Liverpool vs Royale Union Saint-Gilloise betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
You will have done incredibly well to avoid the talk surrounding Liverpool's last game.
The wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz goal ignited the VAR fuse once again, but to an extent that we haven't really seen before. Discussions are one thing, yet this decision ultimately led to the PGMOL being forced to release the audio conversation for fans to hear a few days later.
Among this happening off the pitch, on it, Jurgen Klopp is preparing his side to face Belgian outfit Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. The team sat top of the Jupiler Pro League are there by no fluke - Tony Bloom's Brighton-esque involvement has helped massively to direct them on this upward trajectory.
They may well pose a tougher test than the 11/1 price for victory suggests. It should be a home win though, as the Reds continue to push for glory in Europe's second club competition.
What are the best bets?
Despite their position in their domestic table, Union have only kept one clean sheet across their last six games in all competitions.
Liverpool have the ability to capitalise on this, with Klopp's side scoring in every outing so far. As expected though, the usual suspects in the forward line are short prices to strike across the 90 minutes.
Instead, there is some appeal in the 8/1 available on VIRGIL VAN DIJK TO SCORE ANYTIME.
Union have conceded four league goals from set-piece situations this season - that is the fourth-highest of the 16 teams in Belgium's top-flight.
With Liverpool expected to be on the front foot, corners are likely as they look to use their wide players. They have taken 34 of them across their four home games in all competitions so far.
Ex-Portsmouth defender Christian Burgess will likely be the man tasked with looking to stop the Liverpool centre-back from getting shots on goal, but van Dijk has shown time and time again his strength in attacking aerial situations.
He's taken at least one shot in four of his five Premier League outings. The one game that failed to return saw him sent off after 28 minutes at Newcastle. Contests against Bournemouth and West Ham also returned three shots in each.
BuildABet @ 14/1
- Virgil van Dijk 1+ shots on target
- Liverpool 7+ corners
- Charles Vanhoutte 2+ fouls
Two of the three selections for this multiple have been discussed already.
Van Dijk will have opportunities to score and the main source of that is likely to be the corners that they win. Liverpool have taken at least seven in all four of those home outings.
On the Union side of things, backing Charles Vanhoutte to see two or more fouls in the game brings some good value. The midfielder was carded and committed four fouls against Toulouse, while he's achieved this in six of his nine league games.
Score prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Team news
Liverpool are set to be without Cody Gakpo for the long-term after the forward was injured in the first-half of their defeat to Tottenham last time out.
Midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic are also out for the hosts, who are expected to make some changes from their usual XI.
The big absence for the visitors could be striker Dennis Eckert Ayensa, who hasn't featured in their last four games after scoring seven across their opening eight.
Predicted line-ups
Liverpool: Kelleher; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Elliott, Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Union: Moris; Mac Allister, Burgess, Leysen; Castro-Montes, Vanhoutte, Sadiki, Lapoussin; Amani, Nilsson, Puertas
Odds correct at 1220 BST (04/10/23)
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