GLEN JOHNSON: With the Premier League title race all but over, attention is turning to end of season awards. Here Glen Johnson outlines his pick for Player of the Year as well as reacting to Man City’s European ban.
Confident Liverpool will still make it
Liverpool obviously have it all to do now after their loss to Atletico Madrid in midweek, but I still expect them to get through. At Anfield it’s very hard to not see them scoring and you’d expect them to create plenty of chances. Atletico are not going to make it easy and they’ve got a lead to hold on to in a couple of weeks, but I’m still backing Jurgen Klopp’s side to reach the next round.
Winter break might not have helped
I’m not sure the winter break came at the best time for Liverpool because they were going so well before it and they haven’t quite looked the same side in their last couple of games. When you are playing as well as they were all you want to do is keep playing so the couple of weeks off they have had has probably halted momentum a bit.
It’s no time to panic, though, as they are still 25 points clear in the Premier League and are only a goal down in the Champions League.
Henderson a big loss
Jordan Henderson of Liverpool FC during the UEFA Champions League match, round of 16 first leg, between Atletico de Madrid and Liverpool FC at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on February 18, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pressinphoto/Icon Sport)
Jordan Henderson’s injury is a big blow to Liverpool. He’s become a really key player for the team and I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. He’s one of those players who you don’t realise the importance of until he’s not there and Klopp will be hoping he’s back as soon as possible.
He sets the benchmark for his teammates and his work rate and desire spur others on. He’s the real reason for the success Liverpool have had so far this season and I think he’d be my pick for the player of the season.
He’s improved so much since he joined the club when I was there and I’m not sure many thought he’d get to the level he’s at now. When he signed, he was very raw and looked like he needed a lot of time to develop. He probably wasn’t ready at the time and he probably openly admitted that, so I think it’s a credit to himself how far he’s come since then.
City’s European ban
There’s been plenty spoken about regarding Manchester City’s European ban and whether a lot of the squad will leave. I think it depends on the player’s age and situation. For the older players it must be tempting to look to move as they are further along in their careers and the chances of winning the Champions League are limited. It’s easier for the younger players as they’ve got time on their side, but for the older ones, they’ve certainly got a decision to make.
Weekly Acca
Check out my selections for this week’s accumulator where I fancy Chelsea to get the better of Tottenham, Leicester to beat Manchester City and Liverpool to make light work of West Ham.
⚽ Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
⚽ Sheffield United 1-1 Brighton
⚽ Southampton 1-0 Aston Villa
⚽ Leicester 1-0 Manchester City
⚽ Liverpool 3-0 West Ham
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
