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Crouch: 'Liverpool's name is on the title'

Crouch: 'Liverpool's name is on the title'
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Jurgen Klopp's men are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Former striker Peter Crouch believes Liverpool's ability to win when they are not at their best is the reason why they will lift the title this season.

Jurgen Klopp's men are eight points clear of second-placed Leicester and are on course for a maiden Premier League crown.

They have dropped just two points from their 14 games, drawing at Manchester United, but they have not been at their best in many matches.

Liverpool have won all but one Premier League game this season
Liverpool have won all but one Premier League game this season (Anthony Devlin/PA)

And Crouch, who played at Anfield for three years in the mid-2000s, reckons their ability to get the job done, scoring a multitude of late goals, will be the decisive factor.

"I think that Liverpool's name is on it, I don't think anyone can catch them," Crouch told the PA news agency.

"Leicester are closest, but I just don't see them (Liverpool) dropping that many amount of points.

"They have been unbelievable for the last two years.

"The manager deserves a great amount of credit from where they were and buying the right players. They won the Champions League last season, incredible, I thought they were so unlucky in the league, but Man City were incredible too.

"This year they have just carried on where they left off.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League (Anthony Devlin/PA)

"City have had some indifferent results but Liverpool have been relentless and they have not played as well as we know they can, but they have still ground out results and that is the difference this year."

Liverpool have been in plenty of title races over the Premier League era, but have always fallen short.

Their mettle will be tested over the coming weeks, where they face a fixture pile-up, but Crouch believes they will be able to come through.

Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch spent three seasons at Anfield (Pete Byrne/PA)

"They have had no real injury problems, obviously the keeper was out for a little bit, but as long as the key players stay fit, I don't see them having a problem," Crouch added.

"They have a big enough squad to cope with the fixture congestion they have got.

" I don't see a problem, they will go all the way this year.

"Liverpool fans won't thank me for saying that because they have been burnt previously, but it is too long since Liverpool won it.

"Hopefully it does make it up to Merseyside."

Their next test is a Merseyside derby against Everton on Wednesday in a game that is being shown on Amazon Prime Video.

Crouch, in his first few months of retirement, will be working for the streaming service as a pundit and cannot wait.

"I haven't been to one since I played in one, so it will be great to sample the atmosphere," he said.

"I am covering it for Amazon and really looking forward to it."

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1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Bournemouth157352320324
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


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