The Goalscorer Gamble: Back Sturridge to fill Suarez void

Can Daniel Sturridge stop Liverpool fans from missing Luis Suarez this season?

Dan Fitch is back to start the new season with five more goalscorer tips and expects Daniel Sturridge to get off to a quick return to form for Liverpool...

The World Cup was all well and good, with its ceaseless commitment to providing entertaining matches and close ups of attractive female fans, but let's not pretend that it was proper football.

Let's also not pretend that this weekend's opening games constitute proper football either. No, the real stuff comes around October, when the nights draw in and the wind begins to develop a bitter twang. The opening games of a domestic season are like the opening minutes of a new week of work - nothing of any real significance is likely to happen.

Yet that doesn't mean that there's not a profit to be made from these opening gambits. Indeed, this stage of the season is ripe with value, especially when it comes to goalscorer bets. There are players currently out there at fat, juicy prices, who's scoring exploits will see them move to odds-on before the season is out.

We start this hunt in the Premier League with Manchester United's game against Swansea. Since taking over at Old Trafford, Louis van Gaal has implemented a 3-5-2 system that puts Juan Mata in the number 10 position, with Wayne Rooney pushed up alongside Robin van Persie.

On the occasions when Rooney has played as an out-and-out striker, rather than being played in a deeper position, he's repaid the faith put in him. In the 2009-10 and then the 2011-12 seasons, he was mainly played as a lone striker. On both occasions he scored a total of 34 goals. 

There have been signs in pre-season that Rooney might return to that goalscoring form, as he's notched five strikes in six games. The odds of 2.111/10 for Rooney to score against a Swansea side that might well struggle this season, should get us off to a solid, winning start.

Unlike Rooney, Daniel Sturridge has only scored one goal in pre-season but I still expect him to hit the ground running in Liverpool's season opener against Southampton. Having signed half of Southampton's team this summer, Liverpool have weakened their opposition, who may take some weeks to find their feet under their new manager Ronald Koeman. 

Sturridge is just the man to take advantage of the situation. Last season he scored 21 Premier League goals in 29 games, which is particularly impressive considering that he was often marginalised by the presence of Luis Suarez. With the Uruguayan gone, Sturridge can take centre stage. Back him at likely odds of 5.04/1 to score the first goal.

Another man to break the 20 league goal barrier last season was Celtic's Anthony Stokes. His side have got off to a poor start to the season in Europe, but were typically dominant in their Premiership opener against St Johnstone last weekend.

Stokes was on target in a 3-0 away win. This weekend Celtic play host to Dundee United who currently sit top of the league, after two victories. Yet in Scotland, we know who will win the league before a ball is even kicked. Expect Celtic to put an end to this winning streak and for Stokes to score at a probable price of 2.111/10.

Next we head to France, where a goalscoring phenomenon is available at an inflated price. Radamel Falcao has only recently returned from a major injury, but is already back among the goals. 

He scored the only goal of the game in the Emirates Cup final against Arsenal and then came off the bench to score the equaliser for Monaco against Lorient, before his side ultimately lost 2-1. 

It's only a matter of time before Falcao returns to Monaco's starting XI, even if he is likely to leave the club before the transfer deadline ends. Back him at a likely price of 2.75n/a to score at Bordeaux on Sunday. Wherever Falcao ends up, he'll soon be trading at much shorter odds.

Next we move onto a new league for the Goalscorer Gamble column to cover and the good news is that it could be a very profitable one. Anyone who examines the goalscoring record of Alfonso Alves will know that just about any striker can scorer regularly in Holland and this week we're interested in a Dutch forward, who has returned home having failed abroad. 

Luuk de Jong caught the attention of Borussia Monchengladbach with his goalscoring exploits at Twente, but failed to translate his form to Germany, or the Premier League during his loan spell at Newcastle. De Jong is now back in Holland at PSV and has already got off to a quick start, scoring the decisive goals in both legs of Eindhoven's European ties against St Polten. Let's back him at likely odds of 2.111/10 to score when PSV host NAC Breda. 

Recommended Bets
Best Bet: Back Sturridge at 5.04/1 to score first
Back Rooney to score at 2.111/10
Back Stokes to score at 2.111/10
Back Falcao to score at 2.75n/a
Back De Jong to score at 2.111/10