What Lies in Store For Liverpool's Last Eight Games of the Season?

The race for the Premier League title is hotting up and the reds remain in contention with just a few points between them and Manchester City. With the team on the cusp of a second league victory in three years, the wagering market is certainly hotting up among Liverpool fans. In the coming weeks, sites like oddschecker will be providing betting tips to help them make their decisions. 
 
For the players, the next few weeks will be crucial as Liverpool will be facing a mix of rivals from every level of the table and every point will be vital. Here's what to expect from each of these matches.
 
Manchester City vs Liverpool - 10th April at 16:30
After the first leg of Liverpool’s quarter-final battle with Benefica in the Champions League, Jürgen Klopp’s men will take the short drive to Manchester along the M62 for a clash with title rivals, City. 
 
The two sides are very close on points, so this game could be crucial for deciding the outcome of the Premier League this season. For both teams, a draw would be an ideal outcome as it means neither loses three points to the other. But, of course, the reds won’t want to settle for a solitary point when they could take the win. 
 
The last time these two sides faced off was the 3rd of October last year. Liverpool held City to a 2-2 draw at Anfield, losing their lead in the 81st minute when Kevin De Bruyne equalised for the sky blues. 
 
Liverpool have only beaten City once since the beginning of 2019, though two of their last three games have been draws. This won’t be an easy game, though the Kopites are on top form at the moment, so they might just be able to pull it off. 

Liverpool vs Manchester United - 19th April at 20:00

Liverpool games against United are always full of friction. The two sides have one of the toughest rivalries in English football, brought about by a historic tension between the two industrial cities and the fact that both sides have enjoyed tremendous success over the decades. 
 
On the 19th April, we’ll see another scrap between the two teams, this time at Anfield. The red devils will be opening to fare better than their last few outings against the Kopites. In October and May 2021, they lost 5-0 and 2-4 respectively, both at Old Trafford, continuing a theme we’ve seen for quite a few years now. 
 
Since March 2016, United have only won two games against Liverpool, a 2-1 Premier League win in 2018 and a 3-2 FA Cup victory in January last year. Although they are looking stronger than they have in recent years, United still haven’t regained their previous winning form. 
 

Liverpool vs Everton - 24th April at 16:30

The Merseyside derby is always an intense game, though still a fairly respectful affair. The reds have been the favourite for just about every one of these games for the last decade, thanks to the fact that they’ve won or drawn all but one of them since January 2011. 
 
The blues have really struggled this season and are at risk of being relegated, although they have several games in hand over most teams. They have fewer than half the points of Liverpool, and have only managed to win seven games this season. 
 
With all that in mind, this should be a fairly easy three points for Klopp’s men. 
 

Newcastle vs Liverpool - 30th April at 12:30

Despite their new owners, Newcastle haven’t fared much better than Everton this season. In fact, when the two sides went head to head on 17th March, the toffees won despite being a man down. 
 
Newcastle have lost six of their last eight games against Liverpool, going all the way back to March 2018. The remaining two games were draws in late 2020 and early 2021. 
 
The Magpies haven’t managed to beat a big team so far this season, so this could be another good opportunity for Liverpool to pick up some good points. 

Liverpool vs Tottenham - 7th May at 15:00

Liverpool’s final game of the season will be a clash against Tottenham Hotspur at home. This will likely be more of a challenge than the fixtures against Everton and Newcastle, since the Spurs have been a much better team this season. 
 
The London team has had a mixed fortune this year, with dominant games like the 5-0 victory over Everton and 4-0 win away at Leeds, they’ve also managed to beat Manchester City 3-2 in mid-February. However, they’ve also been beaten 2-0 by Wolves, 1-0 by Burnley, and 3-2 by Southampton. 
 
Against Liverpool, Spurs held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw back in December, but had lost the previous seven matches on the trot. 
 
The reds will be the clear favourite again going into this game then, but depending on how good Tottenham are on the day, it could be a cake walk or a real struggle to pick up the three points. 

Aston Villa vs Liverpool -TBA

This game was postponed due to the FA cup Semi final against Man City but before the end of the season the reds will be heading south to take on Aston Villa at Villa Park. Klopp will be hoping that this game should be an easier three points as his men have had the better of Villa, for the most part in recent years. 
 
That said, Villa did completely destroy Liverpool in early October 2020 with a surprise 7-2 victory. The reds have picked themselves out of the rut they were in at the time, but that will be something that plays on their minds. 
 
In recent years, clashes between these two sides have yielded quite a few goals. In addition to the nine-goal spectacular of October 2020, the FA Cup match in January 2021 saw five scored in total, the League Cup match in late 2019 saw Villa score five, returning the favour from 2016 when Liverpool netted six. 
 
So while the bookies will be expecting Liverpool to win, don’t expect Villa to make this one easy for them. 

Written by Alan Spencer