Christmas time is almost here. For many people, that means eating copious amounts of food, drinking a few too many beverages, and spending time with loved ones. This is especially important after the last 2 years we’ve all had to suffer through.
For soccer fans, especially those in the UK, it also is a very special time, as each team will be playing every few days. This means lots of action for supporters to get stuck into, and also plenty of opportunity for them to look for odds and place bets on what they think might happen in these festive matches.
With so many Premier League and FA Cup games on the horizon for British soccer, now is the best time to get into betting on the sport. Many betting websites are always wanting to attract new customers, so will be offering out perks to get people to sign up with them. There will be some no deposit bonus sportsbooks out there, meaning you can get a free bet or stake, simply by registering with the company. These offers are great for any novice bettor out there.
One team who are always seemingly in the news is Liverpool, and their manager Jurgen Klopp. Usually, it is for all the right reasons, as they tend to win a lot of their games, making them bettors favourites. In fact, in their next fixture, they are huge 2/13 favourites to beat Leeds United. However, sometimes their German manager gets into the press for all the wrong reasons, which irritates some broadcasters. Let’s take a look at Liverpool so far this season, before we analyse why Klopp has really irritated TalkSport host Jim White.
Strong early form indicates another title challenge
The 2020/21 campaign is not one that Liverpool fans will look back on with any fondness. They finished 3rd, some way behind the league winners Manchester City, having really struggled in the winter months, due to a number of injuries to key personnel in both defence and midfield. Given that they were 15/8 second favourites to win the league, the fact that they could only manage 3rd was a real disappointment to fans and bettors everywhere.
Thankfully for Klopp and his team, they have started this new campaign in much better fashion. The pre-season odds had them as +500 to win the league, again the 2nd favourites behind Manchester City. Unlike last season, Liverpool have kept up with their rivals across the M62, and are at present only 3 points behind them. They don’t face each other until the 9th of April, by which point we will have a much clearer idea of who will win the league. The neutrals will be hoping it is still close at this point, so this game will be seen as a real title decider.
In their last 7 league games, Liverpool have only failed to win once, which was a 2-2 draw against Tottenham. Just prior to the game, Klopp lost several key players to COVID-19, meaning he had to play a very altered side to what he would have liked. That they still managed to draw shows that there is a good depth to their squad, which wasn’t present last season.
Comments towards Paul Tierney go unpunished
Despite the result, Klopp was very angry with the refereeing for this game, as there were several big decisions that went against his side. Firstly, Harry Kane should have been sent off for a challenge on Andy Roberston, but escaped with just a yellow card. Then, Diogo Jota was clearly fouled in the penalty area, but no penalty was awarded. Klopp was fuming on the touchline, and later went on the pitch to confront the referee Paul Tierney, saying how disappointed he was in his decisions.
Usually, this sort of outburst would be something that the FA would punish managers for. However, Klopp seemed to have escaped any sort of fine or warning. It is this which infuriated Jim White. He compared the incident to the recent Leeds United game versus Chelsea. ‘Leeds United fined £20,000 for their players surrounding the referee after the Chelsea defeat. Klopp, meanwhile facing no action for his conduct with Paul Tierney- double standards.’ Many fans on social media agreed, saying it was incredible that he didn’t receive any kind of punishment.
Busy period for Liverpool ahead
Following the match against Leeds on the 26th, Liverpool next play on the 28th of December against Leicester City. They are currently 4/7 favourites here, which bettors would be smart to go for, given how a weaker Liverpool side just beat a full strength Leicester in the League Cup.
Following that, they take on another title rival Chelsea. Here, the Blues are the slight betting favourite, with a handicap of +149.