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Liverpool have endured a drought for the English top-flight title since the inception of the Premier League. The Reds last won the crown in the 1989/90 campaign under the management of Kenny Dalglish. Since then they’ve finished as runners-up on three occasions, including a late collapse in the 2013/14 season that handed the title to Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the current campaign, which has seen them move to the summit of the Premier League. The betting markets still favour City to win the crown, leaving the value with the Reds. They’re an attractive proposition given their form and the price of their odds. Mr Green casino online and its Sportsbook 2.0 were offering 4/1 for the Scouse side at the start of the season. It’s important to find the value – Liverpool are the epitome of that at the moment.
One of the reasons for that belief is that the Reds were able to keep pace with last season’s top scorer Mohamed Salah operating at a level far from his best. The Egyptian ran riot in the Premier League last season, scoring 32 goals. Salah did not display the same prowess in the final third in the early stages of the campaign, although he did manage to notch seven strikes. Liverpool’s clash against Bournemouth saw the 26-year-old get back to his best, firing home a scintillating hat-trick. If Salah returns to the heights he found last term, then Liverpool’s title could well be at an end.
Salah needed to be brilliant in the last campaign to keep the Reds in the hunt for a Champions League place. Compared to the rest of the top four, Liverpool had the worst defensive record, which held back a potential title challenge. They only conceded 38 goals – an average of one per game, but City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were all superior in the defensive third of the pitch. The club saw an improvement in that aspect with the arrival of Virgil van Dijk in the second half of the campaign. Van Dijk has established a reputation as one of the leading defenders in the world due to his exploits with Celtic, Southampton, Netherlands and now Liverpool.
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Not even the excellence of the Dutchman could prevent goalkeeping errors like the ones made by Loris Karius in the Champions League final, while Simon Mignolet was also prone to mistakes. The struggles of the two keepers prompted a move for Brazilian stopper Alisson in the summer. Like Van Dijk, he was an expensive purchase, but the keeper along with his back four have been outstanding this season.
Liverpool now boast the best defence in the Premier League, conceding only six goals in their opening 16 matches. They’ve kept 10 clean sheets in the process, putting them on track to beat their club record of 22 in a Premier League campaign. Between their resilience at the back and the form of Salah along with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane, there’s real hope that the Reds can finally break their title drought.
