Liverpool have made an impressive start to the Premier League campaign, and they are currently on top of the league table.
Liverpool are five points clear of defending Premier League champions Manchester City, but the former trio of Ryan Babel, Sander Westerveld, and Boudewijn Zenden believe that Manchester City are still the favourites to win the title and that the Reds’ lack of a clinical goalscorer could cost them dearly.
“I rate City even higher than Liverpool, also because they have Haaland,” said Westerveld via Voetbal International before adding, “Liverpool lacks a potential top scorer for the Premier League. I think of someone like Lautaro Martínez or Victor Osimhen. Before his injury, Diogo Jota regularly played in the center of the front and Darwin Núñez always works hard, he can shoot with left and right and is a good header, but he fires too many blanks.”
“Núñez does not appear to be a killer for Liverpool. But on the other hand, with his work ethic, he is still quite important for the team and the other boys up front,” added Babel before saying further, “It seems to me that Liverpool would do well to keep looking around for new players, such as for the striker position, and that it would be wise to take the next step.”
“City has the best selection in the Premier League. It’s almost no matter who comes in,” concluded Zenden before saying, “There is now no Fernando Torres or Luis Suárez type at Liverpool and Salah is no longer as accurate as he was a few years ago. On the other hand, City now remains very dependent on Haaland, while Liverpool has three to four attackers who take turns scoring and perhaps together can score more goals than Haaland.”
The Reds have a formidable squad
Liverpool have a formidable attacking unit at their disposal, but they are lacking a clinical finisher who can put away chances at will. Darwin Nunez tends to miss plenty of goalscoring opportunities, and that could prove to be costly. It will be interesting to see how the situation develops. Other pundits have questioned the Reds’ title credentials.
The Merseyside outfit have been exceptional under their new manager, and they will certainly hope to continue their current front of form. They have the confidence and momentum with them. Even though Arne Slot’s squad is lacking a clinical goalscorer, they have players with the ability to get on the score sheet frequently.
Furthermore, they are not dependent on one player for goals. Liverpool have extensive depth in the attacking unit and all of their players have managed to score quite a few goals this season. It remains to be seen whether they can help the Reds win a major trophy this season.
Salah has already scored ten goals in all competitions, and Luis Diaz has nine to his name as well. Diogo Jota, Nunez, and Cody Gakpo have scored a fair few goals as well. It is evident that Liverpool have strength in depth. In addition, they have a formidable defensive unit. They have been exceptional at the back of this season and that could make a big difference for them.
Manchester City have looked quite inconsistent this season and they will have to improve drastically if they want to retain their domestic crown. There is no doubt that they are a world-class team, and it remains to be seen whether they can win the league title again.
