Liverpool was the undisputed ‘top dog’ in England not too long ago. With five European Cups and 18 league titles, they were considered the best club side that England had produced. Manchester United, however, took over last season when they won their nineteenth league title.
The EPL needs a new champion. After five seasons of watching either Manchester United or Chelsea crowned champions, the league needs a new team to keep it entertaining.
After all, considering that Lille won the league title in France last season and Borussia Dortmund won it in Germany, the task shouldn’t be considered an impossible one for Liverpool.
The squad
Liverpool was in turmoil for much of the past two seasons. When Kenny Dalglish stepped in last season, he changed the aura in and around the club.
Dalglish coached Liverpool to a respectable sixth position. Liverpool produced some amazing performances, notably against Chelsea (2-0), Manchester United (3-1) and Manchester City (2-0).
Liverpool’s squad is quite balanced. They have the right mix of youth and experience in the club. The attack can dazzle against any side while the defence can hold out well when required.
An example of the team’s defensive strength came last season against Arsenal in a 1-1 draw.
Only five sides in the league had a better defensive record than Liverpool last season. Fulham, one of those five sides, finished below them in the table. Luis Suarez came into the club and altered Liverpool’s attack slightly.
The hard working Uruguayan
proved to be a wonderful addition. Also, Andy Carroll added to the gloss the club already had in attack.
The addition of the mercurial Stewart Downing can also serve to boost an attack which scored the fifth-most goals last season. A thrashing of Fulham were the attack flowed better than ever comes to mind.
Charlie Adam’s addition to the midfield should prove to be a good decision. His addition will improve Liverpool’s strength in depth. The team consists of many young stars such as Jonjo Shelvey, David N’gog and new signing Jordan Henderson.
Moreover, the core of the team has remained the same with Pepe Reina in goal, Jamie Carragher in central defense, Lucas Leiva in defensive midfield and Steven Gerrard in attacking midfield. Let’s also not forget about Dirk Kuyt who always gives everything for the cause.
The fixture list
Taking a look at Liverpool’s fixture list, one can easily see that they have at-least one tough fixture a month. There are really no easy games in the English Premier League; however, some teams are just a bit harder to beat than the also-rans. While Stoke and Bolton don’t exactly count as pushovers, beating Arsenal and Tottenham is a bit more difficult.
Liverpool takes on Sunderland, Arsenal and Bolton in the first month. They did take points away from Arsenal last season. In September, they take on Stoke, Spurs and Wolverhampton. Again, the match against Spurs is the pick of the fixtures.
Provided that Liverpool can take a total of 14 out of a maximum 18 points in these two months, they should be well positioned in the table by the time they take on Manchester United in October.
November might turn out to be an important month as they play both Chelsea and Manchester City. The rest of the months following November provide just one top five opposition a month with the exception of February.
The fixture list is a favourable one for Liverpool and provided that they can beat the teams they should beat, they will remain in the top four and in hunt of the title come May.
Therefore...
Liverpool is considered by most as an ‘outside bet’ as far as the league title is concerned. However, with the chemistry that they have and the harmony in their team, they might just pip the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and the rest of the contenders to the title in May.
