LIVERPOOL STRIKER CAN SHINE IN ROONEY'S ABSENCE

LIVERPOOL STRIKER CAN SHINE IN ROONEY'S ABSENCE

The red-hot form of Liverpool man Daniel Sturridge should see him shake off a niggle and start for England in their must-win World Cup qualifier against Moldova, he is 11/4 with Ladbrokes to open the scoring.

The 24-year old has bagged the winner in all three of Liverpool's 1-0 Premier League victories this season and Roy Hodgson will presumably turn to him to ensure there are no embarrassments in Wayne Rooney's forced absence with a head injury.

The ex-Chelsea man's burgeoning understanding with the evergreen Steven Gerrard is a major positive for the Three Lions too, especially with a much tougher game away in the Ukraine scheduled for Wednesday week.

The England captain set up Sturridge for one of his two goals against Notts County in the Capital One Cup last week, strikes that helped Sturridge towards a record of five goals in four games so far this season.

England won 5-0 in September's reverse fixture against Moldova and frankly, it is unlikely Rooney's absence is going to make any real difference to the result.

Rickie Lambert would no doubt relish the opportunity to add to his debut goal against Scotland and if the Southampton man is given the nod he also represents decent value at 3/1 to score the first goal.

Hodgson's men have drawn three games 1-1 in this qualifying campaign, including a disappointing draw in Montenegro last time out. But directly after the three said draws, England have gone on to win 5-0, 5-0 and 8-0 respectively.

With that trend in mind, the more optimistic fan will be encouraged by the prices offered on a Moldovan thrashing: 5-0 (8/1), 6-0 (14/1), 7-0 (25/1) or even 8-0 which returns £600 from a £10 bet.

Sturridge's goals and charismatic celebrations have already endeared him to the Anfield faithful and who knows, we might have the pleasure of seeing a little samba dance if he keeps England on the road to Brazil.