Fulham vs. Liverpool Betting Tips: Two data driven bet builders for Saturday's action

The Premier League returns on Friday night but we really get stuck in on Saturday with a six game slate of games. The early kick off is between Fulham and Liverpool on BTSport at 12.30pm and we've asked our resident Red Scott Thornton to preview this one and give us his best two bets.

Liverpool fought on all fronts last season, and took all four competitions down to the final day. They ultimately fell short to Manchester City in the league, and Real Madrid in the Champions League, but the season was still a success with the team capturing two pieces of silverware.

Klopp’s team are expected to be just as competitive across the board again this season, and they will be looking to lay down a marker on the open day of the Premier League season. They take on newly-promoted Fulham, who were supreme in the Championship last season, but an opening day clash with Liverpool could serve as a baptism of fire on their top flight return.

Man City have shown in recent seasons that they won’t drop many points, so Liverpool can’t afford to drop any points to teams that have come up from the Championship, even at the very start of the season. I’m expecting Liverpool to go for the throat straight away here, and they will carry a great deal of confidence into this one after beating title rivals Man City last weekend.

Fulham should be up for this one. Craven Cottage is not known for its atmosphere, but the fans should get behind their team in their first game back in the big time. 

In the last two games where Fulham hosted Liverpool there were 40 and 38 tackles. Although there is a different manager in charge now, I still expect the team to get stuck in given the occasion. Liverpool’s last 10 games in the league last season averaged over 35 tackles per game, and Fulham’s last 10 Premier League matches averaged over 38 tackles per game. Both of those numbers are well above the required mark for this bet to land.

Tackles can often lead to the ball going out of play, and Fulham will have to absorb a lot of pressure in order to get a result here. This will mean they have to clear their lines frequently to get into their defensive shape and reset. Liverpool averaged over 20 throws per game last season, and they had 22 and 27 throws against Fulham during their last season in the Premier League.

Combining match tackles and Liverpool throws on Bet 365 means we can get odds of 2.10 on Liverpool to have 20 throws or more and for there to be 29 tackles in the match. The tackles landed with ease in the most recent meetings between the sides, and the pressure Liverpool will put on the home side should amount to throws.

For our longshot, I’m taking two of the same angles in our main bet, but increasing the tackles line. There’s every chance we see close to the 40 tackles mark in this game. 

I’m also adding over 9.5 goal kicks in the match for Fulham. Liverpool have a lot of attacking threat, and new signing Darwin Nunez will want to get on the scoresheet in his first league match after coming into some unwarranted criticism during pre-season. I’m expecting a lot of Liverpool players to let fly from distance as Fulham remain compact.