WhoScored Tipster: WhoScored vs The Heavyweight - Capital One Cup Final Tips

In a new weekly fixture in partnership with Bookmaker Ratings, WhoScored.com will be going head-to-head with a member of the BR team, exchanging betting tips rather than body blows. For each prediction that comes in, a point will be awarded with the winner being the team (WhoScored or Bookmaker Ratings) with the best tally.

We will be choosing our top tips for one of the biggest games each week and in this opening match-up it’s WhoScored vs The Heavyweight. Former two-time WBA champion Nikolai Valuev is the opponent, and this week’s game in focus is Sunday’s Capital One Cup final between Liverpool and Manchester City.

Valuev’s Tips - Read Nikolai's thoughts in full here

Last time Liverpool and Manchester City met, the Reds thrashed their opponents 4-1 at Etihad, and what is important to note, it happened after Klopp’s arrival. So I think at Wembley, Liverpool will also have good chances of success. It has to be an entertaining match and I lean over towards  “both teams to score and Liverpool to win”. And also “Liverpool to lift the Cup”.

WhoScored’s Say

We can certainly see why Nikolai has chosen these predictions for Sunday’s Wembley showdown, with the Reds having the slight upper hand in terms of recent meetings between the sides. Of course, Liverpool’s margin of victory the last time these sides met was far from slight but despite Klopp’s men running riot in their last league outing against Villa to boot, there’s no chance they’ll have it so easy this weekend.

Manchester City impressed in the Champions League in midweek, which will have offered a significant confidence boost ahead of the final following three consecutive weeks beforehand, with star men Aguero, Silva and Toure all on the scoresheet. On the opposing side former City forward Daniel Sturridge is back fit for the Merseysiders, with something of a point to prove, so the amount of attacking talent on display should indeed guarantee goals, but I’m avoiding an outright winner tip in this one.

WhoScored’s tips

Like my opponent I think this will be an entertaining game and if the recent history between the two sides is anything to go by that should be a safe assumption. Indeed, both sides have scored in each of their last 8 competitive encounters, but I’m tempted to look deeper than that. I think both sides will look to come out of the blocks quickly, perhaps Liverpool in particular, so I’m backing both teams to score in the first half, which has come to pass in 5 of said 8 recent fixtures between these two.

For my second tip I’m moving to the goalscorer markets, with two players standing out in particular. The first is Roberto Firmino, who starred in Liverpool’s 4-1 win at the Etihad earlier this season. The Brazilian is developing well under Jurgen Klopp and his anytime odds are very tempting indeed. Nevertheless I’m going to play it a little more safe and opt for Sergio Aguero to find the net during 90 minutes. The Argentine scored City’s consolation goal in the last fixture between the two, meaning he has netted in 4 of 6 league appearances against the Reds. The 27-year old is also on a hot streak, scoring 8 goals in his last 7 outings in all competitions, and I think he will be the difference between the sides come Sunday.

Click here to see the full preview and predicted line-ups ahead of Liverpool vs Manchester City

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