At the start of the Premier League season, you would not have got high odds on Liverpool's dominance at present. The Reds have won eleven of 13 Premier League games this season and sit nine points clear of Chelsea and Arsenal who are next in the table.
After their 2-0 victory over Manchester City at the weekend, Arne Slot's Reds are now eleven points clear of the defending Champions.
So what is fuelling Liverpool's dominance over other teams in the EPL at present? Will it last? What does history tell us about teams that open up large leads early on in the season? And just how is Arne Slot and his team achieving such consistent results?
A look at the current Premier League title odds with bet365 Sport reveals that Liverpool are now the hot favourites to win the league. The Reds are 1.57 to claim the title, with Arsenal 3.75, Manchester City 9.00 and Chelsea 17.00.
When you consider that the Reds were at least third favourites at the start of the season, behind Man City and Arsenal, the odds have changed markedly since then.
Let's now investigate how they have achieved that starting with the game at the weekend.
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In a thrilling encounter at Anfield, Liverpool‘s dominance was clearly evident when defeating Manchester City 2-0. This victory, marked by goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, allowed Liverpool to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to nine points and extended their lead over City to eleven.
The match, held on Sunday, December 1, was a testament to Liverpool's strong form this season. With this win, Liverpool not only secured a comfortable home victory but also sent a clear message to their title rivals.
The Reds could have been three or four-nil up inside the first 20 minutes. Virgil van Dijk saw one header hit the post and diverted another just wide of the goal, Trent Alexander-Arnold's shot clipped the outside of the post and in between the two Van Dijk headers, Mo Salah's brilliant cross set up Cody Gakpo for the opener.
City did have more possession in the second half, but failed to create anything against the superbly marshalled Liverpool back line. In contrast, Liverpool could have scored again with Van Dijk seeing another header go just over, while Mo Salah missed a golden opportunity.
However, the Egyptian King made up for it slotting home a 75th minute penalty after Luis Diaz was fouled by Stefan Ortega.
City had one chance late on, when Van Dijk had a momentary lapse of concentration, but De Bruyne's shot was smothered by the ever-alert Caoimhin Kelleher.
In truth, it was a 2-0 hammering and the most comfortable performance Liverpool have had against Manchester City in many years.
As the 2024-25 season progresses, Liverpool's lead in the Premier League has become a significant talking point. Historically, there have been times when teams have managed to overturn large points deficits to win the title.
For instance, Arsenal overcame a 13-point deficit against Manchester United in the 1997-98 season. Similarly, Manchester United has a history of remarkable comebacks, such as their 12-point recovery against Norwich City in the inaugural Premier League season.
However, these are the exception to the rule in the main. Usually teams that establish big leads in the title race do go on to win the title as the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool themselves have done since the Premier League was inaugurated.
These historical feats highlight the unpredictable nature of the league and mean that despite a big lead, Liverpool can take nothing for granted. Even if history tends to be on their side.
Liverpool's current form is impressive, with eight consecutive wins across all competitions. In fact, many pundits felt that after a relatively ‘easy' start to the season, the Reds would be ‘found out' in the past ten games.
That hasn't been the case. Liverpool have won nine and drawn one of those games. They have beaten the likes of Chelsea, Aston Villa, Brighton and Manchester City in the Premier League, drawing away to Arsenal and also beaten Bayer Leverkusen, Red Bull Leipzig and Real Madrid in the Champions League as well as Brighton away in the Carabao Cup.
However, things don't get any easier. In the next two games they face Newcastle away tonight and then at the weekend, take on Everton in the Merseyside derby in a dreaded early kick off on Saturday at Goodison Park. They also face Spurs away on the 22nd December.
Mohamed Salah has been instrumental, scoring 11 goals this season and also contributing seven assists. However, the form of Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo has also been excellent.
Ryan Gravenberch has been sensational in midfield in a deeper-lying role, allowing the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones to get more involved in attack.
In goal, Alisson Becker remains first choice but Caoimhin Kelleher has been sensational as his deputy and surely deserves to keep his place in the team on the back of some outstanding performances.
Despite their strong attacking performance, Liverpool's defence has been superb too, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate providing a solid defensive foundation and the emergence of Conor Bradley and the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson all being huge positives.
After such a good start, it is tempting to think that Liverpool have a relatively easy task from now on, but the club still faces plenty of challenges.
Early season greatness is no guarantee of late season success, so the pressure is on Arne Slot and his team to turn this great start, into trophies come the end of the season.
They face a Carabao Cup quarter-final on the 18th December at Southampton, an FA Cup Third Round tie against Accrington Stanley in January, plus have three more Champions League stage games to play before the knockout phase next year.
They will be keen to continue their great league form, but have some tricky games on the horizon.
More of a challenge may be ensuring that Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold remain at the club beyond June. All three are out of contract next summer and there is no sign as yet of agreement on a new deal for any of the trio. This may well be Liverpool's fans biggest worry for the future.
Injuries could also hamper the Reds. Ibou Konate has joined Alisson, Conor Bradley and Diogo Jota on the sidelines. Injuries to key players are an ever-present threat to any team, especially over this busy period of the season.
Finally, Liverpool fans will be expecting the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City in particular to go on a long run of wins at some point. Both teams have a recent history of being able to string wins together, so if they can do that they will certainly keep the pressure on the Reds.
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While we have looked at some of the issues facing Liverpool despite their good start, there are plenty of positives for any team that starts a campaign so well.
As the season progresses, the pressure mounts on teams like Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal to close the gap on Liverpool. That puts added pressure on these teams in every fixture of the season to try and claw back the deficit.
It should also be noted that in their 13 games, Liverpool have played seven of the nine teams they can face in the top ten of the EPL. That means that they have played just six out of ten teams in the lower half of the table (and one of those is Aston Villa).
By the the time the Reds have reached the midway point of the season after 19 games, they will have played Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle, West Ham and Everton away from home.
Many expected Liverpool to struggle after Jurgen Klopp left the club in the summer of 2024, but since Arne Slot come in, the club has been transformed.
The Dutchman's new tactical approach has been lauded by the players, who have adapted to the tactics superbly well. Opposition teams have struggled to create many chances against Liverpool, while struggling to maintain a grip in midfield and keeping the Reds strikers quiet has proved too difficult, even for the best teams in Europe.
The softly-spoken Dutchman hasn't said a great deal at Anfield compared to his predecessor. Maybe because at the moment his team is doing the talking for him.
The Premier League title race is far from over, with Liverpool leading the pack but facing challenges from teams like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Historical comebacks remind us that anything is possible in this league.
As the season unfolds, fans can expect thrilling matches and unexpected twists. Liverpool's current form makes them favorites, but the resilience of their rivals ensures that the title race remains an exciting spectacle.
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