Liverpool vs. Wigan: Reds Won't Be Challenged in Lopsided Matchup

In sports, all sports, when you are unsure about a match, you follow the money.  Basketball, boxing, MMA, American football, English Premier League football: follow the money.  

And in the case of Wigan at Liverpool, the important piece of financial information you need is this:

+600.  

That's Wigan's money-line bet against Liverpool (via Sportsbook.com).

+600!

That's a big underdog.   

(For the non-degenerates among you, that means that if you bet $100 on Wigan, you win $600 should Wigan win.   For comparison, Mitt Romney only ever got down to +500 against Barack Obama, and that was after the polls closed on the U.S.'s East Coast.

+600 is a lot.

While Liverpool hasn't had a win in a while, the Reds are getting a lot of key players back from injury for this one.  Pepe Reina returns to mind the goal.  Midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, and defenders Martin Skretel and Daniel Agger will be back as well.   Liverpool needs a win to stay above the relegation heap, and the squad's return to health should help see to that.  

Brendan Rodgers of Liverpool and Roberto Martinez of Wigan are both young managers looking to rejuvenate struggling clubs, but Rodgers has a great deal more to work with.

You can make a case for Wigan, of course.  Wigan may be a bogey team for Liverpool—they've not beaten Wigan since 2009, if you include draws—and Wigan has started the season well, but the Reds are just too strong.  Yes, Liverpool is struggling, but the returning players, and the overall strength of the side, make Liverpool a 4-9 favorite over Wigan's 6-1*.  

So as I said, follow the money.

* A draw is on the board at 7-2, but what fun is predicting a draw?