Capital One Cup preview and odds: Stoke City vs Liverpool

Published on: 25/01/2016

Capital One Cup preview and odds: Liverpool vs Stoke City

January 26, 2016 19:45pm - Anfield

Capital One Cup Semi-final, Second-leg (Aggregate 1 - 0)

Liverpool will attempt to maintain their advantage over Stoke City as the two sides continue their respective quests for silverware in the second-leg of the Capital One Cup Semi-final at Anfield on Tuesday night.

Reds in driving seat

Eight-time League Cup winners Liverpool hold a 1-0 lead, and will also enjoy home advantage going into the second-leg of this Capital One Cup Semi-final. The Merseyside club are searching for their first trophy since they won this competition under Kenny Dalglish back in 2012.

They come into this game on the back of an incredible 5-4 win away at Norwich City in the Barclays Premier League. That roller-coaster of a game would have helped to erase the memory of a disappointing home defeat to Manchester United the week before.

In the first leg, the Reds dominated the game and grabbed their narrow lead courtesy of a goal from Jordan Ibe.

Stoke looking to cause Anfield upset

Stoke face an uphill task on Tuesday night as they look to overturn a 1-0 deficit at Anfield and keep their League Cup dreams hunt alive. It has been more than forty years since the Potters last added any top-flight silverware to their trophy cabinet. On that occasion, they beat Chelsea 2-1 to win the 1972 edition of this competition.

Last time out, Stoke fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of league leaders Leicester city. Boss Mark Hughes will be hoping for a response from his players in what may be their biggest game of the season.

Team news

The home side`s injury problems have been well-documented. and they will continue without the services of Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren, Jordan Rossiter, Daniel Sturridge, Martyn Skrtel, Divock Origi, Joe Gomez and Danny Ings.

Meanwhile, Stoke will be hoping that Captain Ryan Shawcross can shake off an injury picked up in the game at Leicester, while Marko Arnautovic could also feature after missing the last game with a hamstring niggle.

Recent form (League)

Liverpool: WLDLW

Stoke City: LDWLW

Betting odds and tips

Liverpool will be clear favourites and seem to have found the scoring touch recently. However, Jurgen Klopp will still be concerned about their defensive jitters.

Chasing this game may not suit Stoke City who could be exposed to Liverpools pacing counter-attacking.

The home side can be backed to win the tie at 4/5 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 25/01/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (25/01/2016 12:57:11) but are subject to change.