Premiership saturday 19th August
Sheffield Utd vs Liverpool 12:45 -skysports1
Liverpools dubious pre-season games were worrying at best for all at anfield , conceding goals for fun against mediocre teams , but the manager played different line ups , fringe players and new systems to try to bed the new signings in before the real stuff gets going , and promises of much better fare ahead were proved to be true after last weekends community shield win over chelsea . Where they looked back to their defensive best , and potent going forward with menace . Bellamy will wreak havoc for defences all season, as will Dirk Kuijyt if his signature goes through later today as expected , especially feeding from the knock ons from Crouch and crosses from the other 2 new boys Gonzalez and Pennant who both looked very good against Macabbi in the recent CL qualifier ,and Crouch will get his fair share too, he`ll be buzzing and very confident after his 2 goals for England last night against Greece. All in all a good season is in prospect for the reds , and this first game of the season at the lowly blades shouldnt hold too many fears for Benitez`s men , they also hold a fitness advantage having already had 2 competitive games, both wins, compared to this being Sheff Uniteds first game of the season .
Neil Warnock has done all he ever dreamed of by getting the blades up to the top tier of english football , but i fear that is where the dream will end and hes in for a culture shock this weekend . Especially when you consider that the best player he`s managed to bring in is prestons Claude Davis , whos currently out with ligament damage , so hes had to draft in Craig Short whos nearly 40 and hasnt played at this level for 10 years , so Bellamy should run him ragged !!
Basically he`s got a decent championship squad , but thats about it . The attack is a bit powder puff too , as the 3 most recent games against Scarborough, Scunthorpe , and Notts County have proved ,failing to score a goal in all 3 . They only beat non-league Matlock town 2-0 a while ago ,and were dominated for spells of that game.
All in all , i cant really Sheffield United troubling the reds much here, and for me the only thing they have in their favour is home advantage . I expect Liverpool to create a good few chances against a poor team with not much pace or creativity, whereas the blades may scramble 1 good chance if theyre lucky ,so for me my first bet of the current campaign is Liverpool to win here . No fancy asian handicap bets or ht-ft madness bets ,as at the end of the day all Liverpool and Benitez are concerned with is 3 points .
Liverpool to beat Sheffield United at 1.65 (betfair)
Regards
Man In The Know
