Reds poised to hit the front

Reds poised to hit the front

TAB soccer pools are packed with enticing contests as the 2021-22 season heads into its final stages and Liverpool can increase the pressure on a fragile Manchester City by putting the Red Devils to the sword at Anfield tonight.

By Mark Gleeson

Liverpool have steadily upped the pressure on Manchester City in the race for this season’s English Premier League title and now get a chance to go top of the table, even if it is for only 24 hours.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds sit a single point behind City with seven games to go and play tonight at home to Manchester United in long one of the classics of the English season. The clash is included in tonight’s TAB Soccer 4, 6 and 10 bets.

It is usually a match with little to choose between the protagonists, but this time Liverpool are overwhelming favourites to beat the Red Devils and knock City off the summit of the table.

City play tomorrow and are expected to take regain the lead (assuming Liverpool win or draw) when they host Brighton and Hove Albion. It is a game, however, that comes with a warning notice because the Seagulls have played their last two games away and taken the scalps of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the process.

Chelsea, who will face Liverpool in the FA Cup final after beating Crystal Palace on Sunday, are at home to Arsenal in one of the other three EPL clashes tomorrow and fancied to strengthen their third place.

With both Arsenal and Manchester United having tough away assignments, it is a chance for Spurs to consolidate fourth place, and the last of the Champions League slots, when they go to Brentford on Saturday. But after the weekend loss at home to Brighton, this may be no easy task for Antonio Conte’s side against their London neighbours who are on a three-match winning run.

The match is included in Saturday’s R250,000-added Soccer 10 pool, which features several challenging matches including an African Champions League second-leg quarter-final in which Sundowns start 2-1 down.

There are also key midweek matches in LaLiga, in which the top three - Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla - all play away but are still fancied to bring home the points.

It looks easier though for runaway leaders Real at Osasuna tomorrow than it does for the other two on Thursday night. Real’s 3-2 win at Sevilla on Sunday gives them a 15-point lead.

The top two sides in Italy - AC Milan and Inter Milan - meet in the second leg of an Italian Cup semi-final tonight after a goalless draw in the first leg. Juventus won 1-0 away at Fiorentina in their first leg and should finish off the job tomorrow night.

In Portugal on Thursday night there’s a cup semi-final between log-leaders Porto and Sporting Lisbon, who are nine points behind. Porto lead 2-1 from their first leg a month ago. All great games that add loads of appeal to TAB soccer pools this week.