“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more important than that.”
I remember hearing this Bill Shankly quote on a Liverpool video I had when I was six or seven years old. The man’s passion for football along with the contents of that tape made me fall in love with Liverpool Football Club.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 01: The Bill Shankly statue is seen prior to the UEFA Europa League group B match between Liverpool FC and FC Sion at Anfield on October 1, 2015 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
The Kop swaying in black and white and the fans all in full voice was just so special. From then I knew I loved football and that supporting Liverpool was the only choice.
The fact that my dad told me he would kick me out of the house if I supported anyone else was also a factor in that decision.
The last time Liverpool won the league is the year I was born so in all my 30 years on this planet I have never witnessed Liverpool win the league. This has been a mix of torture along with the best memories in my life.
The 5-4 against Alaves in 2001, Istanbul in 2005, Barcelona last season and, of course, winning the sixth Champions league last June – these are some of the best days of my life.
But my earliest memory of watching Liverpool was the 1996 FA Cup final when David James made a howler and Cantona scored to win the game. Six years old in a boozer crying into a glass of TK red lemonade.
It’s safe to say Alex Ferguson ruined my childhood by “knocking Liverpool off their F**KING PERCH!
To have lived through the Roy Hodgson era and watched the likes of Igor Biscan playing as a centre half will all have been worth it though when Liverpool win the league this season.
This Liverpool team is special and it’s all down to one man – Jurgen Norbert Klopp. He’s taken them from celebrating in front of the Kop after drawing against West Brom to world champions. He said in his first press conference to give him four years and he would win the league and he’s about to deliver on that.
The development of the team under him has been extraordinary, going from rock-n-roll football and off-song at the back to 67 points from a possible 69 so far. In my view, he’s shown himself to be a better manager than Pep Guardiola – would Pep have spotted Andy Robertson at Hull or Gini Wijnaldum’s potential at Newcastle?
But can his team now finish off what they’ve started in style? Here’s how we’re pricing up Liverpool’s victory lap.
Will Liverpool go unbeaten – 9/2
First Team to Beat Liverpool: Man City – 2/1, Wolves – 5/1, West Ham – 17/2, Everton – 9/1
Liverpool have accumulated more points than all the bottom three in the league and are on the same amount of points Tottenham and Sheffield United combined – they’re seventh and eighth in the league! They’ve won 21 from 22 games in the Premier League this season and are as short as 9/2 in our #WhatOddsPaddy – Liverpool Specials at the moment.
Personally, I wouldn’t touch this price as it looks likely that Liverpool will be competing in the Champions League too so they’ll rest players towards the end of the season and may lose a game or two. It makes more sense to look at the first team to beat Liverpool market. Man City are currently the favourites at 2/1 to do it but, as I mentioned the value in this market are the games towards the end of the season as Klopp will surely rest players.
Where will Liverpool win the league?
The question is now when will Liverpool win the league? At home to Aston Villa on the 11th of April is the most likely at 11/4. For every Scouser, it would be the dream to win the league in Goodison Park (13/1) but for me to win the league away to City (4/1) would be special with them on the back of 198 points in two seasons.
Can this Liverpool be the greatest Premier League team ever?
Since January 2019 Liverpool have lost as many league games as Champions league finals.
It’s been over a 1,000 days since Liverpool have were beaten at Anfield. They’ve been to back-to-back Champions League finals and are expected to accumulate 100+ points this season (5/6).
Let’s put that into context; Arsenal’s Invincibles finished on 90 points and drew 33% of their games, the United Treble team of 1999 only got 91 points. If Liverpool win the league on 100+ points and go unbeaten there is a case to say that they are better than the City team of 17/18.
That season Liverpool finished 25 points behind City so that just shows you what a job Klopp and the Liverpool analytics team have done in 2 years. Safe to say they are back on their F**KING PERCH!
#WhatOddsPaddy – To Get 107+ Points – 9/4
#WhatOddsPaddy – To Win All Home EPL Game – 9/2
#WhatOddsPaddy – To remain unbeaten in the EPL & Win the Champions League – 20/1
Best Liverpool bets for the rest of the season
If Liverpool played City tomorrow in the Champions League final, Man City will surely go off favourites, but in their game at Anfield, Liverpool were 9/5 with a full-strength team. The market clearly got this wrong and it showed in the result. Liverpool absolutely dominated that day and are currently 13 points ahead of City with a game in hand – and yet City remain favourites for the Champions League.
Liverpool are unbeaten over two-legs in three years and I can’t see how they are not favourites to retain their European title. Take the 4/1 on Liverpool for the UCL.
Klopp’s side play Atletico Madrid in the last 16 and the prices in the away leg look wrong to me. Atletico are not the same team that got to two Champions League finals. This season Morata is averaging a goal every two games and Joao Felix a goal every six.
I don’t see how they will get past a Reds team who are conceding just 0.6 of a goal in the Premier League this season.
Atletico as a team are averaging 1.1 goals a game and have only won 45% of their games in La Liga too. They’d rate on around the same level or slightly better than Spurs. Liverpool were 8/11 shots away to Spurs, so the 7/5 for Liverpool to beat Atletico in the first leg looks good to me.
Of course, away in Madrid would be more hostile than London but the game should be close to an even-money shot in my view. It’s worth taking the current price a few weeks out as it may not last.
And Liverpool fans should enjoy this while you can. You’ll never see a Liverpool team this good in your life again.
Head over to PaddyPower.com for the latest football odds