Big Few Weeks Ahead For Reds

With the FA Cup now done and dusted, it’s time for one thing and only one thing: the Premier League.

The disappointment of the cup exit against Arsenal could all be a distant memory depending on how results go leading up to – and including – the match at Old Trafford against Manchester United on 16^th March.

In the build up to that potentially pivotal game, Liverpool have home games against Swansea and Sunderland either side of an away fixture at Southampton.  By the time the team bus rolls up at Old Trafford in mid-March Liverpool could already have surpassed last season’s points total of 61 points, with 9 games left.

That means that there would be a possible 27 points left to play for, with a maximum of 88 for Liverpool.  This would represent a points tally easily worthy of winning the league title in most seasons gone by or at the very least second.

All ‘pie in the sky’, of course, but if we could at least head to United in a few weeks’ time with a strong lead on the likes of United, Tottenham and Everton then the result is much more likely, with the pressure to maintain the lead being off the players.

As we’ve seen in recent weeks though, Liverpool are as capable of dropping points in supposedly easy games as anybody but with the ‘distraction’ of the cup now gone, and injured players hopefully returning soon there will be few excuses to not put out our strongest sides and perform once or twice a week for the next 12 games.

Over the next few weeks Chelsea will take on Tottenham, Everton, whilst both Arsenal and Manchester United will face potentially tricky away games.  Only Manchester City have what appears to be an ‘easy’ few games but as City have shown, they’re as capable as we are of dropping easy points but they’ve looked easily the strongest side in the league at present.

Whatever the outcome, Liverpool will need to be at the top of their game for the rest of the season, with a few more ‘cup finals’ to come against Manchester United, City and Chelsea and they could set up a very interesting start to that run in with as many points as possible from the next three ‘winnable’ Premier League games.