After a horrific month that ended with a draw against league leaders Chelsea, Liverpool have just one thing to fight for; their Premier League journey. The Reds were knocked out of the two domestic competitions in January and will play just the Premier League games till the end of the season. It is quite uncharacteristic for a side that was in two cup finals in the previous season, but now with extra time to train, the manager will hope that he can help the squad push up the points table. They are currently 10 points off the top of the table in the league and a couple of favourable matchdays can get them back into the hunt for the title, but at the moment, it looks a distant dream. So do Liverpool have what it takes to finish in the top-4 at the end of the season?
It is a feat they have not achieved in either of the last two seasons but Jurgen Klopp will know that the Anfield outfit, as a whole, has what it takes to go all the way this season. Talks of a title are still premature and make no sense but even at this moment, Liverpool’s biggest aim for the season would be to finish in the top-4. Jurgen Klopp had around 7 months of a trial at Anfield last season, where he did incredible things with the squad but he decided to make a number of changes, bringing in the likes of Loris Karius, Joel Matip, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane into the first team at the club.
Though Karius is yet to impress the manager entirely, Matip, Wijnaldum and Mane are already integral parts of the squad leaving Klopp with plenty of options to go for. Simon Mignolet looks rejuvenated and has not put a step wrong (most recently) while Dejan Lovren has also looked a more solid player from the previous season. Jordan Henderson, the skipper of the side, has turned into one of the best in the league while Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho have been constantly weaving their magic. Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi have played second fiddle when needed and this has seen the Reds enjoy a super first half of the season.
However, they lost Mane and Coutinho at the start of January while Matip was also injured, and these injuries exposed the squad in the previous month. Emre Can, who played most games in that busy January, has just not been able to produce performances that he is known for as the Liverpool skipper missed a couple games and this all added up to the club losing ground in the points table in the Premier League.
They have more or less skipped away from a genuine shot at the title but with no other competition to keep them busy, they are front runners to compete with Chelsea at the top of the table. Klopp’s methods work at their best when his team is fresh at the start of the game and with the side playing just 6 games in the next two months, they are expected to go all out in every game. The Reds are currently unbeaten against the top-6 in the league this season and this might be the major reason why they are assured of a place in the Champions League. Eating points off teams around you in the points table makes a double impact on the table and Liverpool might be able to seal a berth in the Champions League if they are able to get maximum points from home fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, their immediate opponents in the league.
If injuries do not spoil the fun, Klopp’s side are the most entertaining side in the competition and at the moment, there are very few reasons why they could miss out on a place in the top-4. Their weak defense and brittle midfield come to mind but with less than half a season to go, Klopp will hope that his team can get back to the form that they showed at the start of the season, to get them over the line come the end of the season.
Do you think Liverpool has what it takes to qualify for the Champions League next season?