[Preview] Stoke vs Liverpool, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Betting Tips & Prediction

Liverpool start the new Premier League season where they left off last year as they take on Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Merseysiders ended a disappointing 2014/15 campaign with a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Stoke on the final day of last season so no doubt Brendan Rodgers is desperate to avenge that loss.

The Northern Irishman has been extremely busy in the transfer market this summer after bringing in seven new signings so it’s likely to be a very different Liverpool line-up this time around.

That victory for Stoke ended what was an excellent season for them with Mark Hughes guiding the club to a record nine-placed finish in the Premier League table.

The Potters have lost two key men in Steven N’Zonzi and Asmir Begovic this summer but Hughes will still be confident his side will be able to cause plenty of problems – especially at the Britannia.

Team news

Liverpool will be without Joe Allen as the midfielder has been ruled out for up to four weeks with a hamstring injury.

Striker Daniel Sturridge is ahead of schedule in his recovery from hip surgery but is still a month away from returning to action so he’ll join Jon Flanagan on the sidelines.

The likes of Christian Bentake, James Milner, Joe Gomez and Nathaniel Clyne should all make their full competitive debuts for the Reds.

Roberto Firmino may be on the bench as he continues to search for match fitness and he’s likely to be joined by fellow summer signing Danny Ings.

Stoke will be without influential defender Ryan Shawcross after he underwent surgery on a back injury but Bojan is back in contention after recovering from a long-term knee injury.

Marc Wilson faces a late fitness test while new signing Ibrahim Afellay is likely to feature at some point.

Likely Line-Ups

Predicted Score

Stoke 1-1 Liverpool: We all know Stoke are a tough side to beat at home and while Liverpool have looked decent in pre-season, I still think they’ll be pleased to take a point away from the Britannia tomorrow.

Betting Tips

Liverpool are the narrow 13/10 favourites to win the game but my prediction of a 1-1 draw is available at odds of 11/2. I also like the look of Diouf to open the scoring at odds of 8/1, and if we combine that with a 2-0 win in a score-cast, then we get very tempting odds of 45/1.

BACK DIOUF TO SCORE FIRST IN A 1-1 DRAW AT ODDS OF 45/1

What do you think? What line-up would you like to see start?