The only Premier League table that ultimately matters is the one at the close of play on the final day of the season, but as September turns to October with six matchdays completed by the end of the month, Liverpool couldn’t ask for any more than to be top of the pile.
Only a shock defeat to Nottingham Forest has deprived Arne Slot of a perfect start to his first campaign in charge after replacing the legendary Jurgen Klopp, and while Manchester City and Arsenal both remain unbeaten, two draws for each has left them looking up at the pace-setting Reds.
Will we begin to see confident LFC fans flocking to non gamstop sites to back their team to emulate the class of 2019/20, or is it still too soon to classify them as genuine contenders?
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Are Liverpool genuine Premier League title contenders?
Extrapolated over a full season, Liverpool’s current points tally would leave them with 95, which even during City’s era of dominance would very likely be enough to clinch the title.
One caveat to the Reds’ current placing is that they’ve met none of last term’s top seven and only one of the top 11 in 2023/24, and aside from possibly the victorious visit to Manchester United, Slot would’ve been fully expected to win every other game he’s had so far in the Premier League.
The thoroughly deserved home defeat to Forest offered a reality check, although LFC’s response in winning four successive matches in all competitions since then bodes well for the squad’s capacity to recover from setbacks.
A truer test of Liverpool’s potential title-winning mettle will come in the weeks after the October international break, with home games against a resurgent Chelsea, the always difficult Brighton, high-flying Aston Villa and champions City, along with visits to Arsenal, Newcastle and Everton.
If the Reds can come through each of those and still occupy first place, then they’d surely have to be considered as potential trophy winners.
Will the injury gods be kind to Liverpool?
Another crucial factor could be how Slot copes with injury absences. He’s seen last season’s top two both deprived of key players already this term, with Martin Odegaard currently sidelined for Arsenal and City colossus Rodri being ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL.
Injuries ultimately caught up with Liverpool in the latter weeks of Klopp’s final campaign in charge, and while LFC have been relatively fortunate on that front lately, how the Dutchman manages his squad will be pivotal to their hopes of claiming the Premier League title.
Liverpool fans who’ve become accustomed to City hitting the turbo after the New Year won’t be getting overly excited about their prospects of becoming champions just yet, but so far Slot has answered all but one of the tests which have been put in front of him.
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