Joe Casey: Title-favourites Liverpool face toughest challenge yet

The Goodison Park roar as James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute thunderbolt hit the back of the net on Wednesday was not audible in north London but the late Everton equaliser has given a big boost to the teams chasing Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Reds are seven points clear of Arsenal but face a tough run of fixtures over the next month that will go a long way to deciding the destination of the Premier League title.

Arne Slot’s men host Wolves on Sunday but following that they have tough away trips to Aston Villa on Wednesday and defending champions Manchester City four days later. The Reds then host Newcastle just three days after that.

To add to their league exploits, Liverpool will face one of Monaco, Brest, PSG or Benfica in the Champions League round of 16 on March 3 or 4, with the EFL Cup final against the Magpies looming on March 16 as well.

Liverpool are undoubtedly in the driving seat in the title race as they have lost only one of their 24 league games, but they have had a bruising few days.

They were dumped out of the FA Cup by Plymouth on Sunday before failing to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points when drawing 2-2 in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

Liverpool's upcoming fixtures

They have drifted from 1-6 shots at the start of the month to win the Premier League to 2-7 and the upcoming period will test the resilience of a squad who have succumbed to plenty of near-misses in the title race in recent years.

Their usual conquerors Manchester City are some 16 points off the pace in what has been a disappointing campaign for Pep Guardiola’s side but the meeting between the teams next Sunday will be no walk in the park.

Liverpool have not won any of their last eight league trips to the Etihad, with their last Premier League victory away to the Citizens coming ten years ago as a Martin Skrtel goal helped to wrap up a 4-1 win.

Wednesday’s visit to Villa Park is also a tough assignment as Unai Emery’s side have lost only two of their 19 home games in all competitions and have strengthened significantly in January. Before the end of the month Slot’s men will also take on Newcastle, who held them to a 3-3 draw in December and tend to be at their best against the biggest teams.

Liverpool have been fortunate with injuries this season but the congested fixture list is set to push this squad to its limits and the supporting cast failed to make a positive impression when falling to a 1-0 defeat to Championship strugglers Plymouth at the weekend.

The Reds have a golden opportunity to lift just their second Premier League title this season, but will have to prove their mettle over what is set to be a make-or-break period in the campaign.

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