Is This Season The Best Opportunity Yet For Premier League Glory?
A guest blog! Scott Mason offers his opinion on Liverpool's hopes for this season. Have a read and all feedback will be most welcome in the comments below.
Looking at the Premier League table after nine games will give Liverpool fans plenty of reason to feel optimistic. Sitting third in the league, just two points behind leaders Arsenal is impressive, especially when factoring in a big win at Anfield over Manchester United. Perhaps this is the season where we can finally contend for the title after a few frustrating years of transition.
Before the season started, many fans would have settled for scraping into the fourth Champions League spot, but following a series of high-profile new signings in the summer and our early season form, our expectations have gone up a notch or two. Looking at how well Daniel Sturridge in particular has done underlines how we look like a genuine threat this season.
Luis who?
This season, Sturridge has scored ten times in all competitions, more than any other player in the Premier League. This suggests that he’s going to help reduce the previously massive burden on Luis Suarez’s shoulders to get the lion’s share of all our goals, while he seems to be enjoying his football here more than he did with Chelsea and Manchester City.
As for Suarez, there are a few rumours that Real Madrid may try and sign him again in January. Real are in need of a new face up front, their problems compounded by Gareth Bale’s injuries and a misfiring Karim Benzema. Should he leave, Suarez would fetch a few quid, but at what cost to our title chances? Without him, we would be a completely different team.
In with a chance
Whether he stays or goes, for now, Liverpool have a good chance of being in the hunt for the league title. The latest Premier League odds at Ladbrokes suggest Liverpool are 9/1 to win the League this season. Our odds have come down considerably given our good early form, but there are still 30 more games to go, many of them against tricky opposition.
Our only defeat to date came at home against an obdurate yet classy Southampton at home, but in that match, we did look a little short of quality. We have been missing one or two players through injury, one of them being Philippe Coutinho. Coutinho’s return to fitness will be crucial, as he might be able to supply the ammunition needed to help keep Sturridge and Suarez scoring.
Whatever happens at the end of the season, for now, we have plenty of reason to hope for something better. Even Europa League qualification or winning the FA Cup would be considered a successful outcome at the end of the season, but any dip in form could see us end up finishing 7th again.
Scott Mason is a British sports writer at Ladbrokes, covering football on both sides of the pond. As a regular contributor to sports blogs around the web, he offers insight and intrigue to the sporting fraternity on the most topical of issues. You can follow Scott on Google+ here
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