Back to soccer betting action for Sunday as Liverpool gets back into English Premier League play with a home game against the Blackburn Rovers.  The last time we saw Liverpool in action they were cashing a ticket for us as they beat Unirea Urziceni in Europa League play.  Now that they’re back at home, they’ll have to maintain their good form to stay in sight of the top of the EPL table.  Manchester City got a leg up on Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur for the #4 spot with their upset road win at Chelsea on Saturday.  It was Chelsea’s first loss at Stamford Bridge this season, and gave Manchester City a 3 point lead over Tottenham and a 4 point lead over Liverpool and Aston Villa.  The good news is that Blackburn is a lower half of the table squad and that’s exactly what Liverpool needs to stay in contention.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE–LIVERPOOL VS. BLACKBURN  7 AM PACIFIC/10 AM EASTERN

Blackburn is off a win, beating Bolton in EPL action but faces a tall task as they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool.  Blackburn hasn’t won on Liverpool’s home pitch in over a decade–since 1993 to be exact.  Obviously there’s always the possibility of an upset, as Manchester City demonstrated against Chelsea on Saturday but based on the two team’s form this season and the history of the head to head series this is a game that Liverpool should win easily.  The question for us soccer handicappers is just *how* easily Liverpool will win?

Liverpool should get some fresh legs in the starting lineup for this game.  The biggest roster news is that Fernando Torres will likely make his first start since recovering from knee surgery.  He’s seen limited substitute action in recent games, but he should give the sometimes stagnant Liverpool offense a boost.  Maxi Rodriguez will likely start as well–he was suspended due to bookings for the Europa League game in Romania.  Blackburn, meanwhile, will be without their team captain Ryan Nelson who suffered a knee injury in last week’s win over Bolton.

Liverpool has won five straight at home since a 2-1 loss to Arsenal in mid December.  During the recent streak, they’ve allowed only one goal and none in their last four games.  Blackburn has 3 losses and 3 draws in their last six road games.  They’ve shown a tendency to draw against the bottom feeders (Hull, West Ham and Wigan–all teams hovering near the relegation zone) and have been throttled on the road when they step up in class–their 3 most recent road losses have come to Birmingham, Manchester City and Stoke by a combined 9-2 score.  Head to head, Liverpool and Blackburn have played twice at Anfield since 2006 and the home team has won both games by a combined 7-1 margin.

With Liverpool needing all three points from this matchup we’ll look for a convincing win and lay the -1′ goals.  This line is from Bookmaker but similar prices can be found at other sportsbooks.

PLAY LIVERPOOL -1′ +105 OVER BLACKBURN