Football Tip: Liverpool v Norwich

Norwich City have already done enough to make the 12/1 (WilliamHill) on them leaving Anfield with a win look slightly disrespectful. I’m not brave enough to take those odds up, but I do think the underdogs will put up significant resistance. They were cruelly denied at Stamford Bridge only after keeper John Ruddy was sent off, which led to two late Chelsea goals. It was a similar tale at Old Trafford where the Canaries carried a serous threat of their own before the hosts broke the deadlock with 20 minutes or so remaining.

My prediction is that a similar pattern will play out in Saturday evening’s televised match. A draw at half time, with Liverpool winning by the final whistle is good value at 7/2 with Betfred. The Reds for their own part are liable to make the pressure pretty unbearable on a newly promoted side as the match wears on. Some of the standout results of the Liverpool season to date have come from late goals deciding a tight match. A win at the Emirates was only secured after two strikes in the final 12 minutes. Similarly, the Merseyside derby was only settled when first Carroll, then Suarez pounced inside the final twenty minutes.

At Anfield the tradition for late decisive home goals is legendary. This bet both respects Norwich’s capacity to make life difficult for the top teams, but also the tenacity of Dalglish’s side to scrape a victory in the end.