Liverpool clinched the Carabao Cup on Sunday keeping alive their hopes of completing a quadruple trophy haul.
Gary Neville thinks that Liverpool have a genuine chance of finishing the season as Premier League champions because of Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds bagged their first trophy of the season by defeating Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. Klopp’s side will be back on the pitch for the FA Cup fifth round against Southampton on Wednesday night and have also been tipped to win the Europa League.
However, the main goal is the Premier League title, with Liverpool currently leading the table by a point from Manchester City and two ahead of Arsenal. Klopp’s departure this summer could be marked with a fitting farewell if they secure the title, and Neville believes having the German still in charge could be crucial for the Reds in the season’s final weeks.
On his Sky Sports podcast, he said: “If Liverpool didn’t have Klopp as a manager, I would say that might be as good as it gets. But with it being his last few months, and the energy and the spirit, you just know what’s going to happen there. I still don’t think Liverpool will win the league. But it could [happen].”
Neville previously discussed Liverpool’s chances in the Premier League title race after they lost to Arsenal. Speaking on Sky Sports after the game he said: “The (Arsenal) celebrations at the end I don’t think were of a team that thought it was going to go on and win the title. I think they were of a team that didn’t want to be out of a title race, and that was the relief that we saw at the end.
“I think Arsenal, when I watch it, is a better team than Liverpool but I think Liverpool is a more ruthless team, it is more ruthless in the final third. And I think that could just cost Arsenal in the end, and that’s me having said at the start of the season I thought Arsenal would win the league. But there’s still so many signs, so many examples, of Arsenal not having that killer instinct in the final part of the pitch that I think at some point in the last part of this season it’s going to hurt it.
“So for me it is a really well-coached team, its system is good, its way of playing is good, but just that real important last bit [is missing]. Liverpool has got Jota, Salah, Gakpo, Diaz, it has got so much threat Liverpool. And I think that, in the end, will just be a problem.”
Liverpool are looking to strengthen their title chances this weekend as the fixtures continue to pile up for Klopp’s side. After a face-off with Southampton in the FA Cup, the Reds play Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Elsewhere, Manchester City will be up against rivals Manchester United, while Arsenal travels to struggling Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
