At the beginning of the season, we were looking at another two-horse race between Manchester City and Arsenal. Despite what some people say now, nobody really thought Liverpool would maintain the level of consistency they have. As we head into March, it appears as though Arne Slot and the Reds have one hand on the trophy – but will they be able to keep the juggernaut chugging along?
What do the sports betting companies say?
Between now and May is a long time, especially in football terms, but the sports betting sites have already planted their flag in the sand – they can’t see past Liverpool or Arsenal at the moment, and to be honest, neither can we. Nottingham Forest ranks outsiders with the bookmakers, despite sitting in third place, and Manchester City ranks as high as 100/1 – given that their judgment day regarding their 115 charges is just around the corner.
Nobody knows what will happen, but some of the best betting sites are factoring in a whole host of eventualities. You can find betting odds that City are more likely to get relegated than win the league, which is a crazy sentence considering how dominant they have been domestically over the last seven years.
Despite their recent dip in form, Liverpool are still in command, with most bookies offering odds of around 1/4 for the Reds to win the league. Arsenal, on the other hand, are around 7/2. Then the drop-off is enormous – City at around 100/1 and Forest 400/1.
Can Liverpool do it?
Aside from their 2020 Premier League triumph, Liverpool’s trophy cabinet does not justify how good they have been under Klopp, and more recently, Arne Slot. No team pushed Pep Guardiola closer over the last seven years.
However, by winning in 2020, Liverpool showed that they have the resilience and consistency to chase away the demons that had, up until that stage, resulted in 30 years without lifting a league title.
The odds are in Liverpool’s favour, and to be honest, the wise opinion is that they already have one foot over the line. Although they have to play Manchester City at the Etihad within the next few weeks, they also play Arsenal in their second-to-last home game, which could, as things currently stand, wrap up the league title. But there is a long way to go yet, and as we all know, in football, anything is possible.
What about the Gunners?
At odds of 4/1, it wouldn’t be the most outrageous outcome if Arsenal can reverse their reputation as serial bottlers and lift their first title in two decades. Their main issue is their lack of firepower going forward. They have Martinelli, Saka, Jesus and Havertz all injured, and the situation has now got so bad that William Saliba has even offered to fill the role as a makeshift attacker.
Don’t get me wrong – Saliba is an incredible talent and player, but having a centre-back upfront for a potential title charge will not fill Arsenal fans with confidence. Liverpool have Mo Salah, a goal and assist machine who looks set to win the Golden Boot. Although Arsenal’s collective attacking presence in midfield and attack will undeniably get them goals, it’s not likely that it’s going to close a seven-point gap on Liverpool and fire Arteta’s men to the title.
Could Forest do the unthinkable?
Nobody can write off any team since Leicester City lifted the title in 2016. Although Forest has had a remarkable season and found themselves in the automatic Champions League qualification places, they have shown weaknesses on several occasions – most notably, the trouncing Bournemouth recently dealt them. In their defence, though, the 7-0 drubbing of Brighton just a few weeks later showed that they were back in a rich vein of form.
If they lose their key talisman, New Zealand captain Chris Wood, they will face the same plight as Arsenal. If Liverpool loses Salah through injury, they will face the same issue. Not only is Salah such a consistently strong performer for the Reds, he’s also a player who has managed to avoid significant injury over the last few seasons.
While Forest has had an inspired season and is likely to qualify for the Champions League, the idea of them winning the league is a stretch, at least for this season anyway. If Chris Wood can keep up his blistering form, who knows whether they can repeat the same feat next year or even go one better?
Man City woes
It’s refreshing to see City further down the table. Sure, they’ve played some incredible football over the last half-decade, but dominance becomes boring after a while. They’ve left themselves with far too much to do in their quest to retain their title.
They also have 115 pending charges looming over them, with fans speculating that their punishment, if found guilty, could range from a small points deduction to relegation from the Premier League. If this punishment is enacted before the end of this season, then their chances of winning the league will go from slim to none.
Final say
You’d have to fancy Liverpool to bring it home from this point of the campaign – they are seven points ahead of Arsenal and still have to play them at Anfield. If Arsenal had an out-and-out striker leading the line, perhaps people would give them a more favourable chance.
However, with only three months left in the season and Arne Slot’s team in a commanding lead, they would have to implode spectacularly and Arsenal would have to be flawless for anyone to think otherwise.
Many Liverpool fans have agreed that Klopp’s teams were better than this current squad. But with Premier League teams and the competition in such disarray, it feels like Liverpool will get over the finish line simply by being the least worst of the teams challenging for the title.
This isn’t meant to sound reductive, and I’m sure Liverpool fans won’t mind if they win the league. However, they have ridden their luck on several occasions this season, which is, again, a sign that they are almost destined to be crowned champions in May – it’d be a huge shock to see any other teams make up such a massive amount of ground so late in the day.
Main photo credit:
IMAGO / PA Images