Reds steam into London as Arsenal prepares for Klopp's Liverpool machine firing on all cylinders
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Can Liverpool hold its nerve?
While Manchester City has won three titles in a row and five of the past six (we won’t mention the 115 pending financial charges against City in this context), for most of those seasons Liverpool has been its main rival.
With the stunning announcement last week that Jurgen Klopp is stepping down as manager at the end of this season, Liverpool fans are dreaming of the perfect sendoff, not only delivering a title for Klopp on his way out, but also equalling the record of Manchester United as Champions of England for the 20th time.
It has been a brilliant season for the Reds so far, losing only once — at Tottenham under a cloud of controversy that saw a perfectly good goal ruled out thanks to a comical VAR gaffe.
But here we are again, Liverpool in first and City in second with a game in hand. Should City win that game, the gap is down to two points. Every Liverpool supporter, player and staff member knows this feeling: Having a spectacular season but City just never goes away. The Citizens are relentless.
Liverpool looked the part of champions on Wednesday, shrugging aside Chelsea 4-1 in a game they so thoroughly dominated you would not have been surprised to see them win by six or seven. They missed a penalty and striker Darwin Nunez became the first player in Premier League history to hit the post or crossbar four times in one match.
This weekend is massive as Liverpool visit Arsenal in the Fubo Game of the Week. Arsenal can cut its deficit behind Liverpool to just two points with a win. Lose and the eight-point gap will almost certainly be too much to seriously consider themselves in the title race.
It would also mean Liverpool would be finished with games against Chelsea, Newcastle and Arsenal with City having to come to Anfield. Yes, the Reds still have trips to Aston Villa, Manchester United and Everton, but most of the other ‘big rivals’ to them have to come to Anfield.
City at home is clearly the toughest fixture left, but if it escapes Arsenal with a win, the schedule does set up nicely for them for the rest of the season.
2. Who is Conor Bradley?
When Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool’s home-grown right back went down with an injury in the first week of January, it was pondered if this was the end of Liverpool’s title challenge.
The backup at right back, Joe Gomez already was being deployed because Liverpool’s first and second choices at left back, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, were out with long-term injuries.
In stepped 20-year-old Bradley, who had made only token Cup appearances with the first team before.
On Wednesday, Bradley scored his first Premier League goal — his first goal in any competition with the senior squad. He also added two assists. Despite just nine appearances, he’s third in assists for his club behind Mo Salah and Nunez.
Many have argued that Alexander-Arnold’s best position is in midfield, as he’s deployed for the national team, and Bradley’s brilliant explosion onto the scene may see that positional freedom push him into that role for his club now, too.
3. Which teams are in most need of a win?
As we start to push into not quite the stretch drive of the season, but certainly the back half, it’s time to move. Both at the top and bottom of the table.
Brentford has been a wonderful story since they were promoted for the first time in 74 years back in 2021. Manager Thomas Frank has been considered one of the hot managers who’ll have bigger things in front of him. But the Bees’ loss against Spurs on Wednesday was their fifth in their past six games and they sit just four points above relegation — and they host Manchester City this weekend.
Newcastle won midweek on the heels of four losses. Champions League hopes are gone and they’re 11 points out of a Europa League spot. It plays Luton this week, which has been on a roll, dumping Everton out of the FA Cup and thrashing Brighton 4-0.
Brighton is another squad with just one win in its past six. The Seagulls desperately need a win on Saturday against Crystal Palace. Manager Roberto de Zerbi has been put into the conversation as one of the managers who could replace Klopp at Liverpool, but if this collapse continues, that would likely remove him from that conversation.
4. What can Manchester United expect from Marcus Rashford?
In the 2019-20 season, Manchester United looked as if they may finally be crawling out from under the rock it had been under since manager Alex Ferguson retired. The Red Devils had two of the hottest young talents in English soccer — Mason Greenwood, who scored 17 goals that season, and Marcus Rashford, who scored 22.
Greenwood fell into deep legal trouble with charges of domestic abuse and was suspended and has since been loaned out to Getafe in Spain. But Rashford, who was lauded as a can’t-miss player, is now himself struggling with off-field issues.
He called in sick to training last week, then pictures emerged of him in the wee hours on ‘bender’ guzzling tequila like water at a nightclub in Belfast. He has had showdown talks with his manager and is pledging to focus.
He has just four league goals in 20 appearances, but if United are to stop yet another slide down the table, they need one of their homegrown talents to get back on the right path.
Considering the tough stance given to yet another young talent, Jadon Sancho — who ultimately was banished back to Borussia Dortmund after a conflict with manager Erik Ten Hag — it’s going to be fascinating to see what role Rashford plays in a very big match against West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
This week’s slate
SATURDAY: Everton v. Tottenham; Brighton v. Crystal Palace; Burnley v. Fulham; Newcastle v. Luton; Sheffield United v. Aston Villa.
SUNDAY: Bournemouth v. Nottingham Forest; Chelsea v. Wolves; Manchester United v. West Ham; Arsenal v. Liverpool.
MONDAY: Brentford v. Manchester City.
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