Sunderland vs Liverpool Match preview

England - Premier League: Sunderland vs Liverpool

Very interesting game will be played at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland where the home team will welcome Liverpool. Since Roy Keane took over as manager at Sunderland, the team has progressed a lot, and they hope to continue the trend. They bought three ex Tottenham players and also El Hadji Diouf, and have high hopes for this season. Liverpool hopes yet again that they will be able to challenge for the title, and it seems that they are a bit closer to the goal this year. Robbie Keane was bought to partner Fernando Torres, and Rafa Benitez hopes that this will be a winning tandem.

Keane is building a strong team

Roy Keane managed to keep his side in the Premiership last season, and this will be the main objective this season as well. The team is reinforced with good Premiership players, as Chimbonda, Tainio and Malbranque arrived from Tottenham, while Diouf came from Bolton. Sunderland will now be very tough to beat, and Keane will know how to motivate the players. Michael Chopra will be available after receiving red card in a friendly game. He is suspended for three Premier League games, but this will start after the Liverpool game. Dwight York, Kenwyne Jones and Paul McShane are all injured, while Pascal Chimbonda should be fit to play.

Liverpool struggled against Standard

Liverpool is ready for another title challenge and is desperate for a good start, as losing points at the beginning of the season proved crucial for their failure to stay in the title race over the last few years. This will be even more difficult, because Ryan Babel, Javier Mascherano and Lukas Leiva are at the Olympics, and Philip Degen is doubtful. As usual Rafa Benitez bought some younger players, but finally produced a big signing in Robbie Keane, who is set to start in attack beside Fernando Torres. Steven Gerrard is not fully fit but he had to come on as a substitute on Wednesday against Standard, in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, because the things were not going well. Without Gerrard and Mascherano, Liverpool midfield was unable to take control of the game, and if Reina hadn’t saved the penalty, Liverpool would have been in a lot of trouble in the return leg.

Betting verdict

Sunderland is playing well under Roy Keane, and with new signings will be a tough opponent this year. They will try not to lose this game and look for a win against weaker opponents. Liverpool has a strong squad, but Babel, Mascherano and Lukas are at the Olympics, while Gerrard is not fully fit. Keane and Torres still need some time to start scoring goals, and maybe it would be wise to bet on under 2.5 goals.

Our tip: Bet 5 on Under 2.5 goals
Odds 1.7 at
Bookmaker: Gamebookers