It’s all getting a little serious in the Premier League title race, with Liverpool sitting a point clear of Manchester City with 11 games to go.
Up until the start of January, the Reds were almost flawless in the league, winning all but two of their opening 20 games.
Liverpool look tired, lethargic and, all in all, a little nervous as they try to secure a first league title in 29 years.
But despite all that, they’re still top. To stay there, though, there are four players who must step up and put this bad run of form behind them to finally end their domestic hurt.
Naby Keita
A smattering of brilliance here and a sensational moment there aside, Naby Keita just hasn’t made the grade so far at Anfield.
The Guinean midfielder looked like he was taking to Premier League life like a duck to water at the start of the season but as the 2018/19 campaign has gone on, the weight of that £52m price tag has weighed heavier upon his shoulders.
In fairness to Keita, he has largely been used in an unfamiliar left-sided role so far this term as Klopp uses the same integration trick that he did at Borussia Dortmund with the likes of Mario Gotze. Even so, we’re not seeing enough of the lung-busting, marauding efforts that we did from the RB Leipzig Keita last season.
Roberto Firmino
Last season, Liverpool’s front three were on an almost telepathic wavelength, switching positions in tandem and giving opposition defences absolutely no chance of stopping them with their superior movement and awareness.
This season, as much as Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have all had their own individual purple patches, that cohesion hasn’t been as obvious, with Liverpool’s title challenge predicated on the excellence of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson at the back.
However, clean sheets save seasons, goals win games, clean sheets and goals wins you titles.
Daniel Sturridge
When Daniel Sturridge scored four goals in his first seven outings at the start of the season, including a stunning equaliser late on in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, everybody thought the injury-crippled England international was on his way back up.
That, however, has simply not been the case.
Since that wonder strike against Chelsea, Sturridge has scored a grand total of zero goals, providing just one late assist in a 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade in October.In fact, the 29-year-old has managed just eight shots in the Premier League since that Chelsea goal and has looked woefully off the pace when thrown into the fray by Klopp.
Mohamed Salah
Should we brace ourselves for the inevitable storm that comes our way for even suggesting Mo Salah should be on this list?
Honestly, the ‘Egyptian King’ has still been top-class this season, scoring 20 goals in all competitions and providing seven Premier League assists.
However, ‘top-class’ doesn’t quite cut it when chasing down a league title and even Klopp himself admitted Salah was below par in the recent 0-0 draw with Man Utd.