Liverpool Premier League title debate answered as Reds told where they'll finish
Jurgen Klopp would have forgotten what it felt like to be top of the Premier League.
The first time in over two years the Reds ended a weekend at the summit of the table after their late win over Crystal Palace was followed up by Arsenal's defeat at in-form Aston Villa.
Most pundits saw the title as a straight shootout between Manchester City and the Gunners this season, with Liverpool expected to be further back after setting out on a rebuild of a refreshed squad, but the Reds' consistent form coupled with struggles elsewhere mean that Liverpool very much in the title picture as we approach the halfway point of the season.
So, can they win it? We asked the Mirror Football team what they think.
Dan Marsh
Liverpool are more than capable of hanging with Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race. Jurgen Klopp looks reinvigorated after being given the chance to rebuild a squad that felt as though they had run out of steam at times last year. There's been a marked difference this season; they've recruited well and also boast the Premier League's best player in Mohamed Salah.
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Manchester City still have the scope to put together a formidable winning run just like they did last year, but they've been uncharacteristically brittle this term and, for my money, are shipping too many goals to simply canter to another domestic crown. Arsenal will be all the better for last year's near-miss and are probably favourites at this point, but can Mikel Arteta and co hold their nerve as the weeks tick by? There is an added steel about them this year but the proof will be in the pudding.
That leaves Liverpool. They certainly possess the quality, the nous and the experience to win the league. I still think it's Arsenal's title to lose, though.
Mo Salah is still seen by many as the best player in the Premier League (Nigel Keene/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)David McDonnell
If the mark of champions is the ability to win when playing poorly, then Liverpool are unquestionably title contenders this season. Jurgen Klopp admitted Saturday's 2-1 win at Crystal Palace, courtesy of late goals from Mo Salah and Harvey Elliott, was “a really bad performance” until his side found the net. But Liverpool found a way to win and it is that ability to eke out victories in tight games that could prove the difference in this season's congested title race.
With so many teams dropping points, there is the tantalising prospect of three or four sides being in the title mix until the end of the season. Can Liverpool last the distance? Klopp strengthened well in the summer, and the Reds have a 100 per cent record at Anfield this season, with Manchester United and Arsenal both going there before Christmas. Victories in those two games would see Klopp's side open up a gap on the Gunners and Manchester City, who only have one league game before Christmas, with the Treble winners off to the Club World Cup.
With City stuttering, Arsenal pushing at the top again and Aston Villa having joined the party, this could be the most open title race for years. Yet Liverpool's hopes are entirely dependent on injuries – Andy Robertson has been missing with a shoulder injury, while Joel Matip is out for the season. Liverpool have the quality within their squad to be champions, the big question is whether they have the strength in depth to cope with the inevitable enforced absences they will face.
Will Liverpool win the Premier League title? Have your say in the comments section
John Cross
Liverpool have to be considered genuine title contenders because they have that magic formula of winning even when they are not playing at their best. They laboured to a win at Sheffield United, then did the same at Crystal Palace and, before those two games, they dug out a victory from the jaws of defeat against Fulham.
I reckon they are a full year ahead of schedule because this is a team in the middle of a rebuild and also the squad is a bit thin in certain areas, particularly in central defence. But Jurgen Klopp is a master at building team spirit, togetherness and knows what it takes to win a title.
I think Liverpool are a better bet than in-form Aston Villa and also Tottenham who are on the fringes. And possibly even Arsenal who have yet to find a fluency or formula and, unlike Liverpool, don’t win when they don’t play well. The more realistic Arsenal fans looked at the team’s failings from Saturday’s defeat at Villa rather than moaning about decisions again.
But, let’s be honest, we can assess everyone, talk about their strengths and weaknesses… then Manchester City will come along next spring and win it anyway.
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Jurgen Klopp's side have been winning while not playing well in recent weeks (Nigel Keene/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)Alan Smith
Jurgen Klopp’s rebuild is ahead of schedule but it remains hard to back against the reigning champions. City may be in a relative state of struggle, providing hope to the chasing pack, but the margin of error for any challenger remains tiny.
No-one will be surprised if Pep Guardiola ’s team quietly and ruthlessly win a dozen consecutive games in early spring. Plus Klopp may be rather worried about how his team fares without Mo Salah during AFCON and whether he can sustain his form upon returning. Salah could miss four league games, and a couple of cup ties, if Egypt make a deep run – including fixtures with Chelsea and Arsenal.
Liverpool managed more than okay in 2021-22, when Salah faced Sadio Mane’s Senegal in the AFCON final, but they still lost the title to City by a point. Expect them to stick around again only to fall a couple of points short.
Mo Salah will soon head off to the African Cup of Nations (Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)Mark Jones
If Man City were at their near-100 point best then there would be no chance of Liverpool winning the league this season, but they're not.
And if Arsenal markedly improved from the giant strides they made in the last campaign then again, there would be no chance of Liverpool lifting the title. The Gunners have got better, but they've still only won two out of seven matches against sides in the top half, and they go to Anfield soon.
