Brendan Rodgers takes his Liverpool side to Southampton on Sunday to play what could turn out to be a crucial game in the Reds’ season.
The race for the Premier League top four is wide open, as no team has yet provided a mark of authority.
The financials involved next campaign mean the importance of securing a place amongst Europe’s elite is ever increasing.
For worries of being left behind alone, Liverpool must somehow recover their horrific start to the season and finish in one of those four spots at the top of the league.
Ronald Koeman has impressed many fans, players and managers alike. He’s entered Southampton after a period of squad loss and, unbelievably, made them even more competitive.
He deserves plaudits for that, as Liverpool are proof it can take time for new players to bed in, even those that only came from the South coast.
Brendan Rodgers also deserves praise. He’s turned this Liverpool team into something that CAN qualify for the Champions League – a feat that looked so unlikely in the first months of the season.
Having lost only 2 games in 22, the Reds are firmly in a good moment, and if they can continue that until the season’s end, they have a real chance.
If not though, then they do have a back up. A tournament they’re in by failing miserably in the Champions League. The Europa League needs to be taken seriously.
On Thursday Liverpool begin the second half of their European campaign, at home to Besiktas. There’s no doubt that the Reds have a great chance to continue their excellent form, that’s reflected at Sportytrader who’ve got Liverpool to win at 8/13 with William Hill.
The Turkish side are in fairly decent form (W3, D1, L1 in their last 5) and can’t be underestimated. Everyone saw how closely they ran Arsenal in a Champions League qualifier and they currently sit top of the Süper Lig.
While the focus of many is on Sunday, the game that precedes that one must carry equal priority.
In just 8 matches (4 x 2 legged ties), the Reds could be in Warsaw for the final, the winners of which now take a Champions League spot!
Squad rotation has been a real issue for Rodgers this season, partly because of injury but also partly because he currently has players he can trust and doesn’t fancy mixing it up any time soon, understandably.
This will now be key over the next few months however. How to take all 3 competitions Liverpool are left in with equal seriousness?
It’s a question I can’t answer, and thankfully one I’m not relied upon to answer. It needs to happen though.
Over the last game or two I’ve noticed tired legs, Coutinho with two of them. Having players missing doesn’t help either. Sturridge is now back and still working towards full fitness, but Sterling, Gerrard and Lucas are all currently unavailable – a big, important chunk of the squad.
I firmly believe, one way or another, Brendan Rodgers can get us into the Champions League next year. It’s no easy task but it wasn’t back in October and we’ve come on since then.
He needs a full squad to pick from though, and he needs to rotate well. My one reservation is whether we have the strength in depth to properly switch players and not see depletion in quality.
Both games this week come at a time where the team is on top of their problems. It’s time to go and prove once again, like we must every week from now on, that the dreadful few months we had was nothing more than a pothole in the road.
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Keep track of Liverpool’s scores throughout the next few days – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/live-football-soccer-livescore/id518999768?mt=8
