Klopp on top but can they handle title tug of war?
SPORTSMAIL experts Jamie Redknapp, Martin Keown and Chris Sutton give their half-term report on the Premier League campaign...
WILL LIVERPOOL GO THE DISTANCE?
REDKNAPP: Of course they can — but ask me again when they have six games to go and the pressure has ratcheted up another notch.
Liverpool have been top at Christmas three times in the Premier League and each time they have fallen short. I was part of the side that led at this stage in 1996. You can point to individual mistakes that cost us, but ultimately it boils down to pressure.
Those Liverpool players will see the pictures of this club’s former glories every day they go to work. They will be hearing and reading that they are the team to beat.
There are two excellent teams — Manchester City and Tottenham — hot on their heels. To be champions, Liverpool have to handle all of that.
KEOWN: I backed Liverpool and I’m standing by my prediction. They are showing all the signs that they can be champions, such as snatching a crucial late victory over Everton and coming from behind to beat Burnley.
Winning the League is like a tug of war. Every time your rivals drop points you have to capitalise — and there will have been a loud roar on Merseyside when Andros Townsend’s volley crashed into the City net on Saturday.
City have not yet hit top gear but they’ve been without their best player, Kevin de Bruyne, for the whole season so far. When De Bruyne scored against Leicester in the Carabao Cup I thought, ‘Welcome back’. This is a player who tries to make a statement every time he steps on the pitch.
City’s status as champions gives them an advantage. When Arsene Wenger won his first title in 1998, it helped that we had players like David Seaman and Tony Adams, who had been there and done it.
James Milner is the only player in the Liverpool camp with significant title-winning experience.
The clash between Liverpool and City at the Etihad next week is huge. I have a feeling that, come May, we’ll still be talking about Riyad Mahrez’s missed penalty at Anfield. It reminds me of when Ruud van Nistelrooy missed from the spot for Manchester United against Arsenal early in the 20032004 season and we went the rest of the season unbeaten.
SUTTON: The game on January 3 is bigger for Jurgen Klopp than for Pep Guardiola. Win, and Klopp will have immense belief he can go on and win the title.
With Pep, you just feel his teams have an inherent belief they can always dig out results.
I do not see a weakness in the City squad. They have at least two top players in every position. Only an injury to Fernandinho would significantly hurt them — as they found out to their cost against Crystal Palace.
Liverpool have plenty of depth too, of course. Xherdan Shaqiri has proved a brilliant bargain and in Virgil van Dijk, they have the best player in the Premier League. I still think City will pip them to the title ... just.
KEOWN: Let’s not forget about Tottenham. It may be too much for them to win the title but they are on a good run and have six of their next nine League games at home. Should Liverpool or City slip up, Spurs will be waiting.
SUTTON: I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Spurs. It does not feel like they have a totally happy camp yet they have been grinding out results. Sunday’s 6-2 thrashing of Everton suggests they are about to hit top form. If they do, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to win the League. A trophy is certainly not out of the question.
WHAT ABOUT THE RACE FOR THE TOP FOUR?
REDKNAPP: It has been blown wide open now Jose Mourinho has left Manchester United. All of a sudden Chelsea and Arsenal are looking over their shoulders and there are three teams playing for fourth place.
Chelsea’s form has stuttered recently but just being able to call upon Eden Hazard means they remain in the driving seat. At Arsenal, Unai Emery has done a remarkable job with the players at his disposal. Should they get into the top four it will be one of the achievements of the season.
United are still outsiders to finish fourth but I believe they have better players than Arsenal.
SUTTON: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s objective has to be to get into the top four — though if he achieves that, how could United not give him the job full-time? I’m fascinated to see how Paul Pogba plays between now and the end of the season. In the 5-1 win at Cardiff it already looked like the shackles had been released and I think we will start to see a happier Manchester United. Arsenal’s defence is the reason I cannot see them finishing in the top four. I have been impressed by Emery in the way he has restored belief and gained results from losing positions. The team have shown they can dig in. Now they must prove they can do it for a whole season. This year is a free hit for Arsenal. Emery needs at least two more windows to mould his squad. After 22 years of Wenger, change was always going to take time.
KEOWN: Arsenal need to add to their group and I can see them doing a lot of business in the summer. They are thin on the ground defensively and have had to rush back Laurent Koscielny. I did not blame him for those mistakes against Southampton. That was the second time he had played 90 minutes in the space of four days, having been out for seven months.
I feel Chelsea will be a big obstacle in the Gunners’ battle to qualify for the Champions League — both in the League and in the Europa League.
