Club World Cup: Liverpool ‘backed to bring him trophy’ from Qatar

Liverpool face a difficult challenge in Qatar this week as they bid to clinch their debut Club World Cup title.

First up is a semi-final test against Mexican side Monterrey, with a place in Saturday’s final up for grabs.

The Reds have been handed a tricky schedule to achieve the feat, however, having also been drawn to take on Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

Jurgen Klopp has taken his top players to the tournament, with the club’s Under-23 coach Neil Critchley expected to take charge of the meeting with fellow Premier League side Aston Villa.

But most fans will be focused on the tournament out in the Far East. The likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will be looking to keep up their fine form in all competitions.

It’s currently just 1/6 for a Liverpool win. Monterrey are available at 9/1 to win the game, while a draw is currently 11/2.

The other semi-final sees Brazilian side Flamengo take on Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal on Tuesday. It’s 3/1 for a Flamengo victory and 7/1 for Al Hilal to win the game. A draw is currently 7/2.

Tuesday also sees Qatari side Al-Sadd take on Tunisian outfit Sportive de Tunis to decide fifth and sixth place in the tournament. Al-Sadd are available at 10/11 to win, with their opponents currently 13/5. A draw is currently 12/5.

The tournament is already well underway, with Al-Sadd beating New Caledonian club Hienghene 3-1 after extra time in the first round. They then went on to lose 3-2 to Monterrey in the second round, as Al Hilal beat Sportive de Tunis 1-0

Spanish outfit Real Madrid boast the most Club World Cup titles with four. Three of those wins have come in the last three years.

They are closely followed by fierce rivals Barcelona with three. Brazilian side Corinthians are next up with two titles, with several clubs on one. Manchester United are one of those sides after clinching the trophy in 2008.

Liverpool have, therefore, never won the award, coming closest in 2005 after losing 1-0 to Sao Paulo. They were then followed by Chelsea in also losing out to Brazilian opposition in their only final of the modern era. The Blues also lost 1-0, this time to Corinthians in 2012.

The Reds now have the chance to put that loss behind them with a win in Qatar.

They’ve brought the big guns to do it, and are favourites to go on to win the entire competition at 3/10.

Flamengo are currently 13/5 to win outright, with Al Hilal 17/1 and Monterrey 22/1.