Can Liverpool win the league?

So as I predicted at the beginning of the season Liverpool would be on the rise. What I did not predict was the manner in which they will rise back to the top of English Football. Demolishing Spurs, Everton and Arsenal they are in with a shout of winning the league this season. The question would be then; can they actually win the league?

 

The answer is yes; mathematically they can win the league. The real question is do they have what it takes to win the league? My answer to that is also yes, in their performances against Everton, Spurs and Arsenal they looked like a world class team again. They even gave Manchester City a hard time leading the game for a period early on. What do they need to do in order to win the league?

 

Well its quite simple actually, they still have to play two of the teams above them on the log in City and Chelsea. Both games at home where they have had a good run so far this season, if they can win those games they have a good chance of winning. The most important thing is the games in between those against the likes of United and Spurs. Games they cannot afford to lose if they have any hope of winning the league.

 

The games against the lower teams on the log are maybe even more important because if you go into those games expecting to win you might come short and end up losing costing you valuable points.

 

Does Liverpool have the squad to win the league? At first I would have said no, they have the squad to be in the top four for sure but now that I have seen what they are capable of I am pretty sure they do have the team to win. A lot of their younger players have stepped up and really excelled this year. Raheem Sterling has been outstanding on the wing and is a real threat to defenders.

 

Jordan Henderson has really improved and has become an important member of the team contributing with many assists. Philippe Coutinho is really getting into English football and he is starting to control the game nicely. By the end of the season he will be close to his best I’m sure.  

 

There’s not much I can say about the SAS, who this season have been phenomenal together. They in particular Suarez is hitting a dry spell but I’m sure it won’t last long and he’ll be back to his scoring ways.

 

Stormers, do they have what it takes?

So Super rugby is under way again and with two local derbies this past weekend it was quite an exciting start. The Lions upsetting the Cheetahs and the Sharks quite comfortably beating the Bulls was the order of the weekend. Still early days but could this be the way the rest of the competition will go with the Sharks picking up where they left off from the Currie Cup? Well apart from their loss in the final Western Province/The Stormers had an outstanding Currie Cup and they are yet to get their Super Rugby Campaign under way.

 

With quite a strong squad bar a few injuries to a few players, it would seem that the Stormers have quite a good team to challenge for the title this season. That is of course if they can break their “chokers” label they have been given the last few years. They got the monkey off their back winning the Currie Cup in 2012 but “choked” last year. Could this be the year they prove everyone wrong?

 

Well I believe it could very well be. With a lot of their young players having played a number of seasons at Super Rugby as well as Currie Cup level they have a well balanced team in terms of experience and youth. They also have players who can change a game in the blink of an eye who will be vital to their team’s success.

 

This is a very different competition to the Currie Cup as you are playing teams with some of the best players in the world. It will not be easy but if they play as well as they did in the Currie Cup bar the final they will do quite well.