Klopp counts up Liverpool's competitors in Premier League title race

The Reds are expected to retain their crown this season and the manager believes over half-a-dozen teams are also in the mix.

The 2020/21 Premier League campaign is expected to play out one of the most open title races in recent years

Injuries have become more common in a campaign shortened by four weeks due to the ongoing global pandemic, and top clubs are finding it hard to perform at their best levels consistently.

Liverpool, for instance, have already dropped seven points after eight games so far – almost half the amount of points they dropped in the entirety of their title-winning season in 2019/20.

Manchester City are also feeling the downside of a congested fixture list, having slipped to 10th position after winning just three of their seven games so far.

Manchester United have endured an even poor start to the season as they have been able to collect just 10 points from the available 21.

A change at the top has been witnessed several times already, with Everton, Southampton, Tottenham, and Leicester all having enjoyed being league leaders at some point.

Liverpool now have the chance to overthrow Leicester from the top spot as the two teams prepare to go against each other on Sunday at Anfield.

“[I think there could be up to] eight”, Jurgen Klopp responded when asked by Jamie Redknapp how many clubs he sees in this year’s title race in an interview for the Daily Mail.

“An open race? I have no problem with that. That’s absolutely fine.

“[But] if we were to win it this year it would be a big achievement, to be honest. Maybe a bigger one [than last season]. That’s what I love about the Premier League: there are so many contenders.”