England FA Cup - Fourth round - Replay, 04-05. February

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Liverpool vs Shrewsbury Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Kelleher; Hoever, Van den Berg, Boyes, Larouci; Dixon-Bonner, Chirivella, Jones; Elliott, Longstaff, Hill

Shrewsbury:
O'Leary; Ebanks-Landell, PIerre, Beckles; Love, Laurent, Walker, Golbourne; Whalley, Cummings, Lang

Liverpool will host Shrewsbury Town in a FA Cup fourth round replay at Anfield. The first match at New Meadow finished with a 2:2 draw after Liverpool threw away a two-goal lead and now face a replay. The winners of this tie will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the fifth round. The Merseysiders should be rated as favorites against League One side, but the fact is they will play with U-23 team. Manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that neither he nor his first-team players will take part in the game. So, the group of young players will be lead by Neil Critchley, who already managed the Reds in their League Cup defeat by Aston Villa when the first-team squad were in Qatar for the Club World Cup. This is the first season the Premier League has scheduled a winter break. In a letter sent to clubs from the Premier League in March, teams were told not to arrange competitive or friendly matches with other clubs during the mid-season player break." So, Klopp decided to play this match with youngsters. Some players of the U-23 squad have already begun to make their mark on the first team. For example Curtis Jones scored the winner against Everton and also scored the first goal at Shrewsbury. At 18 years and 361 days, Jones is the first teenager to score in consecutive appearances for Liverpool since Raheem Sterling in April 2014. The likes of Harvey Elliott, Ki-Jana Hoever, Sepp van den Berg and Pedro Chirivella also have some senior experience. Yasser Larouci is rated as doubtful as he picked up an injury in the U23s' clash with Wolverhampton last Wednesday. Adam Lewis, James Norris or Tony Gallacher are in contention at left-back should Larouci be unavailable.

Shrewsbury started the competition from the first round. They needed two games to eliminate Bradford City. After 1:1 at home, Shrewsbury won 1:0 as guests. In the second round they beat Mansfield with 2:0, while then managed to eliminate Brystol City in the third. Once again Shrewsbury were forced to play re-match as the first game ended with 1:1 draw. Aaron Pierre was the hero of the second clash after scored the lone goal in the finish of the match. As I've already wrote above, Shrewsbury played 2:2 with Liverpool 10 days ago. Jason Cummings was the hero on the that match. The Reds had two-goal advantage, but the former Hibernian striker launched the comeback from the penalty spot after Josh Laurent was fouled by Yasser Larouci before the same player scored the equalizer. Cummings became the first lower league player to score two goals from the bench in the FA Cup against Premier League opposition since Hull's Nick Barmby in 2011. Delighted home fans in the sell-out crowd at Waters Meadow staged a good-natured pitch invasion at full-time after a glorious comeback. Nevertheless, the Blues are currently in poor form, losing both of their league games since the match with Liverpool. Even worse, Shrewsbury have won just one of their last 10 games across all competitions. The away form is also poor, Shrewsbury haven't won on road in 2020. Ricketts will likely start with Cummings leading the line after his impressive performance in the initial tie. Sam Hart, who arrived during the January transfer period, is pushing for a spot in the starting eleven. However, Golbourne will probably keep his place, meaning Hart will start from the bench.

Liverpool vs Shrewsbury Prediction:

I expect a high scoring match at Anfield. Liverpool will play with U-23 team, lead by Neil Critchley. They already lost 5:0 to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup. The young Reds' players will once again try to win and they won't pay much attention to defense. Shrewsbury, meanwhile, scored in seven of their last 10 matches in all competitions. The first match between Shrewsbury and Liverpool saw four goals, so I think this one could produce at least three.

Liverpool vs Shrewsbury Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.64 with 1xBet

 

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Tottenham vs Southampton Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Tottenham:
Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Tanganga; Fernandes, Winks, Lo Celso, Lamela; Lucas Moura, Son

Southampton:
McCarthy; Danso, Stephens, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Djenepo, Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg; Redmond; Obafemi, Ings

Tottenham have obtain an important 2:0 win against the reigning champions Manchester City during the weekend. The Spurs are now fifth on the table with 37 points. That means they are four points behind Chelsea and fourth place now looks much closer. Nevertheless, the fans were expecting better results with Jose Mourinho. Indeed, the Portuguese coach brought instant improvement with three straight victories in his first three matches, but failed to continue that way. However, the Spurs have two wins on the last two matches in the Premier League. The North London outfit managed to beat Norwich, plus the mentioned victory against the Citizens. The atmosphere in the squad is much better, while the players confidence is higher. Tottenham managed to eliminate Middlesbrough in the previous round of the FA Cup. Mourinho has some injury issues ahead of this match. Key player Harry Kane remain sidelined and that's a huge handicap. Moussa Sissoko and Ben Davies are also out injured, while Dele Alli is rated as doubtful. He is unlikely to be risked in this match after suffered injury that lead to his withdrawal in the 70th minute. First goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has recovered and played on Sunday. Even more, he kept the net untouched against City saving a first-half penalty. New acquisition Steven Bergwijn, who scored the first goal against Manchester, is ineligible for this game. According to FA Cup rules, a player must be available for the first tie to feature in a replay.

Southampton are in the middle of the table. They are sharing the 10th place with three other sides - Arsenal, Burnley and Newcastle all have 31 points, six less than fifth-placed Tottenham. The actual form is mixed, three victories, one draw and two defeats on the last six matches in the Premier League. Tottenham were between the victims as the Saints won thanks to the lone goal scored by Danny Ings. Nevertheless, Southampton suffered a high 4:0 defeat to Liverpool during the weekend. Despite the loss, Ralph Hasenhuttl's players were competitive, especially in the first half. They had 10 shots in the first half against Liverpool, the most the Reds have faced in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League match at Anfield since Chelsea in November 2014. Even more, there was appeal for a penalty in the second half - Fabinho appeared to upend Danny Ings inside the box, but the referee, and then VAR, decided against giving a foul. Hasenhuttl has most of his players available for this match, only Stuart Armstrong is sidelined with a hip injury. This match is probably coming too soon for Ben Davies, who could return after the winter break. Kyle Walker-Peters, who signed from Tottenham on loan during the January transfer window, is unable to play against his parent side.

Tottenham vs Southampton Prediction:

This will be the 197th meeting between these two sides. The Spurs have won 82 of the clashes, drawn 50 and lost 64. At the same time, 9 of the last 10 mutual games have finished with goals on both sides. Both teams played good during the weekend, despite the fact their opponents were Manchester City and Liverpool. The FA Cup should be a target for Mourinho, so I expect an offensive approach. There should be goals from both teams.

Tottenham vs Southampton Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.80 with Bwin