The League Run-In
We are top of the league. Liverpool is two points ahead of Manchester City, who have played a game less, but who we have been advised are coming to get us. Everyone is ready to anoint and present the trophy to them. We are expected to stumble.
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Arsenal believes that the league is theirs. They celebrated their victory over us with more fanfare than Tottenham did when they beat our 9 men in the fall. The only thing Spurs were missing was the ticker tape. The only thing Arsenal was missing was the Premier League Trophy. They too believe we have already faltered and it is only a matter of time before we slip further away.
Reloading The Weapons Cache
But what is the reality? We have just come off another league victory. We have players who are either missing, recovering from injury, or on their way back.
Our defense is solidifying. Trent will be given time to battle back to fitness. Robertson is playing his way back after a lengthy absence. Konate’s suspension is up. Wonderkid Bradley will return. Gomez will return from the flu.
Going forward we’re healing as well. Szoboszlai will return in the coming weeks. Salah is only days away. While the players mentioned have been out of the team, the benefit is also that the players will be mentally rested as we embark on the peak period of the season.
After our league game against Brentford, most of the rest of the season will see us play two games a week. We have been there before. We know what it takes. While people will say this is Klopp 2.0, the reality is that the only players not to experience such intensity in our first-choice lineup are Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, and Nunez. A world cup winner, an international captain, and a player hungry to enjoy success.
Our League To Lose
The road to a Champions League Final is a bumpier ride than a Europa League Final. While City has done it all before, Arsenal has not. The desperation to become the first team to win the modern Champions League consecutively may become a focus for Guardiola and his players. There are lots of banana skins in the weeks and months ahead for all teams. But having played tricky games away to City, Spurs, Arsenal, Newcastle and Brighton already, we have reasons to be optimistic.
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No one expected us to bounce back as quickly as we have this season. However, we also cannot use that as an excuse. We have played ourselves into a position where it is truly in our hands.
League titles do not come around every season and we are two-thirds of the way through the season and are top. Everyone is focused on City and their run. But, maybe we can put that string together ourselves. Brentford, Luton, and Forest will bring us to the game against City. Win those games and it will mean we have won 21 of the last 24 points. Maybe, just maybe that will be title-winning form.
