While Manchester City may hold a strong lead at the top of the table, Liverpool has the quality to take the Premier League title race down to the last few games of the season.
It will take a monumental effort to deny City retaining the English crown, but the Reds look ready to pounce on any slip-ups Pep Guardiola’s side has over the coming months.
City in The Driving Seat
Man City have certainly been impressive going into the second half of the season, with the Citizens winning 19 of their first 24 league games. City has managed to cope with the departure of Sergio Aguero at the end of the last campaign and their use of a ‘false nine’ system has impressed both domestically and in the Champions League this term.
While the Citizens have dazzled at times this season, a 2-0 defeat on home soil against Crystal Palace and a 1-1 stalemate with Southampton as reported by BBC have shown the frontrunners can have their off days.
Those dropped points have admittedly been few and far between in those first 24 games, but Liverpool will have to make sure they keep hot on City’s heels if there is to be an exciting conclusion to the title race.
Reds Boosted by Duo Return
The returns of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will give Liverpool a huge boost as they push towards the business end of the season. Salah and Mane met in the final as per ESPN of the Africa Cup of Nations as Egypt suffered defeat to Senegal at the major tournament in Cameroon. The Reds managed to cope well in their absence through AFCON but Klopp will be delighted to have Salah and Mane back with the squad.
In their first 20 league games of the season, Salah managed to bag 16 league goals, while Mane contributed eight in the same time. With the likes of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino also thriving from the chances the African stars create, Liverpool’s attack is back to its frightening best.
What makes the Reds’ competitiveness in the Premier League even more impressive is the fact they have had to battle without the same financial muscle as City. It has meant Liverpool have needed to be more shrewd in the transfer market and the signing of the likes of Jota and Firmino from Wolverhampton and Hoffenheim are good examples of that.
A complex scouting network and utilizing scouting agencies across the world has helped the Reds identify unknown stars of the future and therefore get as much value for money as possible.
This method of hunting out the best deal is nothing new, of course. Much like the scouting agencies Liverpool use to find the best value players, the online gambling industry is just one instance of successfully harnessing this method.
Closely related to the sports industry through its football-themed games and betting bonuses, Bonusfinder Ireland, for example, researches the most important data and provides reviews so customers can make an informed decision on which betting providers to go with.
Clearly, this process of looking for the best value in the transfer market has certainly worked well for Liverpool over the years as well, and was a key reason behind their title success in the 2019-20 Premier League campaign.
Liverpool’s challenge this season will be to avoid banana skins of their own in their hopes of narrowing the gap on City at the top of the standings. The two title contenders still have one more meeting in the Premier League this season, with Liverpool making the trip to the Etihad Stadium on April 9.
All eyes might well be on Manchester for that encounter, especially if the Reds have managed to narrow the gap in the meantime.
Guardiola has been keen to play down his team’s position at the top of the standings as the Spaniard knows Liverpool will not give up in their pursuit of a second Premier League title.
