rossiter, Origi and Ings all incapacitated going into the game, Jurgen Klopp’s injury woes only increased on Tuesday, with Kolo Toure, Dejan Lovren and, most damagingly, Phillipe Coutinho all picking up knocks. Coutinho especially is a worry, the Brazilian potentially out until February, therefore missing crucial league games against Arsenal and Manchester United. All that for a slender 1-0 lead over Stoke heading into the 2nd leg at Anfield.

Yet that slender lead does see the Reds as favourite to reach the final at Wembley, and was a swift, if not completely convincing, come back from their insipid loss at West Ham last weekend. Going into Friday and it will likely be more a case of what team Klopp can pick rather than the team he might want to pick. Without a senior central defender available it looks like the German will play the young Tiago Ilori, recalled from his loan stint at Aston Villa, whilst Sheyi Ojo and Ryan Kent, brought back from spells at Wolves and Coventry respectively, may make an appearance in midfield. Leading the charge is someone with a bit more experience, Klopp likely hoping that Christian Benteke (at a Super Mega PGM of 58-68) can regain some confidence with a flurry of goals against their League Two opponents.



For Exeter aren’t in the best shape at the moment. An incredibly tough 3rd round fixture comes hot on the heels of 4 consecutive losses in the league (to Luton Town, Oxford United, AFC Wimbledon and Dagenham & Redbridge) leaving the Grecians in 16th place with 30 points. Paul Tisdale’s team did admittedly breeze through the first 2 rounds of the FA Cup, (unsurprisingly) beating Didcot Town 3-0 before moving on to a slightly more impressive victory over League One’s Port Vale, Exeter winning at home 2-0.

Yet those sides don’t compare to even a very battered and bruised Liverpool, and Exeter may just have to take pleasure in playing against some of the Premier League’s biggest stars (and a few players that, well, aren’t). If the Grecians are to get something, however, then top scorer James Nichols (with 9 goals and at a Super Mega PGM of 18-22) will have to be in the form of his life, especially since his influential teammate David Wheeler (responsible for 7 of Exeter’s goals this season) is missing Friday’s game through injury.

If there is going to be a giant-killing, then it is going to be in this topsy-turvy season, in this always scalp-ready cup competition. Yet, despite being plagued with injuries, it is too hard to look beyond the Premier League side, with Spreadex offering a Liverpool/Exeter (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 1.15-1.35 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.95-3.15.