Genk vs Liverpool Predictions

Liverpool’s lengthy winning streak in the Premier League came to an end at Old Trafford against a spirited Manchester United side on Sunday, in a poor result that many observers felt was overdue.

The Reds have been carving results out over the past month rather than blowing teams away, especially on the road, where their attacking play continues to stutter.

Liverpool emerged as victors from five of their seven away games in all competitions this term, though Jurgen Klopp’s charges averaged just 1.57 goals per 90 minutes along the way.

In the Champions League, Liverpool’s travel problems have been well documented, and ahead of their latest away day assignment in Belgium this week, the Reds lost seven of their last ten UCL fixtures away from Merseyside.

They have a great opportunity to push that record in a more positive direction against an ordinary looking Genk side on Wednesday however.

The Belgians have had to endure a disappointing start to their domestic title defence, winning just 50% of their first ten top flight fixtures since the summer, and Genk were annihilated 6-2 by Red Bull Salzburg in their first Group E outing in the Champions League last month.

After that harrowing experience in Austria, Genk were expected by most to become the group’s whipping boys, though they recovered well to take a point in a 0-0 result at home to Napoli on match-day two.

The blank Genk secured against the Serie A giants was their 7^th clean sheet in 14 matches at home in all competitions – in fact, they shipped a total of just seven goals in that same set of fixtures at the Luminus Arena.

We think Genk’s ability to keep things tight at the back at home should allow them to avoid another Champions League mauling against Liverpool this week, and when you couple the Belgians’ fine defensive numbers on their own patch with the Reds’ modest goal return on the road, then you have all the ingredients for a low-scoring encounter this week.

With that considered, we think the under 2.5 Liverpool goals market looks the best avenue of approach for Wednesday’s match-up. The Reds have scored more than two goals just once in seven attempts away from home since the summer, and we believe Genk can keep the score to respectable levels in Belgium.

We do however, expect Liverpool’s superior quality to eventually tell, which is why we’re tipping the defending Champions League title holders to win 2-0.