• Premier League betting

Under-fire Mario to score first against Real at 13/2

Liverpool Mario Balotelli missed a hatful of chances against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday © Getty Images

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After his luckless own-goal at Loftus Road on Sunday, Queens Park Rangers defender Richard Dunne has now scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool than summer-signing Mario Balotelli.

In fact, his performance in front of goal was so poor that manager Brendan Rodgers was moved to defend the striker, claiming he was working hard and that was all that could be asked of him.

The good news for Balotelli is that Liverpool's next fixture is in the one competition in which he has scored this season - the Champions League.

So where better for Mario to hit the goalscoring trail once again than at Anfield against Real Madrid on Wednesday? Bet365 are offering odds of 13/2 on the Italian scoring first, or 15/8 on him to score at any time.

The slight roadblock in all of this are Real. The reigning champions have won two from two in the competition so far this season, firing seven goals along the way.

Bet365 has them at 4/5 for the victory, with a scoreline of 3-0 to the Spanish giants returning 14/1.

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