š“ EOTK Insider Opinion: Liverpool's biggest hurdle won't be City, Chelsea and co. š§
Liverpool will be happy with the title of underdogs
A new season, as of yet unblemished by controversy or poor performance, lies ahead of us.
In a matter of a few hours, at the time of writing, Liverpool will take on Daniel Farkeās promoted Norwich City outfit.
Though it would seem that some have already written off the Reds before a ball has been kicked, sharing their affections with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.
As Jurgen Klopp rightly pointed out with his girlfriend anecdote on Sky Sports, however, Liverpool canāt afford to spend all their time closely watching their rivalsā actions in the transfer market.
More to the point, they shouldnāt, as the club is already in possession of a world-class starting-XI more than capable of meeting the challenge posed by any of Europeās heavyweights.
That being said, as ever, the main concern with regard to the upcoming campaign revolves around the prospect of injuries.
We saw a hint of the spectre that ruthlessly hounded us last term with Andy Robertsonās injury suffered in the pre-season clash with Osasuna, though it has thankfully yet to rear its head once more since.
As the 2020/21 campaign clearly demonstrated, Liverpoolās biggest challenger wonāt be the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, or further afield, Paris St. Germain, and so on and so forth. No matter whoever else they manage to bring in before the window closes.
Certainly, if any caught Thomas Tuchelās presser comments ahead of Chelseaās impending clash with Crystal Palace, it seems very much that Liverpool remain the team to beat, despite BBC Sportās pundits backing both the Blues and City en masse for the title.
Perhaps it is arrogant to welcome the narrative voiced by the former PSG boss but Liverpool have hardly reached the end of their cycle.
It was not a squad beyond its prime that felled Jurgen Kloppās men but the loss of key personnel, most notably Virgil van Dijk. How can we forget about the damage to the midfield, with Fabinho forced to deputise in the backline at the cost of what would later turn out to be a remarkable partnership forged in the middle of the park with summer signing Thiago Alcantara?
Make no mistake, if we fail to bring in a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum this summer, the midfield will be a site for serious transfer activity the next year.
We also have to take into account the forward line, with all three of our prestigious attacking trio entering their 30s at various points in the season.
For now, however, Liverpool possesses one of the most complete, frightening starting-XIs in world football.
While an injury-stricken prior term has undoubtedly stuck firmer in the memory than two successive trophy-laden campaigns, in which Kloppās men secured domestic footballās two biggest trophies, for pundits, we shouldnāt let such opinions be a breeding ground for negativity.
When it comes down to it, struggling for a top four spot wonāt be all we can hope for if our strongest options in the squad can stay fit for the majority of the season.
Thomas Tuchel knows the score but it will suit us just fine to be downplayed and underestimated by most ahead of the season proper.
If our best years under Klopp have taught us anything, itās that our opponentsā complacency - if they are willing to adopt the narrative currently favoured by pundits - will be ruthlessly exposed by this Liverpool side.
If youāre of fan of this kind of content, all completelyĀ ad-free, then feel free to hit the subscribe button below and become an EOTK Insider. Dig into exclusive tidbits reserved only for our subscribers!