But it’s too early to talk about the top four for United. Cardiff was a great start but Ole Solskjaer has to take it game by game and make sure they keep putting in those kind of dominant performances.
Bringing in Mike Phelan as assistant manager is a masterstroke. It’s almost an admission from United that they were wrong to let him go when Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Both Phelan and Solksjaer know the traditions of this club and the aura and swagger United teams used to possess.
SHOULD POCHETTINO GO TO UNITED?
KEOWN: If it is indeed the case that Mauricio Pochettino (left) turned down Real Madrid in the summer, why would he suddenly race up the M6 to manage United at this point? This club has fallen from a great height. By contrast, Pochettino is at the heart of something special at Tottenham.
When Arsenal built the Emirates, Arsene Wenger felt intrinsically linked to the project and Pochettino will feel the same with Spurs’ new stadium.
As well as the new ground, he has brilliant training facilities and a promising squad. The only thing missing is money to transform them into title contenders.
He can use the interest from United to his advantage and convince Daniel Levy to match his ambition.
REDKNAPP: It’s a really difficult one. Pochettino is just about to move into a state-of-the-art stadium with a great young team. I just look at the recent history of Tottenham and see a club that has kept selling its best players. I’d love to see the club stand strong, keep their players and Pochettino together and show the same ambition as their manager.
SUTTON: Think back to when Pochettino urged Daniel Levy to take a risk in the transfer window at the end of last season. He wasn’t backed then and maybe the manager sees United as a better opportunity to win things. I don’t think he can turn United down. Spurs may have a better team right now but United are the bigger club.
WILL AN ENGLISH CLUB WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
REDKNAPP: Manchester City look the best-equipped to do so. With Barcelona and Real Madrid not at their best, I cannot remember a time when the battle for the Champions League was more open.
SUTTON: English clubs have never had a better chance. I can’t look past Manchester City to win the Champions League — especially after their favourable draw against Schalke — but you cannot totally rule out Liverpool or Tottenham, either.
KEOWN: City’s next step as a club is to win the Champions League. Rather than going hell for leather to win games, I can see Guardiola adjusting his tactics to see out games better in Europe this season.
WHO WILL WIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR?
SUTTON: I have said that Virgil van Dijk is the best player in the world right now and I stand by that. I cannot think of another player who has had a greater impact on a club. Liverpool are a completely different team in the way they can now dig out results and that is down to Van Dijk. His leadership skills are second to none.
KEOWN: You have to go back to Paul McGrath in 1993 to find the last defender who was voted player of the year by his peers. It’s the creative players who usually catch the eye, but goalkeepers and defenders are just as important. Van Dijk is a born winner. He purrs around the pitch putting out fires. Plenty of big clubs spurned the chance to sign him when he was at Celtic and now he’s playing with a point to prove. I would already rank him alongside the likes of Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson as a legendary Liverpool defender.
REDKNAPP: There isn’t a team in the Premier League who would not love to have Van Dijk in their team. Right now, he’s the front runner for player of the year.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE GOLDEN BOOT?
KEOWN: If Liverpool are to win the League then Mo Salah will win the Golden Boot — but if Harry Kane stays fit he will push him close. Especially so if Spurs turn it on when they get into their new stadium.
SUTTON: I’m sticking by my shout for Kane. According to most he is not playing well. Heaven help the rest of the Premier League when he does!
REDKNAPP: With PierreEmerick Aubameyang on 12 and Harry Kane on 11, this is shaping up to be a north London battle for the Golden Boot — in which Kane comes out on top.
FINALLY, WHO WILL GO DOWN?
KEOWN: Do we have to answer this question? It’s horrible having to predict who will get relegated. I’ve been there with Aston Villa and it’s one of the lowest feelings you can experience as a player. Next month’s transfer window will be key to determining who survives. The likes of Crystal Palace, Burnley, Huddersfield and Cardiff all need more firepower and will probably be fighting over the same striker. Palace and Burnley should pull clear of danger. Come May, Huddersfield, Cardiff, Southampton and Fulham will be the teams I can see battling it out to beat the drop.
REDKNAPP: The three teams in most danger are Fulham, Huddersfield and Cardiff. Fulham finally kept their first clean sheet of the season at Newcastle on Saturday. While they have to be tighter defensively, Huddersfield don’t score enough goals. Cardiff may be out of the bottom three now but it will be a tall order for them to survive.
SUTTON: Huddersfield are in danger. Cardiff are in trouble, too, though they have a much better chance of staying up than I gave them at the start of the season. If Neil Warnock keeps them up, he should be up there for manager of the year. I also think Burnley’s defensive frailties could see them go down — and I’m not just saying that because I used to play for Blackburn Rovers!