The progression for the Reds under Jurgen Klopp is ready to take the next step this season. Having made the Champions League final last season and finishing a comfortable fourth in the Premier League table, Liverpool is now a title contender.
Contender. Not favorite.
That would be Manchester City, the team that blew the rest of the league out of the water last season and by all accounts threatens to do so again this coming year. Not if the Reds have anything to say about it.
But what will it take for Liverpool to make the leap? Is it realistic to think they can give Manchester City a good fight?
Yes. Yes it is.
We all know how good this Liverpool attack is. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino comprise a deadly trio of attacking threat. There is no Premier League defense that can adequately lock these three down for 180 minutes a season. Now add Xherdan Shaqiri, and it becomes virtually unstoppable.
What Liverpool has struggled with in recent years is its defense. They brought Virgil van Dijk in last January, and he had an immediate impact. In the 14 matches van Dijk played for Liverpool last season - all of which he played 90 minutes - they conceded two or more goals just three times. Now, the Reds add Fabinho and Naby Keita in front of the defensive line and Alisson behind it, and the lockdown continues. Mix in Jordan Henderson who showed next-level capability as a number 6 at the World Cup this summer, and the midfield looks utterly stacked.
This is the most loaded team from front to back in the Premier League not named Manchester City. Not only that, but consider the presence of players like Giorginio Wijnaldum, Adam Lallana, and Daniel Sturridge, and this is the deepest team outside of Manchester City.
It’s obviously that Liverpool can win the title. Manchester City won’t have the cakewalk they had last year, and the Reds are a big reason why.
However, asking will Liverpool win the Premier League title is a whole other level. We’re not ready to go make that leap. Yet.