Watford v Liverpool betting tips: Reds can rock Ranieri debut
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Watford v Liverpool preview and odds
Claudio Ranieri has been given a baptism of fire in his first game in charge of Watford, who are 17/2 to beat Liverpool in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.
The Premier League winner with Leicester took over from Xisco Munoz before the international break and faces the Reds, Everton, Southampton, Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester, Chelsea and Manchester City in a frightening start to his reign at Vicarage Road.
The Reds, 4/1 to win the title, went into the international break in second place and are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, so let’s look at some of the options in our Watford v Liverpool betting tips.
Match Odds
Liverpool signed off for the break with a thrilling 2-2 draw against champions Manchester City which meant they were knocked off the top of the table by Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are 1/3 to win on Saturday, although they cannot afford to be complacent as the last time they visited Vicarage Road their hopes of going through the 2019-20 season unbeaten ended in a 3-0 defeat having won their previous 18 games in the Premier League.
That said, the Merseysiders had won the four previous meetings without conceding by an aggregate of 15-0, so they can be backed at 5/4 to win to nil once more, while a victory by at least three goals is available at 23/10 as one of our Watford v Liverpool betting tips.
This time last week…😮😮😮 pic.twitter.com/cMz336yFGK
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 10, 2021
Liverpool drew their previous game against another promoted side, Brentford, in their last road trip and a draw can be backed at 4/1 with goals thrown into the equation priced at 5/1.
The Reds, though, have scored exactly three goals in all three of their away games this season and are 6/5 to score at least that number this weekend, while a fourth 3-0 victory of the campaign is 8/1.
Our #GetAPrice special has an interesting option at 15/8 on the visitors winning either half, scoring at least twice and keeping a clean sheet.
Talking Tactics
Ranieri has already made his mark by signing Cameroon defender Nicolas Nkoulou as a free agent following his release by Torino at the end of last season.
Munoz deployed a 4-2-3-1 in his last game in charge, a lacklustre 1-0 defeat at Leeds who should have won by a much bigger scoreline.
Ranieri hopes to utilise his “very good players up front”, adding that “I want to close the space a little more and help the defensive line”.
Klopp hopes to welcome back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara from injury this weekend in his usual 4-3-3 in which Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are fighting it out for the three starting spots up front.
However, goalkeeper Alisson and midfielder Fabinho are unavailable as they finish their quarantine in Spain having played for Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers in the early hours of Friday.
Goalscorer Odds
Salah, 5/2 to win the Golden Boot this season, netted a sensational goal against Manchester City last time out and is 14/5 to break the deadlock for the second time this season.
He is also 5/6 to score at any time bearing in mind he has scored eight goals in six appearances against the Hornets, including a four-goal salvo at Anfield three seasons ago.
Jota scored the opening goal in the first two games of the season and is 7/2 to repeat the trick or 5/4 to find the net, while Mane is also 7/2 to bag the opener as he did against Manchester City or 13/10 in the anytime market.
Curtis Jones is starting to establish himself as a regular starter and can be backed at 9/1 and 3/1 in the two options as one of our Watford v Liverpool betting tips.
Ismaila Sarr is rated Watford’s best prospect of getting the ball rolling at 10/1 and he is 10/3 to score just like he did in that famous 3-0 win against the Reds with a second-half double.
Match Info
Where: Vicarage Road
When: 12:30, Saturday 16th October
How to watch: BT Sport
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
