Liverpool became odds-on favourites to win the Premier League without kicking a ball at the weekend and are currently the market leaders to become kings of Europe for a seventh time as attention turns to a Champions League trip to Girona.
The Reds have made a perfect start to their continental campaign, winning their first five matches to top the group-stage table in the competition’s new format, and the additional rest created by the postponement of Saturday’s Merseyside derby at Everton means manager Arne Slot can field a stronger team in Catalonia than originally planned.
The enforced break has given the Reds a chance to take stock following the 3-3 draw at Newcastle and they can remain undefeated on this their travels by winning in Girona and moving closer to becoming the top seed when the draw for the Champions League knockout stages takes place next month.
They are already two points clear of the chasing pack and victory here will give them the chance to send out more youthful teams and rest players after the hectic Christmas and new year schedule in the remaining couple of group-stage matches.
Girona, who finished third in LaLiga last season, lost to Paris Saint-Germain and PSV Eindhoven in their first-ever Champions League games, they then beat Slovan Bratislava but have since lost to Feyenoord and Sturm Graz and sit 30th in the 36-team table. They were beaten 3-0 on home soil by Real Madrid at the weekend.
TheReds are 6/5 with Betfair to lead HT/FT while Cody Gakpo is 7/1 with Unibet and BetMGM to break the deadlock.
What about Mohamed Salah, you say? He has scored scored six times in his last five matches and has 15 in all competitions. Well, the superstar has only been the first goalscorer once this term but we’ll take him to score at any point at 21/20 with the same firms and bet365.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are 4/5 with Betway to win the Premier League and 9/2 with a host of firms including William Hill, bet365 and BoyleSports, to win the Champions League.
Aston Villa followed their 3-1 win over Brentford with a 1-0 victory against bottom club Southampton on Saturday but still look leaden and may have to settle for a point at RB Leipzig, who have also won their last two games after a poor run of form. The draw is 13/5 with multiple firms including Ladbrokes and Coral.
• Portsmouth, Sunderland and Leeds form Tuesday’s Championship treble.
• New York Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen had the deepest pockets in the Juan Soto sweepstakes and landed the generational hitter on a 15-year deal worth more than $800million (£626m) when it is all totted up. The Citi Field crew are 12/1 with Betway, Betfred, Bet Victor, Sky Bet and others to win the 2025 World Series but still have the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies to overcome before they get there.
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