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Gary Neville believes Liverpool would win the Premier League title “at a canter” if Virgil van Dijk were fit and believes his injury has given Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United hope.
The Reds were even on points with the Spurs at the top of the Premier League table after beating the Wolves 4-0 at Anfield.
Liverpool have had a bad hand with injuries this season, with Van Dijk and Joe Gomez reeling from lengthy injury layoffs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker have also spent stints on the sidelines, though the former returned from injury against the Wolves to provide a welcome boost.
Having racked up 196 Premier League points in his past two seasons, Neville believes Liverpool and Manchester City are slightly below the same standard this time, with injuries particularly hampering the Reds.
He believes that Jurgen Klopp’s men will claim the title again, but admits that Van Dijk’s injury has left Premier League rivals Liverpool wondering if they could win the crown this time.
“I think he (Mourinho) has a chance because there is no question that Liverpool and City are not where they were,” Neville told the Gary Neville Podcast.
“Losing Van Dijk, I think Liverpool win this league at a canter if Van Dijk is fit. I really do, no one can get close to them.
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“I still think Liverpool will win the league, but there are little things against them that they haven’t done in recent seasons. The same for Manchester City and that makes it interesting.
“Chelsea and Tottenham look at them thinking ‘hmm, they’re not doing well and we’re doing well here, we’re starting to improve, we’re getting closer to them’ and I think that’s giving them confidence.
“Even Manchester United, Manchester United players will be sitting around thinking ‘we might have a chance if we play the way we can’, as silly as it sounds, because I don’t think they will win the league.
“That’s what he’s doing to us this season because the first two have set a bar that we’ve never seen before and now we’re starting to see something more normal.”
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