Liverpool travel to Switzerland this Thursday to face Young Boys on the back of some torrid form in the Premier League.

Brendan Rodgers has still yet to secure a win in the league and will surely be hoping that a decent start to their Europa League campaign will act as a catalyst to kick-start their season. This fixture represents a good opportunity to pick up points against a relatively poorer opposition, especially considering the other two sides in the group are the skilful Udinese and Russian based side Anzhi, who are one of the richest sides on the continent.

The Swiss side qualified for the competition having achieved third place in the league last season but had to negotiate three qualifying rounds to reach the group stage. Their start to the new league season has been nothing short of mediocre – they sit in fifth position (only ten teams compete in the division) having only won three games so far.  They have hardly been prolific goal scorers either, having notched only eleven goals in those eight fixtures. Alex Farnerud, the cultured Swedish midfielder, has shone thus far though.

After the findings of the recent Hillsborough enquiry, it seems that Liverpool’s on-pitch form has been almost forgotten. Their squad seems to lack any real depth of quality and their failure to secure the signing of a prolific goal-getter to complement Luis Suarez has been well documented. Nevertheless, the spine of their team still exudes quality and they will surely be expected to considerably improve as the season progresses.

The main problem in this type of fixture, at least from a betting perspective, is that it is hugely difficult to predict what sort of team Liverpool will feature. News was rife this morning that indicated that young striker Samed Yesil, just eighteen years old, will be involved in the side, which would seemingly show that Rodgers won’t be selecting his strongest line-up.

Despite the Reds’ poor recent record in away ties in European football (excluding qualifiers, they have not won in eight games), I would expect them to win by a tight margin. They are unbeaten in seven games against teams from Switzerland and have also scored every time they have played against a Swiss side.

Best Match Odds

Liverpool at 2.5/1 with Bet Victor

Young Boys at 3/1 with Paddy Power

Draw at 3.3/1 with Paddy Power

New Paddy Power customers get a free £20 bet when they open a new account and bet £10 using this exclusive thatsagoal.com link.

Young Boys vs Liverpool Best Bet

Liverpool to win 1-0 at 7/1 with Bet365 (new customers get a free £200 bet when they open an account)