At the start of the season, I made the bold prediction that Liverpool would place not first, not second, but third in the 2019/20 Premier League season. This was against popular opinion, given that Liverpool had just come off a season in which they won the Champions League and missed out on a Premier League title by the narrowest of margins. Not to mention that at the time of writing, they are on top of the league by eight points. This certainly begs the question, why did I predict them to come third?

Put simply, my predictions weighed far too heavily on signings made during the summer transfer window. Liverpool spent all of 1.9 million during the transfer window, all of which on Sepp van den Berg, a 17-year-old arriving from PEC Zwolle in Holland. Liverpool's most notable signing was perhaps goalkeeper, Adrián, who arrived on a free from West Ham. In my eyes, this seemed like a particularly inept decision from Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool because squad depth should have been of utmost importance, thanks to their major title rivals, Manchester City. City have been dominant throughout the past two seasons because of how talented their squad was, not only in the starting XI but also warming the bench. For example, in City's recent heavyweight clash with title rivals, Liverpool, they naturally started their strongest XI (considering injuries) and yet they still had world class players like Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and David Silva on the bench to start the match. Liverpool even had the right idea, the previous summer in which they signed Xherdan Shaqiri to provide the team with depth and make an impact off the bench.

Needless to say, but last summer Manchester City did what they do best and strengthened with the signings of Rodri, Cancelo and Angeliño. However they also seemed to have slipped up by not signing a replacement for former central defender and captain, Vincent Kompany who left at the end of last season. Not only that, but Tottenham Hotspur (the team I predicted to come second over Liverpool) also made one or two good signings. They infamously didn't make a single signing the previous summer, yet they still reached a Champions League final. Therefore, on paper they only needed to make a few signings to keep the team strong; or so it seemed.

What happens next is a testament to the mental strength of the Liverpool squad and reveals a mindset of complacency in the Tottenham players. But most of all, it's a perfect example that football is more than just transfers or players on a team sheet; sometimes outside factors such as injuries, luck and emotions (good or bad) can get involved. This is a concept I clearly failed to grasp while making my predictions and is why they have gone so astray thus far. As previously mentioned, Liverpool are currently unbeaten, sitting atop the league and have just beat Manchester City 3-1. Their players are incredible professionals who work extremely hard and are always extremely focused on the task at hand, individually and as a unit. Aiding the players in their quest is of course Jürgen Klopp. Klopp shows time and time again that he is an exceptionally astute (and undeniably likable) manager. These qualities have caused Liverpool to go on an unbeaten run while avoiding distractions and controversy both in and out of the dressing room. Tottenham on the other hand are currently caught in a horrible run of form. A run in which they conceded seven goals at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and are without a win in their last five Premier League matches. No one except the manager can know for sure, but it seems as if the Tottenham players have become complacent and/or burned-out after their tremendous Champions League run last season. To top it all off, Spurs sacked their legendary manager, Mauricio Pochettino on November 19th, putting an end to a revolutionary five year spell for the club with Poch at the helm.

Quote Of The Week

"Now go back to watch baseball"

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic's message to LA Galaxy fans, following his departure from the club