Paul Merson thinks the Liverpool attack with Mohamed Salah is a ‘luxury’ that offers Jurgen Klopp their ‘greatest’ source of optimism for winning the Premier League title.
The Anfield outfit entered this weekend atop the table through 16 games with a slender gap over their rivals. Liverpool edged one point clear of Arsenal last Saturday thanks to a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. Aston Villa then kept the Reds in front as they later edged the Gunners 1-0.
Liverpool are now the only Premier League squad to suffer only one single defeat during the 2023/24 campaign so far. Klopp’s team, plus Arsenal and Aston Villa, have also won 11 times to lead the way. The Reds also rank well for their attacking (2nd) and defensive (1st) records.
Paul Merson thinks Liverpool have a ‘luxury’ in the Premier League title race
Only Manchester City (38) outscored Liverpool (36) across the first 16 games of the season. While no top-flight team has conceded fewer goals than the Merseyside natives and Arsenal (15). The title rivals will soon test those records when they meet at Anfield on December 23.
It is Liverpool’s free-scoring frontline that Merson believes gives Liverpool their best hope of winning the Premier League title, though. The Gunners hero feels Klopp has a ‘luxury’ as the Reds can rotate between Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez at will.
“It is their prolific front line which gives them the greatest optimism, in my opinion,” Merson told Sky Sports. “Salah, Diaz, Gakpo, Jota and Nunez – they all have the ability to get double figures this season. That’s a luxury.
“You can pick Salah and any of the other two and you are not weakening the team in any way. You saw that on Saturday against Crystal Palace. Things weren’t going to plan but you can make changes that can have an impact on the game.”
Jurgen Klopp will want his forwards to follow Mohamed Salah’s example
Salah has scored 11 of Liverpool’s 36 Premier League goals so far this season. He is also the only Reds player to hit the back of the net more than four times. Nunez and Jota have both scored four goals, over Diaz (3), Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold (2).
It is also Salah who sits atop Liverpool’s assist table with seven over Nunez (5), Konstantinos Tsimikas (3), Szoboszlai, Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk (2). Diaz, Gakpo and Jota have all failed to create a goal in the top-flight so far this term across 15, 14 and 12 appearances.
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