Having invested so much money into his squad in the last 12 months, Jurgen Klopp believes that now is the time for Liverpool to make a real push for the Premier League title.
The Reds fell a massive 25 points short of Manchester City last season and that is a huge gap to try to overhaul but having added the likes of Alisson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xheridan Shaqiri to his squad, Klopp will be hoping that his side can get off to a fast start and put pressure on the reigning champions.
Liverpool’s first league game of the season is a home clash against West Ham United, a side who have had some pretty good results at Anfield in recent years, although did suffer a heavy defeat when they last visited the Red half of Merseyside.
Premier League betting odds suggest that Liverpool are big favourites for the game, and with the firepower they possess, it’s clear to see why. In Mohamed Salah, who has just been shortlisted for the prestigious Best FIFA Mens’ Player of the Year award, the Reds have the man who has scored more goals in a 38 game Premier League season than anybody else in history, and he’ll be hungry to hit the ground running after he was forced out of the Champions League final with an injury.
Whilst most Liverpool fans will be hoping for a repeat of the 4-1 victory that the Reds had over the Hammers in February, as goals from Emre Can, Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane earned Klopp’s side a well-deserved three points.
However, the West Ham from that game are much different than the West Ham of today. Manuel Pellegrini has taken over as the club’s manager and like Klopp, he’s been backed by his owners, who’ve allowed him to sign the likes of Felipe Anderson and Jack Wilshere.
Nobody quite knows what to expect from the Hammers but they will certainly have more quality on the pitch than they did last time they played at Anfield and as such, they’ll be keen to give a good account of themselves.
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