FA Cup: Salah-less Reds Slated to Host the Streaky Canaries

Liverpool vs Norwich City

Liverpool will be competing in their third game in six days, as they’ll host Norwich City for their fourth round tie here in the FA Cup.

Jurgen Klopp’s men come into this weekend without a single loss since early December against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League group stage. However, a trickier path awaits them following the news that Mohamed Salah sustained a serious injury during the AFCON.

So, the Reds’ frontline depth is going to be tested in the next few weeks. And with David Wagner’s Norwich City in fine form after winning three of their last four matches, this upcoming tie is going to be interesting for SBOTOP football fans, to say the least.

Talking Points

Liverpool expect the worst for Salah

Jurgen Klopp was supposed to be happy after Mohamed Salah returned to Liverpool since he was forced to leave AFCON, but he isn’t because it’s due to an injury he sustained in Egypt’s 2-2 draw against Ghana last week.

According to the latest FA Cup 2024 news, the Egyptian forward suffered a hamstring injury that is “worse than first feared” since a scan revealed that it has a tear, according to Pep Lijnders, Liverpool’s assistant coach.

Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas, believes that the 31-year-old is set for a long spell on the sidelines since he’ll be re-evaluated after three to four weeks. If that’s the case, then it is a huge blow to the Reds’ title hopes because he is their leading scorer this term with 18 goals and eight assists.

Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, and Luis Diaz will all be tasked with trying to fill in for Salah in the meantime.

In their first game without Mohamed Salah, Liverpool scraped a 1-1 draw against Fulham to reach the EFL Cup final after winning via an aggregate tally of 3-2, courtesy of Luis Diaz’s early goal.

Rowe and Idah lead the way for Norwich City

Speaking of capable forwards, Norwich City have two of them in Jonathan Rowe and Adam Idah, who have combined for 20 goals and four assists so far this season.

Rowe’s Canaries contract is scheduled to expire in 2025, and it is said that Aston Villa are keeping an eye on him. The 20-year-old is one of the most exciting young forwards in the Championship, so he should fetch significant value in the transfer market.

Idah, meanwhile, is having a much better campaign with Norwich City since he has already doubled his goal total from last season. At 6’3”, the Republic of Ireland forward is an imposing figure in the final third, and he’s only 22 years old.

Other than Rowe and Idah, Liverpool’s defence will also have to account for Gabriel Sara and Josh Sargent. Sara is Norwich City’s best playmaker with six goals and eight assists, while Sargent has tacked on five goals and one assist.

History

Liverpool are undefeated in their last 18 encounters with Norwich City in all competitions since a 1-0 loss at Anfield in April 1994 (W16, D2), which is their longest current unbeaten streak against any side.

After winning their first three FA Cup matches against Liverpool between 1909 and 1951, Norwich City have been eliminated from the competition three times since then.

As a Championship squad, the Canaries have been eliminated from their last 12 FA Cup ties against English top-flight opponents since a 1-0 victory against Stoke City in January 1982.

On the other hand, the Reds have defeated 11 of their last 12 FA Cup ties against teams from a lower division, with their only loss being a 2-1 result against Wolves in January 2017 at Anfield.

But Liverpool have only won two of their last eight FA Cup home matches against Championship teams (D2, L4), including losing three of their last four.

Betting Tip

The FA Cup 2024 odds are lopsided towards Liverpool, which is expected. The Reds are 1.13 favourites to win, whereas Norwich City are 10.50 underdogs, and a draw is priced at 7.20 in the 1X2 market.

Even if Jurgen Klopp rotates his lineup without Salah, Liverpool should have enough to cruise past Norwich City, especially with the weapons that they have.

Other than our recommended bet above, you may also want to consider going for Total Goal 2-3 at 2.61 or even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.02. Meanwhile, a Correct Score of 2-1 in favour of the Reds – the result of their most recent FA Cup meeting in March 2022– is being offered at a generous rate of 11.00.

 

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