Scorum's Live Community Blog is back and we have an absolute barnstormer of a match for you all to be involved with this Saturday as well as the offer of some risk-free betting on betscorum.com (details below). I won't go over the format in too much detail as this is now the 11th such blog that we (myself, @jon.bonomo, @writingamigo, @idunique and @philnewton) have run, suffice to say that if you are new on the platform then you are very welcome to join us on Saturday at 5:30pm (GMT) on the blog that this week will be hosted by myself.
It's incredible how the landscape of the Premier League has changed within the space of just 5 days. Going into the busy Christmas period Manchester City sat atop of the table and despite a 2-0 defeat by Chelsea earlier in the month, they were still the odds-on favourites to retain the title. However, shock defeats against Crystal Palace and Leicester alongside Liverpool's impressive form have left the Merseysiders 6 points clear of Spurs in 2nd place and 7 points ahead of City. As much as opposing teams are now beginning to believe that they can get results against City, the Liverpool squad and its supporters are now beginning to see this as their season. Let's not forget though that we are only at the halfway point in this campaign and there are still several big hurdles for the men in red to clear before they end their 28 year wait for a league title - the clock continues to tick!
Can Arsenal Stop the Rot?
The first of those hurdles come in the form of the scum Arsenal who are themselves struggling for form after an impressive run in the league. I watched their game against Brighton on Boxing Day and I have to say that had the home team have started better (Brighton were dreadful in the first 20mins) and had they have had some quality in the final third then I believe that Arsenal would have lost that match. Their defensive line remains a cause for concern and they will surely have to rein in the cavalier attitudes of their full-backs in this match or risk being cut to ribbons by Liverpool's fab 3 up front. Too often Arsenal's defence was beaten by simple straight balls over the top by Brighton and as the game went on, I would also say that Arsenal lost out in midfield to the impressive Davy Propper and Dale Stephens who looked that much sharper and quicker than anything Arsenal had to offer. The one hope for an Arsenal team who have taken just 8 points from their last 5 games is that they probably have the best centre-forward in the league at present. If they can feed Aubameyang the chances then Arsenal will almost certainly score, the question though remains, how many will they ship at the other end?
Aubameyang by the numbers
Top scorer this season in the EPL with 13 goals
Significantly better goals to minutes ratio than either Salah or Kane. 114mins per goal v 132mins & 135mins respectively
Only Liverpool's Mo Salah has scored more league goals than Aubameyang since his debut in the EPL in January 2018.
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You'll Never ..... Get a Better Chance to Win the Premier League
A victory tomorrow for Liverpool would set them up beautifully for the massive league game to come against Man City on the 3rd January. A couple of weeks ago I was lamenting the fact that that fixture was due to come around so early in the season but now it feels like from a Liverpool perspective that it will be the defining match for an entire generation of supporters. Of course, the risk here is that Liverpool, a side with very little experience in such a position, will get ahead of themselves and let points slip in the interim. I would expect a lot of support from the home fans in this fixture and for Liverpool to come out on the offensive from the word go.
As well as having a pacey and skilful front line, Liverpool now possesses the meanest defence in the country and the match-up between Van Dijk and Aubameyang should be a battle to savour. The other big advantage for the reds is the variety of goalscorers that they have found in recent weeks. Salah's return to form has of course been crucial but in their last 5 matches they have also had 9 different scorers - this is a side that can hurt the opposition from almost any position on the pitch and also has the firepower to come off the bench if needed.
Team News
Jurgen Klopp had the luxury of resting first team regulars Fabinho and Naby Keita for the Newcastle match and other than an injury to James Milner, Liverpool look to be at full strength for this crucial tie.
For Arsenal defensive problems continue off the pitch as much as on them. Captain Laurent Koscielny who himself only just returned from a stint on the physio bench hurt a foot in the game at Brighton and will face a fitness test ahead of this match. Meanwhile, Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi are all expected to miss the game. Under normal circumstances Unai Emery might deploy a back 3 but with recources limited in that department he may have adapt alternative tactics or risk playing the hapless Granit Xhaka at centre-back.
Risk Free Bets with betscorum.com !!!!
Over the last few blogs we have been running a couple of prediction contests that have gotten good engagement and have generally been great fun. However, now that the betscorum.com platform is back up and running, I thought that it would be better to incentivise engagement on our blog while simultaneously driving liquidity on the betting exchange.
For those of you not in the know, @hassan with the help of SBC and donations from a couple of other Scorum users has already created a free bet system on Scorum and I would highly recommend that you check out their offer. For those of you familiar with online bookies, I would equate that scheme to your introductory offer, you know the kind that all bookies (at least in the UK) will give you in order to get you on their site in the first place. Our offer is more the type of loyalty offer you get on the big matches as you go through the season and it will run like this .............
Every game we will be offering 10 risk free bets at a maximum of 2 SCR each
But hang on a minute ......What do you mean by a "risk free bet"?
I mean that you can bet up to 2 SCR on the result of the game we are covering safe in the knowledge that if your bet loses, I will refund you the 2SCR. Of course, if your bet wins then good for you, you keep your stake and you get your winnings and I send you nothing.
Please be sure that you have at least 2 liquid SCR in your wallet before entering this contest.
The bets must be placed as follows
- You must bet on the match that we are covering
- You can only bet on the result of the match - home win, draw or away win ( 1 , X, 2 markets only)
- Only your first bet after you qualify for the free bet will count (see below for how to qualify for the free bet)
- Maximum 2 SCR as a risk free bet
- Bets under 2 SCR will still be covered but the remaining sum will not be paid out i.e. if your first bet is 1SCR we will cover that liability if you lose but you will not receive the remaining 1 SCR
- Only the first 2 SCR on any bet above that amount will be covered i.e. if you bet 10SCR and lose we will refund you 2 SCR but we will not cover the remaining 8SCR
- Only matched bets will be eligible
- Bets placed before kick-off and during the game are both eligible
How do I qualify for a free bet?
There will be a simple football related question or challenge posted in the comments section of the live community discussion (as usual this blog will be posted approx. an hour before kick-off). The first 10 correct answers under that comment will qualify for a risk-free bet. I'll be sure to comment under your comment confirming that you've won a free bet.
Other than answering your qualifying question and placing your bet along the guidelines above that is it, I don't need you to do anymore as the blockchain itself will provide me with the information necessary to judge whether you have bet and what the result of that bet was.
Join myself and the above contributors for the Liverpool v Arsenal game on Saturday at 5:30pm
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