At the time of writing, Liverpool were facing a festive away trip to Sunderland with nothing but three points on Reds fans’ minds with the Black Cats having been well beat away at Chelsea and Manchester City of late.
With Jurgen Klopp’s side bouncing back from their Watford disappointment inflicting only a second league defeat of the season on Leicester City on Boxing Day, Liverpool stood five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur prior to their Sunderland encounter yesterday.
On the whole, Jurgen Klopp has done a good job of re-stabilising this Liverpool side who were in all honesty heading nowhere fast in the latter days of the Brendan Rodgers regime.
That said, Klopp has tasted all manner of results since being in the Anfield hotseat, everything from an emphatic 1-4 victory away at Manchester City to dour 0-0 draws away to the likes of FC Sion in the Europa League.
With the charismatic German adjusting the the rigours of English football with each passing week, there is no doubting that the Kop are fully behind him but even the most ardent Reds supporters will admit that their team are still a work in progress.
With Liverpool not the finished article as yet, we’re taking this moment to devise a list of Reds supporters’ five biggest fears in the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign.
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Click on the image below to reveal Liverpool fans’ five biggest fears this 2015/16 campaign.
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If Daniel Sturridge suffers MORE injury re-occurrences
Daniel Sturridge’s injury woes are now starting to border on the Abou Diaby level of setbacks.
It’s so unfortunate for both Reds supporters and the England international himself that these setbacks keep on occurring with the former Chelsea man a huge weapon in Klopp’s armoury when fit.
We saw in Liverpool’s 1-6 demolition of Southampton in the Capital One Cup just how lethal Sturridge can be when he’s in the mood and the sheer fact he remains on the sidelines is something that weighs heavy in Reds fans’ hearts.
Scheduled to return from his hamstring injury on January 2nd according to Physio Room, even if he does return the the fold on time, Reds supporters would be foolish to think he can stay in the team until the end of 2015/16 unscathed with his setbacks now bordering on the ridiculous.
If Europa League football is all the club achieve yet again
When Jurgen Klopp was appointed Liverpool manager this Autumn, he made a point of claiming the Europa League is a competition that matters to the Reds this term.
While you’d expect any professional manager to say that, we all know that Reds supporters crave those big Champions League nights under the Anfield lights rather than home fixtures against the likes of Rubin Kazan.
Eighth in the Premier League standings when this article was written, Liverpool supporters are growing tired of the continued good form from the likes of Crystal Palace and Watford who are unexpectedly in the running for a European finish this term.
With the league getting ever more competitive and Tottenham looking strong for a top four finish this term, it is a huge fear amongst Liverpool fans that despite now boasting Klopp, finishing in the Europa League may yet again prove the final outcome despite the Reds’ best efforts.
If Simon Mignolet continues to cost the Reds crucial points
Earlier this month, we read in Sky Sports that Simon Mignolet has been the Premier League’s most error-prone goalkeeper since the 2013/14 campaign.
Despite these findings, the Belgian international remains the first choice stopper under Klopp at Anfield but with the former Sunderland man often letting the side down, this could prove the difference between Liverpool scooping Champions League qualification and not doing so.
With Adam Bogdan having also not covered himself in glory in the recent away fixture at Watford, Liverpool’s goalkeeping situation could definitely do with upgrading and Stoke City’s Jack Butland is the one most Reds supporters by the bar want between the sticks.
Liverpool have been linked with the likes of German stoppers Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Timo Horn since Jurgen Klopp’s appointment but the Reds boss doesn’t look like he’ll be spending in January.
If Jurgen Klopp refuses to sign any reinforcements in January
As just mentioned on our last slide, Jurgen Klopp has already made the point that the Reds aren’t seeking any new additions in January and while the German boss may be playing it coy, he could also be telling the truth.
In modern day football, to do an Arsene Wenger while failing to splash the cash when an opportunity arises is often frowned upon by football fans nowadays and with Liverpool arguably in need of another central midfielder, goalkeeper and attacker, to sign nobody by the end of next month would be disappointing for Reds supporters to swallow.
While it’s true that top quality players are only available at an inflated premium in January transfer windows, it appears that in a highly competitive Premier League, getting the leg up on top four opponents such as Watford, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Manchester United may only be made possible through further squad strengthening.
If the Reds’ Europa League commitments scupper their top four chances
With Liverpool set to play German side FC Augbsurg in the last 32 of the Europa League, you’d expect the Reds to progress to the last 16 over two legs on paper.
To win the Europa League in Jurgen Klopp’s first season in charge at Anfield would be a fantastic achievement but to do that while also finishing in the top four of the Premier League seems a tough ask with what Liverpool currently have at their disposal.
Experiencing their fair share of injuries so far this term, everybody also knows that playing Thursday – Sunday rotations has historically scuppered the consistency and form of sides in that very situation and the fear amongst Reds fans is that going further in Europe’s second competition may prevent them from performing in the elite Champions League ranks next term.
A huge dilemma indeed.
