Steven Gerrard still favourite to be next Liverpool manager, despite Aston Villa sacking

Steven Gerrard is the bookies favourite to be the next Liverpool manager, despite his sacking as Aston Villa boss last week.

A poor run at the start of the season, akin to the one Dean Smith had a year previously that led to his sacking, saw Gerrard come under pressure.

Last week, his side were roundly beaten by Fulham, in a 3-0 loss, which saw the end of the former Rangers' boss time at Villa Park.

Unfortunately for him, the team weren't playing at their home ground, but at Craven Cottage, meaning he had to sit on the team bus home, despite having already found out about his dismissal.

Just to rub salt into the former midfielder's wounds, Villa then battered Brentford at the weekend, going 3-0 up in the opening 15 minutes of the game.

Before his sacking, a lot of the attention on the Liverpool legend throughout his managerial career has been on him one day returning to Anfield.

His move to the Premier League, after his time in Scotland, suggested if he was successful at Villa then it might one day be the case.

With his failure in the Midlands it now seems much less likely that he would take over from Jurgen Klopp any time soon, however that isn't the reality, according to the bookies.

Gerrard is 7/4 to be the one to takeover from the German, putting him ahead of current assistant boss Pep Lijnders and Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.

Gerrard is favourite. Image: ODDSbible

Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who was also sacked from his post earlier this season, is next on the list for the Reds.

He's followed by current Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann and then comes Gerrard's former midfield partner Xabi Alonso, who recently got his first managerial position with Bayer Leverkusen.

Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone is actually next on the list, and you'd imagine Liverpool fans would absolutely hate that considering his style of play is completely the opposite to Klopp's.

A final Liverpool midfielder makes up the top eight, with James Milner available to bet on at 25/1, which is mad considering he's never managed a single game!

Imagine Diego Simeone taking over at Anfield...(Image: Alamy)

Klopp signed a new deal back in April, which is set to keep him in Merseyside until 2026, so any prospective heir will have a while to wait.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss has come under some pressure this season though, for the first time in his seven years with the Reds.

A poor start to the season has seen them already fall out of the title race, and one pundit has tipped Klopp to have left before the start of next season.

If that were to happen then surely it would be too soon for Gerrard, especially given he's unlikely to have rebuilt his reputation by then.

Before the end of the season, a very different job could become available to Gerrard, with the 42-year-old having also been linked with taking over from Gareth Southgate.

The England boss also has some time to run on his contract, but could leave the post as Three Lions gaffer if they fail at the World Cup.