There was one point in the season when we all thought that this was going to be another one horse race, with City comfortably cruising home. Thankfully though, Liverpool have rejuvenated this title race, now only one point behind the reigning champions, leaving everyone pondering whether or not they can come back and take the title out of City’s hands. At the end of gameweek 22, Manchester City were 8 points clear of Liverpool and well on their way to winning the league… again. We’re now heading into gameweek 30 and it’s really starting to heat up, with 1 point separating the teams and an all important clash between them aswell. Recent form has not been on City’s side. It’s quite evident that City have fumbled slightly, dropping points to both Southampton and most recently, Crystal Palace, the latter getting the better of City for a successive fixture in a row, perhaps becoming their bogey team. This has not only given Liverpool some confidence, but it’s also given them an opening, and by Jove they’ve pounced on it.

In terms of individual influences, I don’t think it gets any better than having Mo Salah, the top goal scorer, Diogo Jota, joint second top goal scorer and also Sadio Mane, joint third top scorer. If that isn’t enough, The 3 top assist makers also play for the Merseyside giants. Trent tops that list, with fellow full back Andy Robertson and talisman Mo Salah close seconds. When it comes to Manchester City, there aren’t as many standout performers. Obviously you’ve got the likes of João Cancelo and Kevin De Bruyne, but of course there’s been less quality individual performances throughout the season than there is in the Liverpool squad. It is worth noting that Pep does likes to rotate his squad quite a lot so game time is reduced. For example, Riyad Mahrez has played over 1000 more minutes than Sadio mane, despite coming back considerably earlier than Sadio from AFCON. There’s always been one notable point about Manchester City’s star studded line up since Aguero left, and that is of course their lack of an out and out striker. That has so far not only raised to be a problem within matches, but it may pose a psychological factor, knowing they do not have a proper centre forward, which we saw a great example of, with the recent 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, with so many big chances going to waste. This will definitely have an impact on City’s chances of retaining that advantage throughout the duration of what’s left of this season

Before I end, I think it’s worthwhile talking about the crunch game between the two teams in question. That game is crucial in deciding who has an advantage over the other, heading into the final games. The victor will essentially have the title in their hands, and the loser will be left to rely on the outcome of other games, which of course is not the position you want to be in if you are chasing the title. Ultimately, that game will be a huge factor in who will end up being crowned champions of the Premier League once more.

The stats are on their side, the form is on their side, a bit of luck and Liverpool is on their way to glory, so referring back to the original question, yes I think Liverpool can definitely pull this off.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I’d be really interested to know what you think the outcome will be, so feel free to leave a comment.