Manchester City Nine Points Adrift of Leaders Liverpool

Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over rival Manchester City at home last weekend has opened up a sizeable lead of 9 points at the top of the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp’s formidable team delighted the home crowd at Anfield with an aggressive and accomplished performance. Manchester City were unable to respond and coach Pep Guardiola will be looking forward to the January transfer window where he can bolster his team which is weak in defence and beset by injury.

Liverpool are hungry to achieve their first league title for 20 years, and last year lost out by just one point to Manchester City. There is a strong feeling among Liverpool supporters that this could be their year – with the team having now won 34 points out of a possible 36 – and bookmakers certainly agree. Ladbrokes offer odds of 2/5 that LIverpool will win the Premier League this season.

In contrast, odds on Manchester City winning the League were 11/10 before the Anfield game, but have now drifted to 5/2 with bookmaker Betway. That said, there are 26 matches left and there is still plenty of time for an upset. Pep Guardiola says “We are not going to give up. We are the current champions and we are not going to make it easy for anyone”.

The top four in the League – Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Chelsea – are gently moving away from the rest and this is reflected in the betting. The odds of Leicester or Chelsea lifting the League trophy are both 40/1 from bookie PaddyPower but contrast that with odds on offer for the fifth-placed team – the venerable Manchester United – 500/1 from the same bookmaker!