Liverpool vs. Accrington Stanley: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Even with all of Liverpool's anticipated changes, this should be a one-sided affair. Accrington have won their last two games in League Two, but they've largely struggled this season and have conceded 40 goals in the league, the second most of any side in League Two.

With Liverpool being the top scorers in the Premier League - and by a fair distance - we fancy them to bounce back from Wednesday's defeat with aplomb. Liverpool 5-0 Accrington Stanley.

Accrington Stanley are chasing an FA Cup fairytale as they take on Liverpool in the third round this weekend.

• Date: 11/01/2025
• Kick-off time: 12:15
• Location: Anfield, Liverpool

Liverpool come into this game top of the Premier League with 46 points from 19 games. The Reds are flying in the Premier League and as things currently stand, a quadruple of major honours is very much on the cards this season.

Whether that's an explicit goal within the club is a different matter though, because Liverpool have been in this position before under Jurgen Klopp and have fallen short, and having also fallen foul to fatigue in previous seasons, they may make one or two concessions in domestic cups as a tactical ploy to increase their chances in the Premier League and the Champions League.

Liverpool won this competition in 2021-22 but that’s their only FA Cup win since 2005-06, so the eight-time winners will want to increase their total, as another win would make them the third most successful team in the history of the competition. Liverpool are also very successful in the third round of the FA Cup, with only one exit at this stage of the competition in the last 13 years, which came at the hands of Wolves in 2018-19.

The Reds have a number of fringe players who’ll be hungry to stake a claim to be involved in bigger games this season, so while Liverpool won’t be at full strength, it’s fair to expect them to produce a dominant and impressive showing here.

Accrington Stanley are currently 19th in League Two with 25 points from 23 games. Stanley are having a tough campaign in England’s fourth tier and come into this game amidst a relegation battle.

Having been relegated from League One in 2022-23, Stanley are now in their second season back in League Two, and having finished 17th last season, they’re once again finding life difficult at the foot of the England's professional footballing pyramid. The side from East Lancashire have been punching well above their weight for a number of years now, though, so many will see this as a regression back to their mean.

Stanley have been historically successful at this stage of the FA Cup, winning all of their last four third round ties, all of which were in fairly recent seasons - 2009-10, 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2022-23.

However, they’ve never beaten a Premier League team in the FA Cup, losing all three of their previous ties, which underscores what a monumental task they have at hand this weekend. This is the first competitive meeting between Liverpool and Accrington Stanley, which people of a certain era will see as a self-fulfilling prophecy from a famous milk advert back in 1989, which has somewhat patronised the Lancashire club ever since.

In a superficial sense, they now have the chance to rewrite history and take revenge for *that* one mocking slogan that's been tied to their name for well over 30 years now, letting the entirety of Liverpool know exactly who Accrington Stanley are.

This game will be televised live to all UK viewers on ITV1, and will be broadcast live on the ITVX website.

Liverpool Team News:

The Reds will likely make a host of changes here, with the likes of Harvey Elliott and Darwin Núñez in line for starts.

Joe Gomez will once again miss out through injury, while Jarrell Quansah is a major doubt, but Dominik Szoboszlai could return following a bout with illness.

Predicted lineup: Kelleher; Bradley, Endo, Konaté, Robertson; Nyoni, Szoboszlai; Chiesa, Elliott, Díaz; Núñez.

Accrington Team News:

The visitors are likely to be without Connor O'Brien and Dara Costelloe once again, while Sonny Aljofree is a doubt after missing the last few games through injury.

Liam Coyle, though, could return to the starting XI after missing the trip to Colchester through injury.

Predicted lineup: Crellin; Love, Rawson, Awe, B. Woods; Coyle, Martin; J. Woods, Hunter, Whalley; Walton.

Liverpool:

Despite losing their most recent game, Liverpool's form is good, as they come into this one with three wins, one draw and one loss from their last five games. On Wednesday night, the Reds fell to a disappointing 1-0 loss to Tottenham, where a late Lucas Bergvall goal sealed the win for the home side after a poor Liverpool showing.

That result followed a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, where Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah scored the goals, and a 5-0 win away at West Ham United, courtesy of Luis Díaz, Gakpo, Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota.

Before that, Liverpool beat Leicester City 3-1, with the goals coming from Gakpo, Curtis Jones and Salah, and beat Tottenham 6-3, where Díaz (X2), Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah (X2) all registered their names on the scoresheet.

Accrington:

Accrington enter this game with two wins, one draw and two defeats from their last five games. Last weekend, a Shaun Whalley brace gave them a 2-0 win over Colchester United, which was preceded by a 3-2 win over Grimsby Town thanks to another goal from Whalley and a brace from Ben Woods.

Prior to that, Accrington were beaten 2-1 by Carlisle United and 0-2 by Salford City, a pair of results that were preceded by a 1-1 draw with Fleetwood Town, where Sonny Aljofree scored the goal.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day