Man City, winners in 2019, are now odds-on to win the 2020/21 Premier League after defending champions Liverpool confirmed that key defender Virgil van Dijk could be out for the rest of the season.
The influential Reds defender was forced off in the 11th minute of Liverpool’s derby day draw with Everton after a shocking challenge from Everton keeper Jordan Pickford.
The devastating injury blow to Liverpool has resulted in the reigning champions falling behind Man City in the Premier League outright title market.
Despite being currently ninth, six points adrift of leaders Everton, it is Manchester City who are now the title favourites after putting in a dominant display against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
City can move level with Liverpool on 10 points if they win their game in hand, having gone unbeaten in three games across all competitions since a surprise 5-2 home loss to Leicester City.
Ladbrokes now have City odds-on (4/5) to win the Premier League this season, with the Reds second favourites at (9/4). Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham are now third favourites at 12/1 with Frank Lampard’s Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti’s much-improved Everton side both at 20/1 with Ladbrokes.
Despite some strong recent performances and a positive end to last season, the bookies do not expect either Manchester United or Arsenal to finish in the Champions League places. Both are outside bets at 25/1.
Van Dijk has suffered an ACL injury and could be sidelined for up to eight months, and it was confirmed on Sunday evening that he must undergo knee surgery.
The defender released a statement after the extent of his injury was confirmed. He wrote: “This afternoon I met with a leading consultant to start the process of planning the finer details of my rehabilitation following the incident yesterday.
“I’m now fully focused on my recovery and will do everything I can to be back as quickly as possible.”
Before this weekend’s fixtures, Liverpool were 11/8 favourites to retain the title, closely followed at 6/4 by City. But even with City now favourites, the season looks set to have some more twists and turns to come. City now face a grueling run of six games in 17 days, including tough trips to Porto and Marseille in the Champions League. That run begins away at a West Ham side fresh from rescuing a draw from the jaws of defeat against Tottenham at the weekend, and culminates in what may already be a title decider – a home clash with Liverpool on 7 November.