Three ways to back your team: Liverpool
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Will Klopp deliver the Premier League?
Jurgen Klopp returned Champions League football to Anfield, thanks to a fourth-place finish last season. A fantastic effort from the German, but what fans want next is the long-awaited return of the Premier League title.
Much work has to be done on the squad if they are to improve on last season’s efforts, finishing four of 20, 17 points behind champions Chelsea. Just a point was the difference between themselves and Arsenal in fifth.
Klopp has been making moves to ensure that progress, and splashed the cash on Roma winger Mohamed Salah, a former Chelsea recruit. They are also said to be interested in Virgil van Dijk and £70m rated Naby Keita. Coral’s rumour reel column will keep you right on those.
Liverpool a nice price for league title
With each of English football’s top-five teams from last season involved in Champions League football in the coming months, it could be argued that Liverpool have never had a better chance to go and challenge for domestic honours. A few more newbies and they will certainly go close, but must tighten up a defence that was far too generous during the 2016/17 campaign.
The club will have a lot on their plate as they look to make an impression on the continent, but if the champion is to come out of those five, then surely Liverpool deserve respect. Our football guys don’t see it, and have written The Reds off, trading a chunky 11/1 on the Anfield lot winning a 19th gong. That is completely understandable, but in what promises to be a tight race, plenty of backers will see it as a price too good to miss.
66/1 on a league and cup double
Liverpool have seven FA Cup winners medals at home, but have failed to win the much-loved competition since 2006, and that’s already far too long for fans to wait. Beating West Ham on penalties in Cardiff that year, the game finished 3-3 after extra-time, goals from Cisse and a Gerard double matched by Ashton, Konchesky and an own-goal by Carragher. Supporters would love a day out at Wembley, but they got nowhere near it in this competition last year, dumped out by Wolves in the fourth round. Klopp fielded the youngest ever Liverpool side the round before against Plymouth Argyle and stuttered to a 0-0 draw, so perhaps the tournament doesn’t rate highly on his list of priorities. Expect that to change? Coral offer 8/1 on them doing the business this time, while a league and cup double will attract bits of attention at 66/1.
Champions League heroics? We don’t think so
Lastly, the chances of them repeating the heroics of 2004 and winning the Champions League are pretty slim, with 25/1 doing the rounds at the time of asking. Barcelona head that market at 9/2. Harsh? Perhaps a little, as we’re yet to see how the group stages and route to the final shape up, so if you do want to back your team here, getting in sooner rather than later to secure the price is advised. A few more ambitious signings and those odds could be clipped. There’s no doubting the talent in the Champions League at the minute, but we wouldn’t say Barca were convincing favourites.
