Take the rough with the smooth at Anfield this afternoon.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been publicly trying to call time on the dirty derbies of the “good old days”.
If that chimes with Everton boss Frank Lampard we can bank on little Thiago, the jewel in Klopp’s midfield, running today’s Mersey derby like clockwork (4.30pm). And that would surely mean Everton going home with nothing.
The Toffees appear well motivated, boast a top-six wage-bill squad and beat Manchester United the other week.
Yet here they are, a whopping 18/1 to repeat last season’s away win over the Reds – and you still wouldn’t much fancy that in a clean fight. But totting-up suspensions are no longer to be feared, so Everton could take the obvious option and play rough.
With Stuart Atwell on the whistle, I like OVER 2.5 Everton cards at Evens (Bet365).
The smooth coin-flip is ‘Liverpool win to nil’ at 19/20 (BetVic) – they are in their pomp, and 19 of their 32 PL games have gone that way.
Ibrahima Konate ‘first scorer’ at 33/1 (Hills) is a ripe worldie, if starting.
Wolves must feel like the holidays have started already – they’ve only played twice since mid-March. Hosts Burnley (2pm) will be sharper, were brimming with belief in midweek, and hold a big air-power edge.
If you had poolside barbecues on your mind, would you fancy finding a buzzing Nathan Collins all up in your grill? Get on Collins ‘anytime scorer’ at the 16/1 (Hills, Coral, Lads) – that’s a massive price on his raw stats.
Chelsea will likely find visitors West Ham (2pm) distracted by looming Europa dates, and the always optimistic Marco Alonso is a fair call at 5/4 (Bet365) ‘to have OVER 2.5 shots’, however wild.
The first flip-flops of spring bloomed in Southampton ’s defeat at Burnley in midweek. Ralph Hasenhuttl said his Saints were “braveless”, and you almost knew what he nearly meant.
Don’t bet on a trip to ‘South Coast rivals’ Brighton (2pm) perking them up much. It’s just a coincidence derby, like Yeovil-Juventus. The return of Leandro Trossard is a Seagulls boost, but NO ‘both teams to score’ looks bang-on at 23/20 (BetVic).
Over in Italy, AC Milan have run dry at the wrong time – take the DRAW at 12/5 (Fred) for the trip to Lazio (7.45pm, Serie A).
