Liverpool and Arsenal players get juicy price boost for cup tie

It wasn’t all that long ago that Martin Skrtel was poking home Steven Gerrard’s free kick to set Liverpool on their way to a stunning 5-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League, paying out his first goalscorer backers inside the first minute in the process.

Now, the two teams meet again under an FA Cup umbrella, and although lightening isn’t likely to strike twice, both in terms of score and lightening start, Ladbrokes are still offering a boosted price on a player from each side.

For the hosts, Lukas Podolski gets the treatment, with his odds to break the game’s deadlock out from 8/1 to 9s.

The German made a return from injury as a substitute on Boxing Day but has since made just three starts. That one of those came in the FA Cup suggests Podolski could be afforded a rare run out from the first whistle here.

Having had to live off appearances from the pine as his main diet since regaining fitness, it’s no surprise to see that Arsenal’s number nine has just five goals to his name this season.

He’s got two braces to his name in that tally though, and opened the scoring in that FA Cup appearance, a 4-0 win over Coventry.

Liverpool’s number one target this season is to gain Champions League football. But Brendan Rodgers has fought the temptation to send out a weaker team here in order to keep those dreams alive, promising a strong XI to take to the Emirates pitch.

That’s good news for Steven Gerrard supporters for the first goal, as the Liverpool skipper is boosted from 12/1 to 14/1 to bag it.

With four goals in his last seven games, Gerrard is in clear scoring form despite being handed a deeper role in midfield and with free kicks and penalties also in his repertoire, his chances of breaking the deadlock are as good as anybodies.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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