Liverpool v Atalanta Tips: Mane maker, side with Sadio for shots on target

Liverpool have the chance to seal a place in the last 16 of the Champions League as Jurgen Klopp’s side take on the Italians from Bergamo, Atalanta. The Reds shrugged off their recent injury woes with a superb 3-0 win over Leicester on Sunday and our man @AnthonyEadson has three tips for the game.

Mohammed Salah should be back in the Liverpool starting XI after testing positive for Covid-19 during the International break. Naby Keita picked up a knock during the game with Leicester and will miss out along with Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez. Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain a doubt.

Atalanta could be without attacking midfielder Rusan Malinovskyi after the Ukranian tested positive for Covid-19 during the International break. Mattia Caldara and Matteo Ruggeri are also sidelined for the visitors through injury.

Liverpool are the strong favourites to win Wednesday evening’s game, priced at 4/6 to so. The draw can be backed at 17/5 with a win for Atalanta available at 15/4, an implied probability of 21%. The game can be seen live on BT Sport, kicking off at 8pm at Anfield.

Liverpool -1 handicap - 2pts @ 13/8 Betfair, Paddy Power

Sadio Mane 2+ shots on target - 1.5pts @ 21/10 Betfair, Paddy Power

Jota 2+ shots on target, Milner & Djimsiti to be carded 0.25pts @ 75/1 Paddy Power

The first of three selections I have for you on Wednesday is Liverpool -1 match handicap priced at 13/8 with Paddy Power, meaning if the Reds win by two goals or more this will be a winner. Jurgen Klopp’s side fired a significant warning to their Premier League rivals as they swept aside Leicester with ease on Sunday. Much has been made about Liverpool’s recent injury crisis however their winning mentality and fantastic forward play keeps bringing the wins and after a 5-0 win in Italy in the reverse fixture, they will be confident here. 

The boys from Bergamo have been nowhere near the levels they hit last season when reaching the Champions League quarter final. Since October’s International break Gian Piero Gasperini’s side have won just two of their eight games (W2-D3-L3). Atalanta played out their first 0-0 in a year at the weekend as they failed to beat newly promoted Spezia. They seem to be lacking the ability to rack up the goals as they did last season and I fear for them on Wednesday with Liverpool’s forward play through Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah. Liverpool have scored two or more goals in ten of their 12 Premier League and Champions League games this season and the -1 handicap looks the appropriate play here.

Next up I’ve opted for Sadio Mane to have two or more shots on target, priced at 21/10, again available with both Betfair and Paddy Power. Liverpool racked up over 12 shots on target on Sunday against Leicester which was priced at 90/1. One plucky punter managed to bag themselves over £1000 profit from backing that selection on Sunday which you can read about here.

Back to the matter in hand and Sadio Mane has been in prolific form when it comes to shots on target this season. The Senegalese International has registered at least two shots on target in five of ten games he has started this term for Liverpool (50%). Betfair’s odds of 21/10 only imply a 32% chance of this landing so I think we could have a bit of value on our hands with Sadio being at home to Atalanta who have been in uninspiring form of late. Sky Bet have this selection at 11/10 which gives bags of appeal to the offering from Betfair and Paddy Power.

I was a James Milner booking away from landing a 55/1 longshot at the weekend and the veteran features again in Same Game Multi for this clash. This time I’ve opted for Diogo Jota to have two or more shots on target with James Milner and Berat Djimsiti to be carded at 75/1.

Diogo Jota has settled into life on Merseyside under Jurgen Klopp seamlessly and the forward has registered at least one shot on target in all of his seven starts for Liverpool. Two or more shots on target has landed in four of those seven starts and I’m fancying that to land once again on Wednesday evening.

James Milner has been booked in two of the four competitive games he has started this season, both of which have come in the Champions League. Referee Carlos Del Cerro has given out 30 yellow cards over his last six games in the Champions League and Europa League, and considering that average of around five, I’m hoping Milner can pick up his third card of the season.

Rounding off proceedings on Wednesday evening is Atalanta’s Berat Djimsiti to be carded. The Albanian defender has been booked three times in six appearances in Serie A this season and has also picked up another caution from his three Champions League outings this term. With stats of four bookings in nine games, plenty of defensive work on the menu and a card happy ref in Del Cerro, the 4/1 as a single looks a smart play in comparison to some of his counterparts.

That’s 75/1 on the Same Game Multi which is available with Paddy Power. Let’s hope for an entertaining watch. Best of luck to those following the selections and please always gamble responsibly.