Liverpool boss leads sack race after gruesome fixture release
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Poor Brendan Rodgers, he just can’t catch a break. After finishing the season in catastrophic fashion and watching his iconic captain jet off across the Atlantic, the release of the new season’s fixtures has added another sizeable dollop of woe on the Northern Irishman’s head.
Forgetting for a moment that Liverpool could well start the new campaign without both Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling, who was subject to a £40m bid from Manchester City recently, the run of away games the Reds will open the campaign with is enough to make eyes water on its own.
On the opening day of the season, the Anfield outfit will travel back to where their disappointing 2014/15 term ended.
Stoke thrashed Rodgers’ men 6-1 that day and will certainly hold some psychological advantage when the Reds return to kick off the new season, so soon after the humiliation.
Following that opener, Liverpool’s next six away games are against Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Such a prickly run means there is a very real chance the Reds could head into their December encounter at Steve McClaren’s Newcastle without an away point, while the pressure on Rodgers’ tenure would be ubearable.
In fact, Ladbrokes make the former Swansea tactician the 3/1 favourite to be the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season, with Watford’s Quique Flores next in the betting at 6s.
Having survived a performance review with the club’s owners earlier in the summer, Rodgers is sure to feel the pinch now such a cruel start to the season has been handed to him.
The only option to save his skin would be to make Anfield a fortress and with games against Bournemouth, West Ham and Norwich to open their account at the ground that is distinctly possible.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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