The Reds boss is hoping former striker Andy Carroll can do his side a favour on Sunday and admits he has never felt lower in football after the 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists his side are still in with a chance of winning the Premier League ahead of the final day of the season.

The Reds take on Newcastle at Anfield on Sunday and go into the game two points behind leaders Manchester City and with an inferior goal difference.

The Merseysiders’ title hopes took a huge dent in midweek as they threw away a three-goal lead against Crystal Palace in midweek, to draw 3-3 at Selhurst Park, leaving City huge favourites to claim the title.

However, Rodgers says he is proud of his club’s season and insists that the title has not been lost just yet.

“This is one of the best pushes for the league we have had as a club for 24 years, and you never know – we are still in it to the very end of the season, it’s certainly not over,” he told reporters.

“The Palace game was probably the lowest I have felt in football, and you could see in the faces of the players how it affected them.

“But a great deal of learning will come out of that game. It is a great reference point for the likes of Jon Flanagan, Raheem Sterling, Joe Allen and Philippe Coutinho.

“All of these players are going to go through this again and they are going to be better prepared for it.”

City, meanwhile, face West Ham at the Etihad and Rodgers is hoping the Hammers can pull off a shock and defeat Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

“If West Ham can go to Spurs and win 3-0, they can certainly go to City and win – especially if you have a guy like big Andy Carroll up front with the quality he has,” he added.

“But if it doesn’t work out, we will learn from those experiences and I can guarantee we will be better next time.

“It’s something as a manager you will use as a reference point and our players will grow from it.”

The Red Devils will endure a first season outside the Champions League in 18 years next term but the Spaniard believes a lack of distractions could prove an advantage

Juan Mata believes Manchester United’s absence from the Champions League can prove beneficial as they aim to reclaim the Premier League title, holding Liverpool as the example to follow.

Old Trafford will not host Champions League football next season for the first time in 19 years, with United languishing in seventh position in the Premier League – 13 points behind rivals Arsenal, who occupy the fourth and final spot.

United are 18 points adrift of second-placed Liverpool, who have made the most of the absence of European football this season to mount a serious title challenge.

And Mata is hoping to use the Merseyside club as an example as United look to return to the lofty heights of the Premier League table.

“It can definitely be an advantage in the league,” said the Spain international ahead of United’s final game of the season against Southampton.

“Of course, I would rather be playing in the Champions League, but if we take Liverpool as the example — you have a team who have fought all the way to the finish without having played in the Champions League.”

Mata added: “There are huge demands at this club. If you don’t win the league one year, you must win it the next year.

“Next season we have to demonstrate that the club has not lost its essence; has not lost its mentality; has not lost its competitiveness; and it has not lost its identity.”

Next season also means United will have their second manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012-13 campaign after David Moyes was sacked in April.

Outgoing Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal is expected to take charge, though Mata refused to speculate on the Dutchman’s chances of getting the job.

“I’ve never met him,” he said.

“I know what kind of history he has, the titles he has won and the kind of football he is playing with Holland.

“But I don’t think it’s good to talk about a coach who is not our manager.”

The striker is just one goal away from breaking the best-ever tally and Paddy Power are offering a special 3/1 deal on him to score any time vs Newcastle

Luis Suarez’s tears after Crystal Palace’s incredible three-goal comeback on Monday are bound to one of the defining images of 2013-14’s Premier League season, symbolising the way that Liverpool have disintegrated after a stunning rise up the table.

Manchester City now have the title on their lap and it would be stunning to watch them throw it away at home to a feeble-away-from-home West Ham.

However, Suarez could very well take out his anger on a Newcastle United team who have been one of the worst in the league since the turn of the year. Alan Pardew’s men finally stopped the rot with a win over Cardiff last weekend, ending a six-game losing streak, but they remain ripe for the picking.

Which makes Paddy Power’s Suarez offer for new customers all the more appealing: the bookmakers are giving new customers ludicrously tempting odds of 3/1 (4.0) for the Uruguayan to score at anytime on Sunday.

If the ex-Ajax man scores once more for Liverpool he will break the record for goals scored in a single 38-game Premier League campaign. Considering he did not feature for several matches at the start of the season due to his bite on Branislav Ivanovic last year, this feat is all the more impressive.

Anfield is likely to be rocking regardless of their fall from grace in the past couple of weeks, as the Reds’ improvement this campaign has been phenomenal and they will be returning to the Champions League in 2014-15.

Liverpool are 2/9 (1.22) to win at home to the Geordies this weekend and 16/1 (17.0) to sneak the Premier League title from under Man City’s noses in spectacular style.

At the Etihad Stadium, where the home fans will be praying for a less nerve-wracking end to the season than when they won the title in astonishing style two years ago versus QPR, Edin Dzeko may well be looked to as the hero in Sergio Aguero’s expected absence.

Dzeko scored a double at home to Aston Villa en route to a 4-0 drubbing, though the result misrepresents how solid the visitors were for two thirds of the match.

The Bosnian, who will be at the World Cup this summer, is the subject of another mouth-watering Paddy Power offer: the striker is 7/2 (4.5) to score at anytime against the Hammers.

Considering Dzeko’s brilliant performances in recent weeks, he is certain to be at the forefront of City’s forays forward. It would be more of a surprise if he did not get on the scoresheet in the Manchester club’s final game of the season.

Whichever of the two player offers catches your eye the most, the chance to back either at a vastly enhanced price looks too good to turn down for anyone currently without a Paddy Power account.
 

Jim Knight is Chief Betting Editor at Goal.com and has been tipping football games since he was old enough to place a bet. He is a Leicester City fan, writer and member of the We Are Going Up Podcast