Prediction: Liverpool vs Norwich City

Verdict: Total goals over 3.5

Best odds: 1/1

Bookmaker: Betfair

Liverpool will be welcoming Norwich City to Anfield for the second time this season in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday evening. The two sides have already played at Carrow Road twice as well, and the Merseysiders emerged victorious on all three occasions.

Liverpool

Liverpool have already won a cup this term, having beaten Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. Quite apart from the FA Cup, they are the only team that has a realistic chance of catching up with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, and they have good reason to believe they’ll reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Still, asked in his pre-match press conference about the ‘quadruple’, manager Jurgen Klopp said they weren’t so crazy as to think about that.

Liverpool sit second in the league with a six-point deficit compared to City, but they also have a game in hand and they are yet to play at the Etihad. A win there, on top of winning their game in hand, would likely see Klopp’s men take the top spot for their own.

As for the Champions League, the Merseysiders were very convincing in the group stage, winning all six matches against Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and AC Milan, and they’ve managed to beat Inter in Milan in the first leg of the round of 16.

As for their form, the Reds are looking extremely well. The final on Sunday was the only match among them that they failed win within 90 minutes. Before that, they beat Leicester City 2-0 at home, Burnley away 0-1, Inter away 0-2, Norwich at home 3-1, and demolished Leeds United 6-0 at home.

Team News

Two players from Klopp’s ranks have been ruled out. Forward Roberto Firmino and midfielder Thiago Alcantara, both due to hamstring injuries.

It’s very likely for Caoimhin Kelleher to start between the posts again, having consistently played in the cups and delivered a great performance against Chelsea on Sunday. Kostas Tsimikas will be hoping to be given a chance on the left side of defence, as will Joe Gomez either in the heart of the back line, or on the right. James Milner could step in to provide some rest for Fabinho as the midfield anchor, and the likes of Harvey Elliott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones will be hoping to start as well. The same goes for Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino upfront.

Norwich City

While Klopp answers questions about trophies in his pressers, Dean Smith is mostly dealing with thoughts on relegation for his side, which is looking increasingly likely. Things have been going bad from the start of the season, and it eventually prompted the club to part ways with Daniel Farke and replace him with the former Aston Villa manager.

The Canaries are firmly nailed to the bottom of the table with just 17 points, two less than Watford in 19th place, four less than Burnley in 18th and five less than Everton in 17th, but the most worrying aspect of it all is the fact that both Burnley and Everton have two games in hand on Norwich and Watford.

Speaking to the press ahead of the match, Smith said he was happy when he saw the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea go into extra time, but even so, the chances for his team to progress past the Reds are extremely slim.

As for their recent form, Norwich beat 10-men Watford 0-3 away, triumphed over Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 away in the previous round of the FA Cup, drew 1-1 at home against Crystal Palace, took a hammering at the hands of Manchester City at home 0-4, lost 3-1 away to Liverpool, and eventually lost 2-0 away to Southampton as well.

Team News

Smith will be without the services of defender Grant Hanley. The Canaries captain is serving a yellow-card suspension. Christoph Zimmermann will likely take his place in the back line. Defenders Ozan Kabak, who spent the second half of last season at Liverpool on loan from Schalke 04, and Andrew Omobamidele, as well as forward Adam Idah, are injured.

Midfielder Jacob Sorensen could, on the other hand, return from a knee injury for this match. Fullbacks Max Aarons and Brandon Williams will have minor knocks assessed between now and the kick-off, but they are expected to be ready to play.

Conclusion

Having beaten Norwich three times already this season, Liverpool are very strong favourites to make it four out of four, with the game seeing at least four goals happen.

Verdict: Total goals over 3.5

Best odds: 1/1

Bookmaker: Betfair