The English Premier League serves up some of the best international sports action out there and this season has continued that trend in style, with one of the big talking points being how Liverpool have surged into a dominant position in the table.
As of November 1st, the team were six points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City at the top of the league and had only dropped points in a hard-fought draw against their old enemies, Manchester United.
However, the price of their ongoing success in the world of soccer is that they’re now juggling fixtures in several competitions, which has led coach Jurgen Klopp to speak out on the issue in recent weeks.
Fixture debate
The matter was highlighted following Liverpool’s thrilling 5-5 draw and subsequent penalty shootout win against Arsenal in the League Cup. The club’s reward for the victory is a quarter-final tie against Aston Villa in mid-December, but there is one small problem with that – Liverpool is due to be in Qatar at FIFA’s Club World Cup at that time.
The BBC reports that Klopp has now stated that Liverpool will not entertain the idea of putting out two different teams to fulfill the fixtures, but that, of course, raises the question as to whether the club may ultimately choose to pull out of the League Cup, which has seen their outright price to win drift on football betting sites like Betway.
While discussions are continuing on the matter, the whole debate has undoubtedly put a spotlight on the upcoming Club World Cup and what Liverpool will be hoping to achieve in the competition.
A global event
This year marks the 16th time that the FIFA Club World Cup has been held, with its primary aim being to bring together some of the leading teams from across the world to do battle for the coveted trophy.
As the event is being held in Qatar this year, FIFA has confirmed that Al Sadd will represent the host nation as a result of their 2018/19 Qatar Stars League win. Liverpool’s participation in the tournament was, of course, confirmed following their 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final at the start of June. Furthermore, the win in Europe’s top soccer event also means they begin their Club World Cup campaign at the semi-final stage, with a fixture that is currently scheduled for December 18th.
Several other teams were confirmed by FIFA to be taking part at the time of writing, including Monterrey, Esperance Sportive de Tunis, and Hienghene Sport. Participants from Asia and South America are set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Going for glory
The recent debate surrounding Liverpool’s busy schedule has raised some intriguing questions but, despite the issues, the side will be keen to prove themselves as the best soccer team in the world with a strong performance in the competition in Qatar.
It will be exciting to see whether they can achieve that aim, as well as what will ultimately change if they are to continue to battle for glory in the League Cup too.
