Keep a level head as a Coutinho-less Liverpool emerge blinking into the new dawn.
It’s actually the Reds’ third game on the bounce without the phenomenal Philippe. So far it’s a two-win streak.
Tally up only the Liverpool games in which Coutinho played no part at all this season and the Reds’ record is a very shiny W10 D1 L1.
Sell him!
Granted as fixtures go, they were a fairly gentle dozen.
One obvious exception was the 5-0 drubbing Liverpool took at the Etihad.
Which brings us to today’s teaser for punters: if you want to avoid defeat by this Manchester City side (4pm), is your best hope to avoid trying to win in the first place?
Jurgen Klopp will have turned that one over and over. It’s as much a question of temperament as the players you have at your disposal.
Klopp’s Liverpool record against big domestic opposition should be a clue to his ambitions and approach today. And his prospects for popping Pep’s bubble.
It’s a very impressive set of numbers, bearing in mind Liverpool’s ranking within the Prem elite.
Since coming to Anfield in October 2015, I make it that Klopp’s Liverpool are W11 D14 L3 against fellow members of the Big Six in all competitions.
That’s a lot of draws. At top-flight level you’d expect there to be seven or eight stalemates in every 28 games on average.
I’ll take the DRAW today at 11/4 (Fred).
Nibble the 10/1 (Hills) ‘anytime scorer’ about City defender Nicolas Otamendi if he starts – that price is a bit big on his data, in a game with a higher than normal goal expectation.
Mo Salah is the silver lining for the Kop faithful, now that Coutinho has shaken off his earthly bondage to join the choir immaculate. And Salah can do us a favour too.
With goals in 18 of his 29 Liverpool games this term – better than a 4/6 poke – get on Salah ‘anytime scorer’ at 8/5 (Fred, Paddy) .
If the Alexis Sanchez saga has taught us anything, it is the real value of patience. I make it about £7.5million a month. He was £60m in August.
Similar principle to the ‘going off’ section in the supermarket. Hang about long enough and you can trouser 3kg of reformed turkey slices and a breeze block of angry cheddar, for a quid.
Then it’s just a question of eating it, or dying in the attempt.
Channel that bulldog spirit at Bournemouth (1.30pm) and deploy our designated Arsenal ‘sleeper’ Shkodran Mustafi.
The German’s a bit of ‘anytime scorer’ longshot value at 9/1 (Fred).
Last week: Winners at 8/1, 21/20 and Evens