-
Ex-Everton star carded 7 times in 17 PL starts
-
Endo fouled 2+ times in 5 of his last 7 games
-
Back Anfield Bet Builder at north of 8/1
-
Liverpool v Newcastle
Monday 1 January, 20:00
Live on Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event
As we enter 2024, this football props column continues to generate a decent, long-term profit.
The short-term aim is to deliver a winner on the first day of the new year though and in an attempt to do that, attention turns to Anfield where two value bets standout.
Each is worthy of consideration as a single (note: my last week on duty saw loads of individual legs win but not a lot overall) but this column is about Bet Builders so I'm ready to put the two picks together to form a near 8/19.00 shot.
First up, 3/14.00 about Anthony Gordon receiving a card from referee Anthony Taylor looks a bit on the large side.
As a former Everton player, Gordon will be targeted by the home fans from the first whistle and he's not been the best at keeping a lid on his frustration.
The England under-21 star has been booked in seven of his 17 Premier League starts so far this season and several of those have been for petulant reactions - either in fouls or towards in the referee.
He was carded on his only previous Anfield appearance and with Taylor a decent appointment for cards - he's averaging 4.86 yellows per game - I'm fairly sure another shouldn't be regarded as a one-in-four chance.
The other bet comes in the new 'player fouled' market with Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo the man singled out.
Having started regularly in recent weeks, he's been fouled at least twice in five of his last seven games yet it's an 11/82.38 shot that is happens again.
As Newcastle's form has dipped, their foul count has risen - four of the last six games have seen them hit double figures - while they produced 16 in the reverse fixture back in August.
Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton both have good numbers when it comes to fouls and both will be operating in similar areas to the Japanese.
In short, this looks a decent price play and, combined with the Gordon card bet, produces a Bet Builder which pays north of 8/19.00.
Let's hope we begin a new year in style!