Today’s fixture between Liverpool and Arsenal has been branded a crucial game in terms of where the Premier League title may be heading. But as far as I am concerned Liverpool are out of the race anyway and only Manchester United can stop Arsenal from romping to the title.

With the exception of a routine thrashing of Derby, Rafa Benitez’s side have hardly impressed so far, and whilst Arsene and Sir Alex’s sides have been wowing the crowds with their resolute defending and awesome forward play, the Reds of Anfield have lurched from one average display to the next. Their latest poor performance came at Goodison where, frankly, they deserved to come back with no more than a point. Only a bungling ref preventing David Moyes' side getting something from a game in which they were the better team overall.

I have no qualms about stating here on this website that Liverpool will not beat Arsenal today, and can state with equal confidence that Liverpool will finish way off the top spot. In fact it would not surprise me if, like last season, they finish a good 20 points behind the leaders this time around.

'Nothing less than three wins from their three remaining games will do if they want to avoid the ignominy of even missing out on a UEFA Cup place'


Benitez has spent big over the summer and so far he has very little to show for it. I know Liverpool fans will point out that their side is still unbeaten in the Premier League but they have hardly had much in the way of competition in what has been a pretty easy run of fixtures. At home they have faced Chelsea, admittedly a tough fixture, as well as Birmingham, Derby and Spurs. From those four games they have collected just six points, and two of those four teams are in the relegation zone.

Away from home their form is no better than average. They sneaked past Villa in the first game of the season, beat a very poor Sunderland team, got away with a goalless draw at Portsmouth, and that was only after the home side missed a penalty. They were hardly awesome as they beat Wigan by a single goal and then there was their abysmal display in the Merseyside derby, where they were very fortunate indeed.

In fact all in all, with the exception of the 6-0 thrashing of Billy Davies's sheepish Rams, Rafa’s men have scored just seven goals from open play and that’s from eight games against pretty weak opposition. Contrast that against the routine hammerings that United and Arsenal hand out to lesser opposition and you can see why I don’t hold out much hope for anything other than a Liverpool failure this season.

It’s not like Benitez doesn’t have the talent at his disposal, but for some reason the team is just not gelling at the moment and things need to change - and quickly - before the Anfield outfit spiral out of the Champions League also. Nothing less than three wins from their three remaining games will do if they want to avoid the ignominy of even missing out on a UEFA Cup place.

Rafa's rotation policy might have something to do with the disjointed nature of the performances this season. Only one outfield player, Jamie Carragher, has racked up a dozen starts across all competitions so far this season. In comparison, Arsenal have six who have managed this feat and United have seven. So if those two sides are happy for their players to play regularly then why does Benitez feel the need to rest players so often?

I feel Liverpool are in a tricky situation at present and it would not surprise me one little bit if they found themselves out of the top four race come May. They have many sides breathing down their neck and Rafa will have to work some magic to prevent more rumours circulating regarding his tenure at Anfield.

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