West Brom
The Baggies will look to kick on from the good work ex-boss Hodgson implemented in his time in charge last season. Roy as we know is the England boss and as a result left his role at Albion. He guided the side into 10th last year and that's a big ask of new and inexperienced boss Steve Clarke.

The Scott has never held the manager's role before despite holding key number two roles at Newcastle, Liverpool, West Ham and Chelsea. The good news for WBA fans is that he has worked with a wide array of managers and players in this league and he knows what it takes to be successful. The only slight worry is that in pre season he wasn't overly happy with the 4-4-2 that worked so well last year and has tinkered a lot. Some say it just adds flexibility but for me if the side is unsure and unsettled it can't be a good thing entering the new season.

A few players have left this summer including Downin, Mattock, Shorey, Andrews, Cox and Alliyu. The good news for Baggies fans is that none of these really featured in the first team so the squad has not been weakened at all in my view.

Coming in is Foster, El Ghanassy, Yacob, Lukaku and Rosenberg. Foster made his loan move a permanent one and he's a good long term addition whilst Rosenberg and Lukaku add extra depth to the already decent combo of Long, Odemwingie and Fortune.

Liverpool
Just like WBA, Liverpool have a new boss this season. Dalglish is gone and Rodgers is in. The ex-Chelsea and Swansea man has a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the Liverpool board will expect big things this year.Rodgers should at least do better than the former manager who recorded the fewest points for Liverpool in a season since the 53-54 campaign.

The new manager has had a bit of a clear out with Kuyt, Silva, Amoo, Maxi, Aquilani, Bellamy, Darby and Aurelio leaving the club. Thus far only Borini and Allen two players that have played for him at Swansea come in.

The midfield looks a little over crowded as Lucas, Henderson, Gerrard, Adam, Allen, Shelvey and Spearing all fight for what looks 3 places. There is depth there at least and the manager has options, but keeping them all happy won't be easy.

Going forward Suarez must score more goals after hitting the post what seemed a 100 times last season. He will be supported by Downing and Borini with Carroll most likely to be a sub if he indeed remains at the club.

Defensively the side is very good with Reina, Agger, Enrique and Skrtel reliable players. A worry is that City take Agger but for now he is a Red and the fans will certainly hope it stays that way for the foreseeable future.

Betting Verdict
I think this will be a close game and that normally I would favour the Reds but given Clarke knows a lot of the Liverpool players we could see an upset.

West Brom will not replicate last season's success in my opinion and I think this will be a tough game for them. Rodgers has a big job on his hands to transform the club and if he wants to implement his high tempo quick passing style used at Swansea it will take time to do so.

This may go against Liverpool but I still think West Brom are good enough for a goal and I'm going to get involved in the both to score market here.

Liverpool look decent from their pre season games scoring a few goals whilst the Baggies at home get my vote to get on the scoreboard themselves. I expect the Reds to edge it but I'll go for the safer bet here.

Lamps Betting Tip : Both Team To Score