Liverpool have Man City to thank for renewed top-four interest
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Losing consecutive games to two rivals for a Champions League berth isn’t ideal form for Liverpool heading into their Monday Night Football encounter with Newcastle, but at least they’re not Manchester City.
The Reds hopes of clinching a top-four spot would be dead and buried if it wasn’t for the Citizens’ woeful run away from the Etihad, with their latest embarrassment coming at the hands of local rivals Manchester United.
Four City road defeats on the spin leave Liverpool with the chance to close the gap to Manuel Pellegrini’s mob to just four points should they beat John Carver’s bumbling bunch at Anfield.
Should they manage it then current odds of 7/1 about Rodgers’ side clambering into the top four will surely shrink.
At that price, it’s certainly not outlandish to think the Reds can overhaul the defending Premier League champions, especially as they have already made up ground in the race once by going on a prolonged period of prosperity.
The 13-game run Rodgers’ men strung together propelled them from 10th to their current standing of fifth and, with a friendly set of fixtures facing them for the remainder of the term, there’s no reason why another streak is beyond them.
Chelsea and Crystal Palace look the only two fixtures with the ability to morph into banana skins for the Merseyside outfit. City, meanwhile, must face West Ham, who have already conquered them this season, and travel to Tottenham and Swansea before the campaign is out.
With the Etihad side looking devoid of all form and motivation following a chastening experience at Old Trafford, a slip out of the top-four to confirm Pellegrini’s demise looks the most likely outcome to end the season.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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