'You better be DAMN close!' - Liverpool great lays down title gauntlet to Arne Slot

Liverpool currently sit top of the Premier League and have impressed under new head coach Arne Slot so far this season.

The Reds have won nine of their opening 10 games in all competitions this campaign and look ready to compete, having only dropped three points in their opening seven Premier League matches.

This early season success is somewhat unexpected but Liverpool have already partially proven themselves with a 3-0 victory over fierce rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Liverpool now face a tough run that culminates with a match against Manchester City only four days after taking on Real Madrid and one Anfield icon has had his say on where the Reds should finish in the league.

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Nicol says Liverpool should win the league if they beat City

Steve Nicol, who won four league titles as a Liverpool player, recently revealed what the expectation will be on Liverpool should they come out of their upcoming run top of the league.

“If Liverpool are top of the Premier League after they play Manchester City on December the 1^st, then they have to realise that the expectation is that you – I’m hesitating here – not that you have to go on and win the Premier League but you better be damn close,” Nicol told ESPN UK.

“To get through this stretch of games and be top of the Premier League, it’s going to take a proper team and if they do that then the expectation should be to go and win the Premier League.”

The Reds have a very tough run coming up that includes games against Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Brighton, Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa as well as Real Madrid and City.

This run is made even more complicated by the fact that Liverpool will be without their first-choice goalkeeper for the majority of it.

Should Liverpool win the Premier League if they’re still top after the City game?

It’s hard to say that the league will be Liverpool’s to lose if they’re still top after they face Manchester City on December 1^st but the Reds would certainly be in a good position if this were the case.

There will still be a huge 25 games remaining after that fixture and a lot could go wrong or right for Liverpool in that time.

Nicol also adds: “But then what [beating City] does as well is it puts a little bit more pressure on.”

With 25 games remaining after that City game, Liverpool would have to be cautious not to get complacent were they still top of the league, and the pressure of expectation could weigh them down.

Although all Liverpool supporters will be hoping the Reds stay top of the league for the remainder of the season, not many are expecting Slot to win the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Liverpool will be best off taking each match as it comes and focussing on improving week by week under their new head coach before they start worrying about the destination of the league title.