Mark Langdon: Liverpool likely to kick on as schedule eases up

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Let's start with the positive, and thankfully domestic club football returns after the latest international break. However, without being a Negative Norman did you know there are only four more Premier League rounds before another set of country v country mismatches?

This latest sprint might be more pivotal than you think with odds-on title favourites Manchester City facing a tricky run of matches that starts with a visit from Brighton on Saturday afternoon and also includes trappy trips to Manchester United and Chelsea. None of those matches will be gimmes if last season's treble-winners play with the same tepid approach they did when losing 1-0 at Arsenal last time out.

It was an odd performance from City, who managed only four shots and one effort on target at the Emirates, and continued their slow (by their incredibly high standards) start to the campaign in front of goal. Five sides have scored more goals than Pep Guardiola's champions and they lag behind Everton in the shots-per-game statistic.

The immediate reaction to Arsenal's win was to annoint the Gunners legitimate title contenders - and they might well be - but if City do stay in a possible post-treble malaise then it's not just Mikel Arteta's men who will scent blood.

Liverpool, one point behind City and three adrift of north London duo Tottenham and Arsenal, are potentially flying under the radar because they have already been to Spurs, Brighton, Newcastle and Chelsea and played only three sides who resume action stationed in the bottom half .

One of those is Chelsea, who will presumably not be hanging around 11th all season, and of the others they beat Bournemouth with ten men and defeated a Wolves side who subsequently ended City's winning start to the campaign.

Arsenal, in contrast, have travelled to only one team higher than 15th position, while Spurs have played five of the current bottom six. You still have to win those games but tougher tests await before Christmas.

There are, on paper at least, some lovely games for Liverpool on the horizon, and in this four-match sequence before the next set of internationals the Reds face Everton, Nottingham Forest and Brentford at home and take a trip to Luton. 

Looking further ahead, their visit to City on November 25 immediately after the next break is the only fixture Liverpool face against a current top-half team between now and a trip to Crystal Palace on December 9.

It goes without saying that just because you are long odds-on to win a match it doesn't mean you will, but there is a chance Liverpool's odds to win the title will be much shorter than their current price of 6-1 or 23-10 in the market without City after such a favourable run.

Results have been good when you consider Jurgen Klopp ripped up his midfield in the summer and it might have been logical to expect a period of adaptation. But the real positive is that his side looks well-equipped to overpower the weaker teams in the division with bags of goalscoring potential throughout the side and game-changers off the bench.

Liverpool are looking good and that might spell very bad news for the rest. 

Premier League predictions

Newcastle to beat Crystal Palace & under 3.5 goals 23-20

Crystal Palace's last three Premier League games have produced just one goal so they are likely to sit in at Newcastle in an attempt to frustrate the Magpies. However, the Toon's class should eventually tell as Eddie Howe's side go in search of a sixth win in seven on Tyneside this term. 

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