{"id":323430,"date":"2018-12-26T06:16:28","date_gmt":"2018-12-26T11:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=323430"},"modified":"2018-12-26T06:26:09","modified_gmt":"2018-12-26T11:26:09","slug":"liverpool-can-win-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2018\/12\/26\/liverpool-can-win-premier-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Jurgen Klopp Lead Liverpool to the Premier League Title?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Can <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/feeds\/liverpoolfootball-co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Liverpool<\/a> win the Premier League? The optimism among their fans following <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/clubs\/crystal-palace\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Crystal Palace\u2019s<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/b28bbd58\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andros Townsend<\/a>-inspired miracle at the Ethiad is understandable. <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/feeds\/manchestercityfootball-co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manchester City\u2019s<\/a> surprise defeat put the Merseysiders four points in front. Liverpool are top of the table at Christmas, which is a bit of a mixed omen. Over the past ten seasons, the leaders on December 25 have gone on to win the league on eight occasions. The two times they\u2019ve failed were both Liverpool, in 2008\/09 and 2013\/14.<\/p>\n<h1>Can Jurgen Klopp Lead Liverpool to the Premier League Title?<\/h1>\n<p>Let\u2019s assume that the top two teams do not drop any more points in December. If that happens then the marquee clash in the first week of 2019 may have major consequences. A City win would put them just a point behind Liverpool. A draw would be a terrific result for the Reds. A win for them would mean a cushion of seven points and a wave of positivity difficult to pull back. \u00a0Of course, all this is conjecture. Liverpool have two home games against <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/clubs\/newcastle-united\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newcastle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/feeds\/arsenalfootball-co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Arsenal<\/a> before then, while Manchester City are away to <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/clubs\/leicester-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leicester<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/clubs\/southampton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Southampton<\/a>. Also, as we saw in the City v Palace game, the Premier League is full of surprises.<\/p>\n<p>So, can Liverpool do it? It\u2019s too early to significantly tell but the signs are all right. The pessimist may point out to the absence of <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/7a11550b\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Gomez<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/b217ef29\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Matip<\/a> until what could be the end of January. It\u2019s a fair point, as an injury to any of the current centre-backs, especially the exceptional <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/e06683ca\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Virgil van Dijk<\/a>, could mean trouble. On the other hand, if both are fit when the others return, Liverpool will have high-quality cover for a defense that is easily the best in the league.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s their midfield, however, that could hold the key to glory. Fabinho and <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/f25c8e3a\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Naby Keita<\/a> are settling in and with <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/eb58eef0\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Georginio Wijnaldum<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/935e6b8f\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Henderson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/2f90f6b8\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Milner<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/99813635\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Lallana<\/a> &#8211; there are an abundance of excellent options. It also helps that players like Fabinho and Milner can play in multiple positions.<\/p>\n<p>As for their attack, the thrilling triumvirate has still not hit the heights of last season. <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/e342ad68\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mohamed Salah<\/a>, for all his recent form, can probably still do better, as can <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/c691bfe2\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sadio Mane<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/4c370d81\/?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roberto Firmino<\/a> is playing a different position but even he should perhaps be putting out better numbers. It\u2019s not a criticism. The potential of them hitting their straps as individuals and as a collective unit is a thrilling prospect for the Reds\u2019 fan and the neutral.<\/p>\n<p>So, to answer the question at the beginning, Liverpool can win the League. So can Manchester City, owing to their obvious quality. The excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/feeds\/tottenhamfootball-co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spurs<\/a>, who for some reason no one is talking about, are by no means out of the question, however.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"rC8ZyrVVToJdZyF366G3bw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1074661766\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'rC8ZyrVVToJdZyF366G3bw',sig:'7xhi78NsS4rTUCK33RIVHJyrz4r8vTd7Rz9oQmd6O-Y=',w:'594px',h:'388px',items:'1074661766',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can Liverpool win the Premier League? The optimism among their fans following Crystal Palace\u2019s Andros Townsend-inspired miracle at the Ethiad is understandable. Manchester City\u2019s surprise defeat put the Merseysiders four points in front. Liverpool are top of the table at Christmas, which is a bit of a mixed omen. Over the past ten seasons, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2860,"featured_media":325000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[126,95,100,40,96,136],"class_list":["post-323430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liverpool","category-premier-league","tag-jurgen-klopp","tag-liverpool","tag-manchester-city","tag-premier-league","tag-tottenham-hotspur","tag-world-football"],"modified_by":"Nat Goodlad, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2860"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}