City 5/6 Reds 23/10 United 6/1 Thats how Paddy Powers see it and I can't really argue with it. United is the right game for us next too arrest the slump please god.
I'd be far from a shit the bed person about United and they're miles behind the standard set by Liverpool and City for the last 3 years. I would have been quite bullish about this til quite recently. Unfortunately so are Liverpool currently. Can't see where a goal is coming from never mind a win the way we played the last 3 matches. It's so 1 paced City have dropped a level as well and have not replaced their key players particularly well The big difference hopefully will be the influence of the managers at key times. United's back 6 is bang average but they're all fit and mostly good enough to cope with what they're up against. City could give them the run around mid week but they don't face that very often
Our fixture list looks relentless, the games just keep coming. With Utd they have an extra 2 this month, probably 3 based on expected FA Cup results. Should they progress and we lose they will have a minimum of an extra 2 games in February with Europa league coming into play. They just aren't serious contenders, they are more reliant on the same bunch of players than we are and the schedule is too punishing. City are the big threat, Pep always plays his first in the cups, if he does that again they're screwed too, just too many games. The last few weeks have been rough but 2 points dropped isn't the catastrophe it was 2 years ago, its nearly the norm now.
That's all sound logic but it's starting to look like last season's logic. No matter whether we've had a short or a decent turnaround period we have thrown in lethargic performances this season. Looks like lads who are past it even though majority should be at their peak
Jota was a the shot in the arm this team Needed this season to freshen things up attacking wise. Playing him in a meaningless games and picking up a 3 month lay off has had a major impact. Origi can’t be trusted and even though Minamino was great and sharp against Palace we have not seen him since. it’s madness for teams to be written into the race and out of it on a weekly basis. City were slightly under the radar but the good thing when the table being so tight is that these teams all have to play each out and will take points. It’s not that scenario of two years ago where every point dropped from January on us monumental. If the CB situation is sorted and Jota comes back early Feb, I’d still have LFC favs. If continue to play Philips, Williams, Henderson on a rotating basis teams will exploit that.
I think I roll this stat out every year: Since the PL began, only twice have the champions come from outside the previous seasons top 3...Leicester in 2016 and Chelsea the follwing season. That's 2 out of 28 times. Only 6 other times have they come from outside the top 2. Log on to your favourite betting site and put your house on this because I have run those numbers through the most advanced predicitve analytics software that money can buy and I can reveal the winners this season will be... *Dun Dun DUUUUN!* Spoiler Liverpool or Man City. You're welcome.
Would people see finishing 2nd in the PL with winning the FA cup or CL as being a successful one ? Just curious.
2nd and winning CL most definitely yes. 2nd and FA cup win is a no. Just shows how far we've come. 5 years down the line and we could be crying out for 2nd spot and an FA cup.
Yes an FA cup would still be a successful season, you need the context of an era to judge a team and a CL, PL and FA cup in three seasons just puts another little bit of silverware beside a team that will hopefully be considered one for the ages when considered fully with the context of time.
FA cup alone would be a disappointment for me considering the strength of this squad and the level we’ve been at recently anything less than 1 of the big 2 trophies and I’m feeling short changed
Unless we have an actual senior cb fit rest of season, I think league might be pushing it. But I feel Europe is our best bet for the big one. I really hope we go far on fa Cup.
I think we could still win the league with the CB's we have available. The European Cup is an impossibility if Williams or Phillips have to play any of the games.
So we can't regularly beat the weaker teams in the PL because of a weakness at centre back but we can beat the best teams in Europe? I think our current weaknesses will be exploited much more against better opposition but hopefully in a few weeks the lethargy in our play will have gone and we will be a much more potent attacking threat which will go someway to nullifying the oppositions ability to get at us.
They might get away with fab and matip in the CL but any other CB combination involving hendo, williams, phillips and they'll be found out.
Soley on the basis we raise our games for the bigger games. That's my reason for the Europe. Unless we sort our away form in league, it will be extremely difficult
The biggest downward swing in premier league points totals between seasons was 11, it's pretty much nailed on to be more this season which would mean 87 points or less. The lowest premier league points total was 75, I reckon it'll be closer to that and genuinely wouldn't be surprised if it was lower. It's an exceptional season but whoever eventually wins it won't have to do anything exceptional to win it. I thought spurs were out of it when they lost at anfield but they're right back in it now.