Charlie Nicholas has backed Liverpool to win convincingly against Watford this weekend despite Sadio Mane ‘carrying’ the side in recent matches.
Liverpool have suffered just one defeat since the start of the season – a 2-0 loss away to Napoli in the Champions League – and sit eight points clear of Leicester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Despite their dominance, the Reds haven’t quite been at their best performance-wise and have made a habit of scoring late goals to get themselves out of trouble.
The Merseyside giants take on relegation-threatened Watford in Saturday’s opening game and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping for a convincing display from his players at Anfield.
Former Arsenal star Nicholas has been disappointed by the form of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, but has predicted a 3-0 victory and a ‘comfortable afternoon’ for Liverpool.
‘The games that have come Liverpool’s way have been excellent – they haven’t needed to be at their best,’ Nicholas said in his Sky Sports column.
‘They appear to look vulnerable but then they win. It isn’t luck. There is a certain amount of ability and desire with them that we can see is driving them forwards.
‘People don’t think they can keep going like this but when you are going against a team with a manager who is trying to lift things, it does suit you.
‘Troy Deeney, Etienne Capoue and Abdoulaye Doucoure are the key players for Watford and always the ones you could rely on, but question marks are surrounding the likes of Jose Holebas and Adrian Mariappa.’
‘Liverpool can afford to rest two out of the three front players and still have enough to get three points.
‘Mohamed Salah has scored in successive matches but hasn’t been playing well and Roberto Firmino has not been brilliant. Sadio Mane has been carrying them.
‘I see a very comfortable afternoon nevertheless.
‘It may take them time to break Watford down though.’
Xherdan Shaqiri has warned his Liverpool team-mates against complacency ahead of their clash with a ‘dangerous’ Hornets side.
‘I think it [Watford’s league position] doesn’t reflect the quality they have because they have had a few problems,’ the Swiss said.
‘They’ve changed their manager twice I think and that can also be very dangerous for us because you can maybe not prepare as well as normal, when you know how the coaches play.
‘So it’s dangerous, but we are always confident.
‘We play at home in front of our fans and if we have a good performance I am pretty sure we are going to take the three points, but we need a good performance.’
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