Why Liverpool was such a Bad Bet this Year

Well, wouldn't it be handy to have a crystal ball to predict the future? The joy and indeed agony for football bettors continue. Who would have believed at the start of the football season Liverpool would find themselves in so much trouble this year? 

Runaway champions last year, far superior in every department to all other teams, battling to even get in the top four this season. They were very much heavy favourites at the bookmakers to retain their title and in truth, it was hard to look past them. Another era of dominance similar to the ‘80s looked extremely likely. Yet, close to the end of the season, they find themselves in danger of missing out on qualification for the Champions League. This has absolutely baffled their die-hard supporters and left other clubs gleefully taking their place at the top of the table. 

Let's take a look at a few reasons why they went from favourite to loser so quickly.

Injuries to players

This is a big one, probably the main reason why Liverpool struggled to maintain the absolutely stellar efforts of last season. Their star defender, Virgil van Dijk, who tightened up their backline in their pursuit of glory ruptured his cruciate ligament in October against Everton and has been out since. His defensive partner Joe Gomez got injured while playing for England thus denying Liverpool the opportunity to select their first choice central defensive pairing. These two injuries, in particular, caused major damage to Liverpool as it resulted in many changes to the backline. 

Inexperienced players were given the chance to play which didn't work so well. Players were chosen to play out of position in order to solve this problem, however, this only tended to weaken the areas they normally played in, such as midfield. To make matters worse, Joel Matip, their main experienced backup defender, was ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury. Their new striker, Diogo Jota, signed from Wolves as extra backup and indeed competition for Liverpool's famed strike force got injured in a Champions League game which had no significance as Liverpool had already qualified. 

The players poor form

Unusually, a lot of Liverpool's reliable and productive players have just not performed consistently this season. Their three-pronged attack force of Salah, Mane, and Firmino have just not been able to repeat their devastating prowess in front of the goal this season. A lack of goals, coupled with a makeshift defense, has led to some surprising results this season. Bettors using online casino sites like kazino igre have been scratching their heads as Liverpool have made hard work of games that seem so easy on paper. Their goalkeeper Allison, unusually, made quite a few poor mistakes this season, costing valuable points.

The Lack of Fans

All clubs could point to the continuing lack of fans due to Covid-19 restrictions to explain strange results. However, Liverpool has had a very special relationship throughout the years with their fans. The atmosphere at their home games played at Anfield stadium is usually electric, filled with people cheering and singing, waving flags and banners. It has spurred them on to many great performances and victories. However, this year they suffered far too many defeats at so-called fortress Anfield, costing them far too many points.

Involvement in other competitions

Despite sweeping teams aside in the Premier League last year, Liverpool did not have much success in the other cup competitions. That trend continued this year with season curtain-raising Community Shield being surprisingly lost, albeit on penalties to Arsenal. Not long after, they were knocked out of the EFL Cup, also by Arsenal, and again on penalties. These losses were a huge blow to a team that was seen as invincible and pretty much favorites at each online casino site for every game or competition they were in. 

However, worse was to come as they were knocked out of the F.A. Cup by their most famous rivals, Manchester Utd, in a thrilling game of football at Old Trafford. This completely shattered their confidence and while it did not trigger an immediate downturn in performance and results, this came about not too long after. This poor run of form could cost them dearly as they chase fourth place.

The Improvement of Other Teams

There are a number of teams who have benefited as Liverpool have fallen away and went into a semi-decline. This is not to say that these teams would not have been surging up the table anyway as standards have improved. There was not much activity in the transfer window, apart from Chelsea,  due to Covid-19 and football clubs’ finances being stretched to the limit. Chelsea, who started very well, also fell away before parting ways with their manager, Frank Lampard. His replacement Thomas Tuchel seems to have the Blues back on track. Leicester continue their assault on the top four playing attacking football under Brendan Rodgers.

Even West Ham and Everton are getting in on the act, constantly in or around the top four. Everyone is eager to take Liverpool's place as they stumble towards the end of the season. The top two spots are occupied by the Manchester clubs, City and Utd. With Man City taking full advantage of Liverpool's slips to relentlessly march towards another trophy. Manchester Utd has seen dramatic improvement under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and it looks like they will seal second place. All of this has proved very disheartening for Liverpool fans and bettors alike as they expected another easy romp to the title.

Summary

As the season comes near to a conclusion, football fans and bettors alike are bemused by the situation Liverpool find themselves in.Injuries hit hard in a variety of positions to seriously harm the club’s chances of consecutive titles. Players who seemed unstoppable last year seemed a shadow of their former selves. The uninspiring task of playing in an empty stadium didn't do much to help matters.

The lack of progress in other competitions dented the fear factor that had developed around other teams playing Liverpool. Certain teams have taken advantage of their poor season and cemented their own claims on the title or indeed Champions League spots. Fans of the club will be hoping they finish the season strongly and come back next season ready to fight for the title they surrendered so meekly.