“I think Liverpool will slip out of the top four.”
Manchester City are 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with 13 games remaining. Pep Guardiola’s team will be champions, unless they suffer one of the most dramatic collapses in the history of sport. So, the focus for the chasing pack has inevitably shifted towards securing a place in the top four, as well as doing well in Europe.
Manchester United are currently second with 53 points, three points ahead of Liverpool in third, who are above Chelsea thanks to goal difference. Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over United moved them to within two points of Antonio Conte’s side, while Arsenal are in sixth place with 42 points.
He's not wrong https://t.co/M9n6qQx43Z
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 31, 2018
It looks like the race to finish in the top four will last until the final game of the season, and two Premier League legends have predicted a difficult end to the season for Liverpool, (and Arsenal). Jurgen Klopp’s side are currently third, but Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand have both said that they will miss out on automatic qualification for the Champions League.
“Man City, Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham,” Lampard said on BT Sport, when asked to predict the top four at the end of the season, based on the business each club in the top six completed during the transfer window.
“Liverpool defensively still haven’t dealt with their weaknesses. They are great going forward, but they’ve lost Coutinho as well.”
“I’ll go with Man City, Man United, Spurs and I’ll put Chelsea in,” Ferdinand said, before claiming that the brilliance of Eden Hazard will prove the difference for Chelsea when it comes to securing a place in the top four.
“The Hazard effect – if he continues to perform and he stays fit, then he carries them into the top four. I think Liverpool will slip out of the top four. Defensively, like Frank said, they’re not strong enough. Going forward, they’re fantastic and great to watch.”
You can watch Ferdinand and Lampard here:
🤔 Liverpool
🤔 Man Utd
🤔 Arsenal
🤔 Chelsea
🤔 SpursFive teams fighting for the other three places in the top four…
Frank Lampard, @rioferdy5 and @Redknapp lock in their picks 🍿 pic.twitter.com/LP5mmDGIav
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 1, 2018
