Manchester City is the current favorite to win the Premier League. But Liverpool can begin a percentage flip by the end of the month with a victory on Sunday.
Liverpool is moving toward the final stages of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign. After a disappointing season last year, no one could have been sure of returning to title contention right away, but here we are.
Heading into Sunday’s clash against Manchester City at Anfield, Pep Guardiola’s side is the current favorite to defend the trophy. But the Reds are still in contention, and the percentages could begin to flip by the end of this month.
According to The Opta Analyst, City currently has a 50.6 per cent chance of winning the league, while Liverpool has 36.1 per cent, with just 13.3 per cent for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. Most Liverpool fans would have taken that situation at the start of August, especially before hosting the Citizens at Anfield.
Uncertainty over Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez left many nervous on Thursday night, but the latest injury update has indicated that Liverpool should at least have Gomez available from the two. That news, along with Mohamed Salah’s return to action, is timely ahead of Sunday’s decisive clash against Manchester City.
Given they would garner significant momentum from a win at Anfield that could see them win out their remaining games, victory for Liverpool could be crucial. It might not guarantee the league title, and a point would be far from a calamity, but there is a chance to build up a lead at the table by the end of the month that will begin to flip the percentages.
After what will be the most tense game of the season, Liverpool’s next two league games are home clashes against Brighton and Sheffield United, with the away match at Everton recently postponed thanks to the FA Cup. Manchester City, which will soon play a re-arranged postponed away clash against Brighton, isn’t currently scheduled to play in the league again until it hosts Arsenal on March 31. The Reds could have already established a seven-point lead by this point.
Pep Guardiola then faces Aston Villa at home and Crystal Palace away, with an away trip to Tottenham Hotspur after hosting Luton Town. For City, the clash against Liverpool is arguably the beginning of their trickiest fixtures of the season.
Klopp, however, is now set to have four of his next five scheduled Premier League games at Anfield. An away trip to Old Trafford could be difficult, but given current form, Liverpool will back themselves to take three points — particularly if the squad can welcome back the likes of Diogo Jota, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Alisson by then.
Liverpool looks to have an edge in terms of schedule strength, which indicates that a draw on Sunday wouldn’t be the worst scenario, despite the feeling that a win would be a turning point. Much has been said ahead of Sunday’s fixture, and that will hopefully draw a strong reaction from the Anfield crowd across the 90 minutes.
In a campaign in which all attention turned to securing the perfect final send-off after Klopp’s departure was announced, Sunday’s match is now set to potentially be decisive in whether Klopp leaves Merseyside with a second Premier League medal. The percentages may not currently be in the Reds’ favor, but that edge should start to swing if Liverpool can summon another famous Anfield performance.
