Premier League sack race | Liverpool manager odds: Steven Gerrard backed to replace Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp is now the 4/1 second favourite in the Premier League sack race, with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard - who on Sunday clinched the Scottish Premiership title with Rangers - 13/8 favourite to replace him at Anfield.
The shift in odds comes after Liverpool’s incredible downturn in form continued with a 1-0 loss to Fulham, a sixth-straight home defeat that extended an unwanted club record for Klopp's men who had gone almost four years unbeaten at home in the league prior to this run.
The Reds are four points off the top four, a gap that is likely to widen by the end of the weekend.
They host RB Leipzig in a Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday, defending a 2-0 lead, with their season hanging by a thread.
Next Premier League Manager to Leave (odds via Sky Bet)
- Steve Bruce 7/4
- No Manager To Leave 5/2
- Jurgen Klopp 4/1
- Chris Wilder, Roy Hodgson 8/1
- Jose Mourinho 9/1
- Sam Allardyce 12/1
Could Gerrard leave Rangers?
While Klopp was facing questions about his future, Steven Gerrard was paying tribute to his Rangers players for clinching a first title triumph in a decade.
The Ibrox outfit are celebrating being crowned kings of Scotland for the 55th time after bitter rivals Celtic stumbled at Dundee United.
Having spent so long in the shadow of their bitter rivals, Gers have now cantered to the title with six games to spare and will have the chance to rub their bitter rivals’ faces in it in two weeks’ time as they walk out at Celtic Park having already smashed the Hoops’ reign of dominance.
“In year one and year two we have at times been heavily reliant on certain individuals,” said Gerrard, whose side now turn their attention to Thursday’s Europa League clash with Slavia Prague. “It’s taken us time to get the squad into this shape with this quality.
“I think the star is the team. There is no ego in the team. Everyone is playing together. There’s a great spirit in the group.
“I think everyone – and me included – has expected at some point, as we got closer, to see some nerves or tension or some inexperience.
“But this shows the strength of the dressing room. There’s a lot of fearless young players and some real calm heads. We’ve got the balance spot on at the moment.
“That doesn’t mean we’re set. We need to keep moving it forwards and improve things – and we will.
“But in the short term it’s about getting them ready for two massive games now.”
Next Permanent Liverpool Manager (odds via Sky Bet)
- Steven Gerrard 13/8
- Pep Lijnders 5/2
- Xabi Alonso 10/1
- Julian Nagelsmann 14/1
Is it time up for Klopp at Liverpool?
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher pulled no punches in his appraisal of the Reds’ continued crisis in the wake of the 1-0 home loss to Fulham.
As Klopp’s men slipped to a record-extending sixth straight home league defeat at Anfield, Carragher conceded the side’s current plight cannot be tolerated.
“Jurgen Klopp previously called this team mentality monsters and that was absolutely right at the time,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“But right now they are like mentality midgets. This team is just not dealing well with adversity at any point in the last four months.
“And that’s just not acceptable at Liverpool.”
Graeme Souness criticised Klopp’s widespread changes for the Fulham clash, before insisting Liverpool’s players have let the club down.
“The message that sends to Fulham is they are not showing us enough respect, as a manager that’s how I would have interpreted it,” Souness told Sky Sports.
“When you hand the initiative to the opposition, it’s totally wrong. The way I was brought up, start right, get your goals and then maybe make changes.
“It is unfathomable. It beggars belief how a team can go from being so good to so average. People talk about the manager, but Jurgen Klopp has learned a lot about his dressing room.
“It’s about players. Some of them have not stood up to the challenge.”
Odds correct at 16:48 (07/03/21)
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