The English Premier League season starts on August 13th and there is a huge buzz and fanfare for this particular one. The primary reason for the high expectations is the huge quality of managers in the league this season with Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Claudio Ranieri, Arsène Wenger and Jürgen Klopp waiting to butt heads for domestic supremacy.
After losing two Cup finals in the first 8 months of Klopp’s tenure, Liverpool look forward to their first full season under the former Borussia Dortmund coach. In spite of the 8th placed finish last season, there is a real chance for Liverpool to have a go at the title this season due to both external and internal factors.
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Here we take a look at 5 reasons which make Liverpool title contenders for the upcoming season.
#1 A change in mentality
For anyone who has followed the club closely from the time Rafa Benítez left in 2010, Liverpool’s ability to win games from losing situations worsened under Roy Hodgson and especially under Brendan Rodgers. Even during the title fight in 2013-14, Liverpool blew away teams with the attacking prowess of Luis Suárez, Daniel Sturridge, and Raheem Sterling but struggled when the team fell behind.
This was highlighted by the crunch loss to Chelsea at Anfield that sealed their fate. This inability to win games from losing positions was a tell-tale sign throughout Rodgers’ tenure in spite of his constant praise about the character of the team.
The rebuilding of this winning mentality has been one of the biggest takeaways from Jurgen Klopp’s first 8 months in charge of the club. He has instilled the belief in the team to keep fighting till the final whistle in his short time at the club as was fully evident in the 5-4 victory against Norwich at Carrow Road and the comeback win with 10 men against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park which was a first for the club in the PL era.
The crowning display of the team’s ‘never say die’ spirit was the recreation of Istanbul at Anfield in the Europa League quarterfinal against Borussia Dortmund where the Reds needed to score 3 goals in the last half hour and did so in dramatic fashion to progress to the next round.
However, there were a few gutless displays from the side as well such as the capitulations at Watford and Newcastle which showed there was work needed to be done. With a proper pre-season to work on the players and tactics and transfers to modify the squad as required, Klopp can make this team a stronger unit than last season which is crucial to winning the league.
#2 Rivals in a rebuilding phase
There is a major change in the landscape of English football for this coming season with England’s biggest clubs hiring some of the best managers in the game. José Mourinho has taken over from Louis van Gaal at Manchester United and former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola entrusted with the Manchester City project. Further, former Juventus and Italy manager Antonio Conte has arrived at Chelsea. Each of these managers are serial winners at the clubs they have managed so far.
However, every manager needs sufficient amount of time to establish his identity across the team, for the players to embrace the ideas and for all the consecutive training sessions to transform into results. This gives Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool an edge over the rivals in terms of already having a base established to kick on this season as he has stated during this pre-season.
While the rivals work on getting the combinations and tactics right, Liverpool can have a real go at the title from the outset which gives them a better chance for a title win.
#3 A blessing in disguise
A major factor that helped Leicester City script the greatest underdog league victory was having to play only one game per week for most match days owing to their non-qualification for European competitions. This meant the players had seven days between games to recover and plan for the next game without midweek European exertions. This was a major factor as well in Liverpool’s failed title fight in 2013-14 where Liverpool swept aside teams week after week with no midweek fixtures in most weeks.
With Leicester City and Tottenham having the demands of the Champions League to deal with in the coming season, they might face difficulties reaching the highs of last season as they enter relatively unchartered territories. This, in turn, can affect their respective bids for the title.
Liverpool losing the Capital One Cup final and the Europa League final, coupled with finishing 8th in the EPL last season means the Reds have not qualified for European football this season. This gives the Reds an advantage over its title rivals in terms of rest, recovery and preparation for the next game.
Further, the high energy demands of Klopp’s famed “ gegenpressing“ style will be helped by the team playing one game per week for this would allow the team to sustain intensity for the entire game and also reduces the chance of injury. In the end, this could very well prove to be a blessing in disguise for Liverpool to clinch the title.
#4 Depth in squad
Having joined in mid-season last year, this summer transfer window is the first one for Klopp and he has ensured that after the ins and outs, the players he is left with is his team. One of the biggest problem positions of goalkeeper was swiftly resolved at the beginning of transfer window with the arrival of Loris Karius from Mainz to challenge the inconsistent Simon Mignolet. The additions of Sadio Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum address another
The additions of Sadio Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum address another long-standing issue of Liverpool lacking directness and goals from midfield. Further, the transformation of players previously criticized under Brendan Rodgers is another positive point under the German coach.
Summer signing Roberto Firmino came into his own under Klopp with a series of dazzling displays in the second half of the season, heavily criticized Dejan Lovren rejuvenated his career and Emre Can had finally started to show his immense potential in central midfield.
A specially designed mini pre-season for the injury prone Daniel Sturridge in December-January saw him go injury-free in the final months of the season. When fit, he is a truly world-class player. Divock Origi seemed a lost cause until Klopp transformed him into one of the most exciting young player at the moment.
With a multitude of options in attack, having players who can play multiple positions, good competition for places, quality players such as Philippe Coutinho, Firmino, Sturridge among others who can single-handedly win games and a young squad with only new signing Ragnar Klavan and James Milner being of 30 years of age, there is a genuine chance for this side to beat the remaining teams for the title.
#5 Jürgen Klopp
The presence of Jürgen Klopp at the helm for Liverpool is a strong reason in itself to make the Reds title contenders. Known for his title-winning exploits with Borussia Dortmund against the superior Bayern Munich, Klopp is known to build teams which not only play an exciting brand of football but also win trophies. His passion for the game endears him strongly to the Liverpool faithful and he is currently the most recognizable face for the club globally both on and off the pitch.
He is a person who understood the pulse of the club right from the beginning and has built a solid foundation with the available players last season which was evident from marked improvements in almost every player’s game under his tutelage.
His presence at the club ensures Liverpool have a manager with a track record of winning titles, the wit and ability to take on his elite counterparts at rival clubs, make quality additions to the team in spite of not playing in the Champions League and a genuine passion to take the club back to the top.
When it comes to football matters, he is as serious as one can expect with the recent sending of Mamadou Sakho back to Liverpool from the USA tour due to breaking a few team rules another example of the tough man beneath all the wit and charisma. In his first press conference as Liverpool manager last October, he said, “If we sit here in four years I think we'll have won one title - I'm pretty sure.” And this could very well be the season when the long title drought finally ends under Jürgen Klopp’s stewardship.
