John Aldridge, speaking exclusively to 888sport, has claimed Liverpool have a clear advantage over their title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City due to the sheer wealth of attacking options Jurgen Klopp’s team is blessed with.
“Liverpool have options whereas their title rivals don’t. You look at their goal-scorers and it’s across five players and that’s without Daniel Sturridge getting a run of games and scoring regularly, which he’s well capable of doing. Mane is scoring goals, Firmino and Lallana, then there’s Coutinho to come back strong. If we can keep Sturridge fit and on the pitch there are plenty of options.”
Not that the Reds legend believes winning their first league championship for over 25 years will be easy.
“It’s going to be tough because Chelsea have raised the bar and City have slipped up quite a bit but they’ll come back strong. But certainly the way Liverpool went about it to get the three points at Goodison showed great character.”
Spirit is evidently strong in the Merseyside camp this term and its such character that has helped them overcome key injuries to key players. Again it’s a trait Aldridge is sure will help them maintain a title challenge and even ultimately prevail.
“Other teams rely on their best players. Chelsea have a very good team but if they were without Hazard or Costa you’d like to see how they’d fare without them. The same goes for City with De Bruyne and Aguero. Liverpool have actually managed without Coutinho and Sturridge.”
Read the full 888sport interview with John Aldridge, including his thoughts on Liverpool’s defensive frailties and how Karius will bounce back