Lyon v Liverpool betting preview

Should we lump on the French team at odds of 7/5?

Is this the last week of Rafael Benitez being Liverpool manager? The Spaniard took charge at Anfield in June 2004 and, although he won the Champions League in his first season as manager, there has been no league title for the Merseyside club in the ensuing years.

Furthermore, the Reds have had a poor start to the 2009/10 season and a defeat in Lyon on Wednesday night could signal the end of Rafa’s reign. The French side are 7/5 (Ladbrokes) to win the match and subject Liverpool to a seventh defeat in eight matches.

The visitors will be without the influential Steven Gerrard for this crunch game, while Fernando Torres is clearly not 100% fit and it remains to be seen whether he’s risked. El Nino is 11/2 (Blue Square) to open the scoring and he’s recently illustrated against Fulham and Manchester United that he only needs a sniff of a chance to score.

Aside from him, Dirk Kuyt (10/1 Blue Square) has been known to score some important goals for Liverpool and breaking the deadlock could be vital. The Reds are now 21/10 (Coral) for a huge win which would put them back in the reckoning for qualification.

Lyon manager Claude Puel does not have the happiest of camps, with Sidney Govou recently being stripped of the captaincy. However, the Frenchman will be a handful for a shaky Liverpool defence and is 10/1 (Sky Bet) to open the scoring.

Defensively, the French title challengers will be without the trio of Jean Alain Boumsong, Mathieu Bodmer and Cleber Anderson, although none featured at Anfield. In attack, they have the dangerous Lisandro Lopez and odds of 2/1 (Coral) that he scores at any stage look tasty.

There’s little doubt that Rafael Benitez will initially set up his team not to concede on Wednesday night, and it’s 11/4 (Paddy Power) that they keep a clean sheet, a price that would have been crying value at the start of the season. However, Jamie Carragher continues to have a miserable season, leaving goalkeeper Jose Reina exposed at every turn.

In truth, a point would suit Lyon and the draw is attractively priced at 12/5 (Canbet). Despite Liverpool’s poor run of matches, their need might be greater than the opposition and a slender 1-0 victory in their favour is a 7/1 chance (totesport).

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Tags: Champions League,  Champions League Betting,  Fernando Torres,  Football,  Football Betting,  Football News,  Liverpool,  Lyon,  Lyon V Liverpool,  Rafael Benitez