Former Newcastle and Tottenham forwards Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe have predicted where Liverpool will finish in the Premier League table.
The Reds’ title chances were given an unlikely boost last night, as Arsenal surprisingly went down 2-0 to West Ham United at the Emirates.
That loss keeps Liverpool top of the pile for the New Year. After 19 games, they sit two points ahead of the Gunners.
But asked for their final top four predictions by Amazon Prime Video Sport on Thursday evening, neither Defoe nor Shearer thought Jurgen Klopp’s side will stay there.
“City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Villa,” said Shearer. “I wanted to put Newcastle in but I can’t!”
Meanwhile, Defoe ignored his fellow pundit’s reservations and put his own team high in the standings. “City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal,” said the Spurs legend. We shall see.
It’s fascinating how things can turn so quickly in football. Prior to yesterday’s game, you’d still imagine that these same pundits would be backing Arsenal to finish ahead of Liverpool.
But following the Gunners’ loss against West Ham, they’re now seen as only third favourites for the league.
For us, it’s still a little early to judge exactly where the cards will fall.
However, based on last night’s result, you can’t see a way in which Arsenal don’t fall off the pace during the New Year.
They were lucky to escape Anfield with a point last week, after Trent Alexander-Arnold spurned the chance to win the game for Liverpool.
But that luck ran out last night. Although they had enough chances to win the game, Mikel Arteta’s side were punished for failing to take them.
West Ham are a very good side it has to be said. But title hopefuls don’t lose 2-0 at home to teams chasing the top six. The damage would even have been worse had Said Benrahma managed to convert a last minute penalty.
As for Manchester City, well they’ll now be just two points behind Liverpool themselves if they win their game in hand. It’s looking ominous in that respect. We can’t argue too much with these predictions, but if it is to be City and Liverpool, it feels like we’re due a win there.
