Sports Blog 09/12/2014: Match Preview – Liverpool vs Basel, Tuesday 9th December

Anfield looks set to be a tense place tonight, as Liverpool must beat Basel in order to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Basel, on the other hand, just require a draw, and after only conceding 2 goals in their last 4 Champions League games, this looks a likely possibility, especially given Liverpoo’s recent form. The Reds have not scored more than one goal in 8 of their last 11 games, and have only scored 4 goals in Europe this season, all against Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets Razgrad.

In a group with a rampant Real Madrid winning all of their 5 games and Ludogorets sitting with the same 4 points as Liverpool, Anfield’s finest have had a pretty disastrous European campaign. They lost to Basel in Switzerland earlier in the season, and tonight’s game being at Anfield will not be much comfort due to Liverpool’s dismal home form.



Form is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment for the Reds; 2 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws comprise Liverpool’s last six games, as Brendan Rodgers’ men have failed to seize upon any consistency. And whilst Swiss football isn’t necessarily comparable with the Premier League, Basel have nevertheless seen 5 wins and one loss in their last six games, that defeat coming at the hands of Real Madrid.

Basel also have the luxury of an in-form striker in Shkelzen Gashi, who, with 11 goals for the Swiss champions this season, is 9/1 fixed odds betting to score first. This is in stark contrast to Liverpool, whose top scorer is Stevie G with only 4 goals following the departure of Luis Suarez and a long-term injury for Daniel Sturridge.

Despite his meagre haul compared to Gashi, our Spreadex traders have Gerrard 8/1 fixed odds betting to score first, just less than favourite Rickie Lambert at 17/4. There are good odds on no goals scored at 10/1, which, considering Basel’s tight defence in Europe and Liverpool’s difficulty finding the net is an all-too-real possibility. However, regardless of Liverpool’s woes, our clients here at Spreadex have been backing the Reds in the spread betting Goal Supremacy at a quote of Liverpool/Basel 0.65-0.85.