So if you look outwardly there are causes for Liverpool's optimism, and there are plenty of those when you glance inwardly too. The Reds have the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, the best centre-back and the best attacking player. He'll be absent when the AFCON starts in January but providing the injuries stay away there is sufficient cover, although Darwin Nunez has to improve and fast.
A title win would be hugely ahead of schedule for Jurgen Klopp's rebuild, but things can change much quicker than you'd expect in football and in life, and this is shaping up to be quite the raucous Red ride. Is it on? For now, of course it is.
Darwin Nunez is sure to be a vital player in any Liverpool title challenge (Nigel Keene/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)Fraser Watson
Those who wrote Liverpool off as a team in transition after reaching its peak under Jurgen Klopp clearly hadn't learnt from past lessons.
The 2020-21 campaign, despite a late surge that propelled the Reds into the top four, was initially perceived as the end of Klopp's mini-golden era. Failure to challenge for the title they'd won the previous season, coupled with the manager himself appearing worn and fatigued, led many to wrongly assume the magic had worn off. The following season, only a final day capitulation from Aston Villa and Man City and a Champions League final performance for the ages from Thibaut Courtois denied the Merseyside club an unprecedented quadruple.
And after a mediocre campaign last time out, they've bounced back again. It's perfectly feasible to suggest that defensively they're vulnerable, and that in midfield they need reinforcements, that Mo Salah is off to AFCON, and that there is only so many games they can underperform and yet fight back late on - but the table doesn't lie.
The hunch remains Man City will recover and claim a fourth straight title. But Liverpool have the mettle, the tendency to come through adversity, and the knack of late winners you need to be champions. And once Salah jets off, their aspirations may rest on whether Darwin Nunez can fill the goal void by finally turning raw potential into consistency in front of goal.
Will they win the title? That notion still appears questionable. But in a season where the race is wide open and all the top sides are dropping points, can they win the title? Absolutely.
Neil McLeman
The good news for Liverpool is they are top of the table after losing only one game while not playing that well. The bad news is that they are not playing well.
Jurgen Klopp, who has returned to his old vim and vigour this season, has built a strong squad with players to come off the bench to change games like Harvey Elliott at Crystal Palace on Saturday. But until his introduction - and the sending off of Jordan Ayew - the Reds were pretty awful and heading for defeat. The same at Luton Town last month.
The midfield is weak and missing the injured Thiago Alcantara and Alexis Mac Allister. And although the squad now has depth, the starting XI is not as good as the Champions League-Premier League winning team with Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane up front. Manchester City and Arsenal have better starting teams and that is why I still think they will finish as the top two this season.
Harvey Elliott grabbed Liverpool's late winner at Crystal Palace (Getty Images)Felix Keith
The title race is as open as it has been in years, with the Manchester City monopoly threatening to be broken at long last. City have won five of the past six Premier League titles and the identity of the other side to win in that period tells you a lot. Liverpool have shown remarkable resilience to keep grinding out results recently and Jurgen Klopp is the biggest threat to Pep Guardiola.
Liverpool have the league’s best and most consistent player in Mohamed Salah, the most creative player in Trent Alexander-Arnold, the best goalkeeper in Alisson and an array of other stars.
The injury to Joel Matip is a concern as it leaves them a little short in central defence, while Darwin Nunez’s struggles with the offside flag and finding the back of net is also a frustration. But Arsenal also have goalscoring problems and Liverpool have a core of players who have been there and done it in 2019-20.
Mike Walters
Some of us tipped Liverpool for the title before a ball was kicked. Some of us tipped Mo Salah to win the Golden Boot, or Footballer of the Year, or some other bauble. Some of us didn't fall for that guff about Jurgen Klopp's new-look midfield needing a year to bed in before they could win the Premier League. And some of us thought Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz would be the best front three in the country this season.
They have won nothing yet - and Jurgen Klopp won't be fooled that the engine is running anywhere near full throttle after the points Liverpool burgled at Luton, Crystal Palace and Newcastle. Nor does Klopp's back four exude an air of watertight impregnability.
So some of us are probably better-served keeping our mouths shut... or, conversely, wishing we had backed our hunch with a tenner at the bookies. Anyone for darts?
Jack Lacey-Hatton
Are Liverpool capable of winning the league? Yes. Do I actually see them holding off Arsenal and Manchester City? Not sure.
As seen in their last two games, Jurgen Klopp’s team are capable of grinding out results when they aren’t playing at their free flowing best. To do so is a sign of a team who can win the league. It maybe a cliche but it’s true. Klopp also seems to have reinstalled an “us against the world” mentality which has brought back an edge they lost last season.
Darwin Nunez needs to weigh in with more goals to support Mo Salah, but after 18 months of adapting to English football, I fancy him to hit form in the New Year.
The problem with backing the Reds to win a first title in four years is that City are capable, at any stage, of putting together a 10 or 11 game winning streak. If that happens they’ll be champions again, but otherwise I fancy Liverpool to be lifting the title in May.
Will Liverpool win the Premier League title? Have your say in the comments section
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