SlipsTips shares a selection ahead of Newcastle’s clash with Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday night.
Newcastle vs Liverpool (Monday, 20:00)
The headline act from this week’s Premier League slate will see Newcastle United square off with Liverpool at St James’s Park on Monday night.
Eddie Howe’s hosts put one point on the board on the opening weekend of the season, playing out a 0-0 draw away from home against Aston Villa.
As for Liverpool, they needed a couple of late goals to get their title defence up and running with a barnstorming 4-2 win over Bournemouth.
The bookies’ odds suggest that the Reds will rack up another win here, with an away success trading at a general even-money with most firms.
However, I suspect this game could be a little closer than the pre-match odds suggest, so I’m going to swerve the 1×2 betting and instead highlight an alternative offering in the player fouls market.
Virgil van Dijk has been priced up at 11/8 on Bet 365 to commit a minimum of one foul on Monday night, and that looks a little too big to ignore.
Admittedly, van Dijk is maybe not the first player that springs to mind when it comes to Liverpool players and fouls, however I think there is a strong enough case to be made for the Dutchman to overstep the mark at least once on Monday night.
The experienced Liverpool defender has fallen foul of the referee in five of his previous 10 Premier League appearances away from Anfield, including three of his last six.
It’s also worth noting that the 34-year-old was penalised in five of his nine outings for the Merseysiders during last season’s Champions League.
On top of all that, van Dijk gave away one free-kick during the corresponding fixture between the two teams last season, and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here given that Anthony Gordon could again be asked to fill the central striker role for the hosts.
The Newcastle ace was drawing a sizeable average of 2.59 fouls per game in last season’s Premier League, not to be mention he was brought down once during last week’s goalless draw with Aston Villa.
So with all that in mind, backing van Dijk to commit one foul or more on Monday night looks well worthy of support a t 11/8 on Bet 365.
Recommended Bet
- Virgil van Dijk To Commit 1+ Foul – 11/8 (Bet 365)
SlipsTips is a Freelance Sports Writer and Betting Analyst with over six years experience. He has written football and darts betting content for some of the biggest betting websites and newspapers in the UK. With a strong passion for the fascinating world of Scottish football, he also regularly features in Nutmeg, the much-loved Scottish football magazine. SlipsTips is a Falkirk season ticket holder and avid watcher of football and darts, whether it be UK-based or further afield. Feel free to follow him on X @SlipsTips
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