da bet7k： After Liverpool’s crushing victory against Chelsea, the Reds were installed as the new second favourites for the title, behind Manchester City. This despite starting the season as sixth favourites.
da blaze casino： That clearly shows how impressive Liverpool have looked so far this season and the bookies have sat up and taken notice.
Jurgen Klopp has got his side playing free flowing football and they’ve scored more goals than any other Premier League side since the German arrived at Anfield.
However, the Merseysiders were held to a stalemate against Manchester United on Monday night as the Red Devils stifled the Liverpool attackers and only allowed two shots on target during the 90 minutes.
In fact, the best chance of the game actually fell to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who could’ve given United an unlikely victory.
Klopp was one of the first to accept that the performance was not up to scratch but it doesn’t undo the good work they’ve done so far this season.
However, he does have a few questions to answer before their impending clash with West Brom this weekend.
Should he start misfiring Daniel Sturridge?
Sturridge started the game against Manchester United and flopped heavily. His first touch was off the required standard and he didn’t get involved in any interplay with Liverpool’s attacking trio.
The pacey England striker is yet to replicate the form he showed during the 2013/14 season under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, when Liverpool narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City.
That season, he Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling formed an exceptional partnership that resulted in an abundance of goals.
However, frequent niggling injuries have tempered his success since and the question marks just get bigger and bigger regarding his place in the squad.
The very capable and willing Divock Origi sits on the bench most games and will believe he can do better.
Who should be the goalkeeper?
Liverpool have two goalkeepers challenging for the No.1 spot and neither is doing very much to keep the other one out of goal.
Summer signing Loris Karius has featured in the recent matches against Swansea City and Manchester United and looked very uneasy in both clashes.
Claiming crosses and corners appears to be a real sticking point for the German but his Belgian competitor doesn’t fair much better in that regard.
Mignolet has long been seen as a’ keeper who can make a great save here or there but in terms of demanding authority and controlling his area, he simply doesn’t tick the boxes.
One of these two needs a good run of form to show Klopp he’s a right man to guard the Liverpool goal.
Can the defence deal with Rondon?
Before United visited on Monday evening the question was posed: Could Liverpool’s defence deal with the power and aerial ability of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
They most certainly could.
Apart from the one glaring opportunity for the Swede, Liverpool’s back four were relatively untroubled by United’s attack so if they extinguished the doubts against United, why should they come back for West Brom?
Well, Salomon Rondon has been in fine form for the Baggies this season and West Brom’s football is likely to be even more direct than United’s.
Whilst Matip and co dealt with everything United threw at them, the arrival of West Brom brings fresh new doubt into the heads of spectators and Liverpool will need to show they can deal with it from the off.
Should Emre Can keep his place?
Emre Can hasn’t been in the Liverpool starting XI very often this season, regularly overlooked for other midfield options such as Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana and summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum.
However, the United game came too soon for Lallana and Wijnaldum, who had both suffered injuries, which gave Can a chance to show what he was capable of.
Whilst the United defence was rarely troubled, from a defensive perspective, Can performed admirably and kept United at bay.
Additionally, he was one of the few Liverpool players who really tested David De Gea after some fancy footwork in the box.
Whilst Lallana and Wijnaldum are getting back to full fitness and challenging for a spot in the first team, the question remains, does Can deserve to keep his place?