Despite big name signings from the competition, Liverpool very much in title hunt
The Premier League returned in a big way. Stadiums were packed full of supporters who produced some unforgettable atmospheres and there were goals scored in every match — an astonishing 33 goals scored in total.
The beginning of a new season always raises the questions of who will win the league and how will the table look when it’s all said and done? The majority of fans and sports media (bloggers, journalists, pundits) had the same line when asked for their league champion and top-4 finishers.
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It reads like this, “Champions: Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool”.
Some of those who offered their predictions decided to mix it up as they crowned Chelsea the eventual champions. The London club was the only team outside of Man City that was given a nod.
Of the 20 BBC TV and radio pundits that were asked, 13 of them picked Man City while the other seven backed Chelsea. The writers at theScore and Bleacher Report gave us the general lineup of finishers mentioned earlier — City wins the league with Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool following suit.
The three NBC Sports contributors asked for their predictions showed a little more variety but still, Chelsea or Man City were the predicted champions.
The one team, and position, that remained constant across all the predictions was Liverpool finishing fourth.
So why is it that everyone believes Liverpool is the side with an outside shot to win the league?
Is it because they didn’t spend the money like Manchester City and United did to revamp their squads? Are Romelu Lukaku and Jack Grealish simply good enough to pull their teams clear of other title challengers? Or is it because Chelsea is just that good under Thomas Tuchel?
This notion that Liverpool is doomed to finish fourth, with a slim chance of actually challenging for the title is foolish.
Maybe the public is banking on Liverpool suffering from the same ridiculous injury luck they did last year? Maybe the majority of Premier League fans have already forgotten about how potent the front three of Sadio Mane–Roberto Firmino–Mohamed Salah can be when they’re firing?
Liverpool has to be treated as a true title contender because they are one. This is the same team that ran away with the league in 19/20 — the same team that fought to finish third and secure Champions League football with a very depleted squad last year. This team is Premier League and Champions League winners, for crying out loud!
Continuing on the fine form they ended last season on, the Reds looked every part of a title contender in match-week one against Norwich City. It wasn’t the strongest of opponents for Liverpool but a 3-0 away win is impressive on any day. They looked sound at the back and were sharp in the final third as Diego Jota, Firmino and Salah all found the net.
As almost everyone in the squad is healthy and ready to go, there is a lot of buzz around Liverpool as they want to prove they’re ready for a title fight rather than a top-four one like last season.
The only injury concern at the moment is that of Andrew Robertson who did some damage to his ankle in a friendly against Athletic Bilbao. Kostas Tsimikas — who struggled at times against Norwich City over the weekend — will be tasked with filling in for the Scotland international who is planning on making his return in early September.
With the extensive injury list of last season dwindled down to only one, Liverpool fans will shift their concern to the goal-scoring ability of their attackers. Last season the Reds only scored 68 goals in the league — their lowest total since Klopp’s first season at the club, the 2015/16 season.
The club decided not to use the summer window to strengthen their attacking options and will rely on their mainstay attackers to carry the burden. Hopefully, their attacking trio finds the form of two seasons ago when they won the league by 18 points. If not, big seasons will be needed from the likes of Jota, Takumi Minamino, Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi.
A healthy Liverpool that is scoring goals and keeping clean sheets — like the Liverpool teams of recent seasons — will surely mean they are in for a wire-to-wire title fight.
I won’t say the popular prediction of City winning the league with Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool following is going to be wrong. There’s a very real chance the table looks like that come the end of season but one thing I will say is Liverpool are more of a title contender than the majority think. Sleep on the Merseyside Reds if you dare.