Life is good for Liverpool fans as they sit back to enjoy the November international break.
Having won 15 out of 17 games this season, the Reds are top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables.
Few had predicted such a good start to the campaign for Liverpool following Arne Slot’s arrival to replace Jurgen Klopp.
However, with potential Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal stumbling of late, the Reds have stolen a march to sit five points clear at the top.
Slot has used his Liverpool squad smartly while also dealing with a number of significant injury problems.
And while assessing the quality the Liverpool head coach has at his disposal, Jamie Carragher has claimed that the Reds have a big advantage over Man City.
Jamie Carragher claims Liverpool advantage
If very few Liverpool fans would have seen their start to the season coming, then perhaps even fewer would have predicted City to fall off in such a way.
Despite that, Liverpool will still be very wary of Pep Guardiola’s team. They’ve been stung far too many times not to be.
City have struggled with injuries, though, and with Rodri not returning until next term, Carragher told The Overlap that Liverpool’s better fitness record under Slot can mean that the Dutchman is actually able to call on a deeper squad than Guardiola.
“The injuries Liverpool had last season were off the scale, remember the Carabao Cup final when there were kids coming on and there was constant change,” Carragher began.
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“But I think because of the way the new guy plays, it’s not as end to end or as intense, less players are actually getting injured – touch wood.
“So, when you look at Liverpool’s squad, I would always say Man City have the best team and 18, I would say, but Liverpool have the best 22.
“There are five forwards who probably all think they should play,” added the Liverpool legend. “They have decent back-up in positions so in terms of not bringing someone in hasn’t really hurt, because they are not getting the injuries they were last season.”
Do Liverpool have a better squad than Man City?
Some supporters will perhaps scoff at the idea that Liverpool’s group of players is better than City’s expensively assembled all-stars.
However, when you consider that Guardiola has been playing 19-year-old Jahmai Simpson-Pusey at centre-back for the past two games, you realise that Carragher’s claim isn’t so outlandish.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 23 |
| 3 |  ChelseaChelsea | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 19 |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 19 |
Slot clearly looks at the Liverpool squad through the lens of having two good players for every position.
As a result, while there is a drop in quality in certain areas, that means you know exactly who is the back-up for every spot on the pitch.
Injuries can of course wreak havoc with that, and maybe they still will for Liverpool, but while there are a good 18 or 19 available, the Reds do look very strong indeed.
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