Football pundit Alan Shearer tips Liverpool to go the distance in the Premier League title race this season

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer predicted that Liverpool would compete for the Premier League title until the end. The Reds are currently at the top of the Premier League table, three points clear of second place Aston Villa.

Nevertheless, the title race is very competitive this season with only six points separating the top five clubs. At the same time, Manchester City have a game in hand as they currently lie third with 40 points.

The blue half of Manchester have earned a reputation for gaining winning streaks at the latter end of the seasons. Last season, Arsenal enjoyed an eight-point lead over the Citizens in early April yet finished five points behind City.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are competing for every trophy, having progressed in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup. The ambition has also added more fixtures for the Reds to deal with and their success hid their injury crisis.

Liverpool’s defence has lost Joel Matip for the whole season while Andy Robertson will return in January. An injury to Kostas Tsimikas against Arsenal leaves the Reds with versatile defender Joe Gomez as the only left-back option.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast (h/t Mirror), Shearer revealed that Liverpool are strong enough to go the distance. He said:

“There is no doubt about it, they are going the distance. They will be right up there come the last weekend of the season. They are a really good team. [Virgil] Van Dijk is back to his best, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is having a great time, they have an unbelievable goalkeeper and when you have the brilliance of Mo Salah, you have every chance. They have game-changers who can do that coming off the bench, they have so many options.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp replaced the old guards in midfield with fresh new faces during the summer. The German had already signed Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez to freshen up the attack in the previous season’s window.

Despite pending signings for the defence and certain positions, the Reds have shown a steep rise back to the top. Their success has surprised many football pundits and fans who expected Liverpool to compete for a top-four finish.

The resurgence of Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has played a key role in shoring up the defence. Furthermore, Klopp has used vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold more centrally, unlocking his ability to dominate games as a playmaker.

Mohamed Salah has continued his success as the main contributor to goals and assists despite playing a different role. The Egypt captain has relied more on creativity and link-ups than his dribbling and pace. However, Salah will miss a lot of important fixtures while representing his country during the AFCON competition.

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• Jamie Carragher outlines two ‘interesting’ players who can fill in for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool

The Reds are facing a tricky time ahead with the unavailability of Salah and in-form Japan captain Wataru Endo. The rest of the squad needs to rally together and make up for the void until they return. Liverpool have shown impressive togetherness and cohesion despite uncontrollable adversities like an injury crisis, international tournaments and poor officiating.