It may looks like an early April Fools’ Day prank but the Premier League is done and dusted for this month with no more games scheduled because of the international break and the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The next matches in the top-flight are on Tuesday, April 1 with Liverpool entertaining Everton the following day in a match which will be essential viewing after the Toffees’ 98th-minute equaliser from James Tarkowski in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
The celebrations boiled over and led to Abdoulaye Doucoure and Curtis Jones being sent off after an unseemly spat while Reds manager Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff also saw red.
That was on February 12 and it is fair to ask if the fiasco has rattled Liverpool. They were hardly convincing when they then laboured to a 2-1 win at home to Wolves before drawing 2-2 at Aston Villa.
More convincing 2-0 victories followed against Manchester City and Newcastle while Southampton were also beaten in the league but Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain before losing Sunday’s Carabao Cup final as the Magpies won their first significant domestic silverware in 70 years.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Astonishingly, Liverpool are still 12 points clear of second place Arsenal at the top of the table and BoyleSports are so confident they will win the title that they have them at no better than 1/66 to do so.
But could they suffer a monumental meltdown and leave the Gunners to sneak home and win their first championship in two decades at 25/1?
After entertaining Everton, Liverpool face a tricky trip to Fulham but then have winnable games against West Ham, Leicester and Tottenham before a tough end to the season at Chelsea, against Arsenal in front of the Kop, another toughie at Brighton and a potentially interesting final day outing at home to Crystal Palace – who won 1-0 at Anfield last April.
Of course, all this depends on inconsistent Arsenal winning all their matches and that’s certainly not a given but the history of sport is littered with racing certainties falling short with the winning post in sight.
Could a minimal flutter on the Gunners be in order? They entertain Fulham on April 1 and if they prevail it would be no laughing matter for worried Reds.
• Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have yet to win a title between them in 2025 but there is a common denominator at the root of their lack of success. Sabalenka, beaten by Madison Keys in the Australian Open final in January was defeated by Mirra Andreeva in the women’s singles decider at Indian Wells on Sunday and the Russian, who isn’t 18 until the end of next month, smashed Swiatek in the semi-finals after also eliminating the Polish player at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Andreeva is a quality act on the rise and is 17/2 with William Hill to continue her dominance at the Miami Open.
• There’s a close finish brewing in the Championship with Leeds faltering again at QPR on Saturday, dropping a couple of points in a 2-2 draw. They are now only ahead of Sheffield United on goal difference and two clear of Burnley, who sit in third and out of the two automatic promotion places.
Leeds have choked in the last couple of seasons and don’t look worthy favourites to win the title at no better than 2/5 with Sky Bet and Bet Victor.
The Blades have come through a blip of their own and following Sunday’s 1-0 win at neighbours Sheffield Wednesday they look a good price at 4/1 with Betway to finish the season as champions.
MORE: Mohamed Salah sets unwanted record as Liverpool star flops in Carabao Cup final
MORE: Jamie Carragher tells Liverpool to sign two players after Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle
MORE: Arne Slot responds to Jamie Carragher criticism after Liverpool lose Carabao Cup final
