It hasn’t been a good couple of days for Liverpool supporters.
Heading into the weekend, the Reds were looking good. Five points clear of both Manchester City and Arsenal and a further three clear of Aston Villa. No sweat.
But following defeat against Arsenal on Sunday and Man City’s win over Brentford last night, the gap is now just two points to both of Liverpool’s nearest challengers.
With Villa also making up ground with a 5-0 win over Sheffield United, things are looking tighter at the top. And speaking via The Standard after City’s win yesterday, Kevin De Bruyne has predicted that the current top five will all be battling for the title.
“There are so many teams there. Liverpool and Arsenal are there with us, but I’d say even [Aston] Villa and Tottenham are close,” De Bruyne insists. “We will be fighting with five for the moment. There’s a little pressure anyway to do well, but there’s no point looking at what’s going to happen in two months.
“We need to win games now and try to enjoy it. We know what we need to do. The pressure is always there, but we’re ready to fight again until the end.”
De Bruyne predicts five-way fight
You have to hand it to De Bruyne, he’s keeping his feet on the ground and staying humble.
But having said that, we don’t think that he actually believes what he’s saying for a second. This title race is at best a three-way fight.
Villa have done exceptionally well to be where they are just now. Unai Emery has turned Villa Park into a fortress and they’ve got some really good players.
However, recent results like the 4-1 home loss against Newcastle suggest that they’re absolutely not title material.
They’ll have European football to deal with once again come March, and we just don’t see them juggling that while sustaining a proper push. For them, top four should be the priority.
The same will be true of Spurs, who have been a little too inconsistent this season. Already seven points behind Liverpool, we don’t see them making up that ground.
As for the Reds and Arsenal, both should be able to maintain their battle with City. Following the weekend’s results, momentum has swung back towards De Bruyne and co. But they’re in for a fight.
When City get into this position towards the final straight of the season, there’s usually no stopping them. Fans of every Premier League team should be praying that this year is different.
A fourth consecutive title win for Pep Guardiola would be terrible news for the competitiveness of the league. It may not be a five-way battle, but three will do.
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