After two losses in a row, Brendan Rodgers brings his side back to Anfield to face the Tigers and our tipster is backing early strikes

After a fantastic start to the season, Liverpool will be glad to see the back of 2013 after two straight defeats away to two title contenders over the Christmas period. They next welcome Hull City to Anfield, who themselves have had an eventful few days.

Steve Bruce’s side thrashed Fulham at the weekend 6-0, which has lifted them to 12th in the league. This astonishing result followed a tough match against champions Manchester United.

The Tigers lead 2-0 after 13 minutes, only to see David Moyes’ side strike back three times to take all the points.

Hull come into this match without a win away in their last seven, but did beat Liverpool at the KC Stadium earlier in the season. Betway price them at a long 10/1 (11.00) to cause another upset.

Liverpool will be hoping to bounce back after defeats on the road to Manchester City and Chelsea which has seen their hopes of winning the league start to slip away.

The Merseysiders have been fantastic at home though, winning their last six matches, and it’s no surprise that Betway price them at just 11/50 (1.22) to take all three points. The same firm price the draw at 5/1 (6.00).

In all of Liverpool’s last six home matches, the -1 handicap bet would have paid out and would have been worth backing in this fixture. However, the price of 11/20 (1.55) with Betway doesn’t seem to offer any value.

A bet that has paid out on numerous occasions in Liverpool matches this season has been over 1.5 first-half goals.

This would have landed in eight of the Reds’ last nine matches and with the price of 5/4 (2.25) with Betway that this will happen again, it’s far to good to turn down. After two straight defeats on the road, expect Suarez and Co. to come out of the blocks firing on New Year’s Day.

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