After three away wins on the spin, Brendan Rodgers brings his side back to Anfield where they face Black Cats and our tipster is backing early goals

Liverpool and Sunderland meet in the Premier League this evening with both teams fighting at opposite ends of the table. Whereas the Reds have a real chance of wining the league, Gus Poyet’s men are struggling in the bottom three, three points adrift of 17th place.

The Black Cats come into this game with no wins in their last five matches, losing four of those games so they are really up against it when they visit one of the most in-form teams in the division.

A 2-0 defeat last weekend to Norwich was a huge blow to Sunderland, with the Canaries also fighting to avoid the drop. Bet365 price them at 18/1 (19.00) to cause a major upset on Merseyside.

Liverpool have been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, netting 16 goals in their last four matches. The Reds tore Cardiff apart at the weekend, with a Luis Suarez hat-trick leading them to a 6-3 win. Rodgers’ side are unbeaten in their last 11 league matches, winning six in a row.

With Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge and Suarez all scoring at ease at the moment, it’s no surprise they are 1/6 (1.16) to win against Sunderland. Bet365 also price the draw at 8/1 (9.00).

With Liverpool over 2.5 goals and -1 handicap far too short to touch, it’s worth looking elsewhere for value in this match.

A bet that has paid out in nine of Liverpool’s last 11 home league games is over 1.5 first half goals. The price of this bet landing this evening at 10/11 (1.91) is certainly worth backing .

As well as paying out so often at home for the Reds, it landed easily at the weekend, with four goals scored in the opening 45 minutes. It’s also worth noting Liverpool have scored 48 first half goals in 30 league games this season.

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