I expect them to compete very strongly to finish top four and I wouldn't be surprised if they make it, but right now their performances remind me of our brilliant winning streak under Harry when all of VdV, Parker, Modric, Bale, Ade etc were on fire in the first half of the season. The problem was that while we looked great on the counter, we had little control in midfield half the time and got absolutely ripped to pieces by teams like Fulham.
Liverpool right now are conceding too many shots on goal while relying on their quality forward players to yank them out of it. It can yield you an amazing run of results for a period, but it's not a long term solution over the course of a season imo. Right now I think Chelsea and City are still showing the sort of performances that tell me they will finish very strongly, even if they're not quite clicking at the moment and conceding stupid goals. Even Arsenal are looking strangely loose in midfield - for a Wenger team, getting out-passed by Stoke is incredible - but it may well be purposeful since they're so good on the counter.
With us, it's hard to say since we've so little cover in defense (so, say, an injury to Verts ocould be disastrous) but we still have our record signing yet to come in.
Liverpool right now are conceding too many shots on goal while relying on their quality forward players to yank them out of it. It can yield you an amazing run of results for a period, but it's not a long term solution over the course of a season imo. Right now I think Chelsea and City are still showing the sort of performances that tell me they will finish very strongly, even if they're not quite clicking at the moment and conceding stupid goals. Even Arsenal are looking strangely loose in midfield - for a Wenger team, getting out-passed by Stoke is incredible - but it may well be purposeful since they're so good on the counter.
With us, it's hard to say since we've so little cover in defense (so, say, an injury to Verts ocould be disastrous) but we still have our record signing yet to come in.