Micah Richards has dismissed Liverpool as genuine Premier League title contenders this season, believing it to be a two-horse race between Manchester City and Arsenal.
That duo meet at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon, with the table-topping Gunners a point ahead of the home side, although the Reds have the chance to knock them off the summit if they avoid defeat against Brighton earlier in the day.
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With the top three currently separated by just one point with 10 matches remaining, they can all realistically aspire to end the campaign as champions, although the Sky Sports pundit can’t see Jurgen Klopp signing off from Anfield with the top-flight trophy.
When asked on the Rest is Football Podcast if he feels Liverpool could win the title, Richards promptly replied: “No, they’re not going to win the league. I think it’s Man City or Arsenal. I think Man City will win the league, [but] it depends what happens on Sunday. If Arsenal go to the Etihad and win…”
At this juncture of the season, it’d be very foolish to write off Liverpool’s hopes of triumphing in the Premier League title race.
Only goal difference is keeping the Reds off the summit as of now, while they’ve suffered fewer defeats than either Arsenal or City and also shown a resilience which suggests that they have the stomach to give Klopp a glorious send-off in May.
From the numerous occasions that we’ve recovered from losing positions to emerge victorious, to coming up with dramatic late winners such as Darwin Nunez at Nottingham Forest earlier this month, there’s a defiance and determination about LFC which gives them every chance of dethroning Pep Guardiola’s side.
Liverpool still have several tricky hurdles to negotiate during the title run-in, starting with today’s clash against a Brighton side who haven’t lost at Anfield since 2019 and also taking in trips to Old Trafford, Goodison Park and Villa Park.
Right now, though, the Reds have to be taken seriously as contenders to win the Premier League. Given that we’ve so often been in the mix under Klopp, it seems peculiar that Richards is so emphatically writing us off, but we all know that the best response to that would be…!
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