Liverpool take on the visitors Barnsley in the round. 1/32-finals of English FA Cup. The match will be played on Monday, January 12th at Anfield (Liverpool).
Liverpool may focus on this competition in particular. The Reds could afford to lose the final of another tournament, the League Cup, less than a year ago, as those and other slip-ups were more than compensated by a confident Premier League title win. This time, however, the champions have been disappointing, especially after strengthening significantly in the summer. Overall, the Merseyside club have failed through a large part of the season, losing the Super Cup and then the League Cup to Crystal Palace. There have also been too many defeats in the Premier League. Only in December did long-awaited progress appear, with a run of wins, and now they have recorded a couple of consecutive draws. One of those was a goalless 0-0 against Arsenal. Recent results suggest that Liverpool are slowly stabilizing, even if consistency is still lacking. At Anfield, they remain difficult to face, and the pressure on opponents there usually leads to a clear territorial advantage.
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Barnsley even reached the Premier League in the 1990s, but today they are a mid-table League One side, the third tier of English football. Last season they finished only 12th there, and this campaign has looked even tougher. Although there was a brief positive spell in November, it was followed by another downturn, with defeats returning and the team slipping further down the table. In the last round, they at least managed a draw against Wigan. At the same time, they have performed relatively well in knockout matches. In the League Cup, they got past Fleetwood and Rotherham before losing to Brighton, and in the current competition they recorded narrow but important wins over York City and Peterborough. Barnsley’s recent form shows a team that can compete in isolated matches but struggles to maintain momentum. Away from home, especially against top-level opposition, they usually prioritize damage limitation over attacking ambition.
There have been only three meetings in total. In the 1997/1998 Premier League season, the clubs exchanged wins, and in 2008, already in the cup, the giant surprisingly lost at Anfield. The Reds simply have no alternative but a convincing victory. The bet is on the reigning champions to win with a -2 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Liverpool to win with -2.0 handicap.
