Pressure of being the favourites

The visit of Norwich to Anfield this weekend makes me just as nervous if not more nervous than last weekend against United. Obviously on paper the United game was a harder game than Saturday’s fixture but like many commentators have said “A football game is not won on paper”.

However as in recent years it has been known for Liverpool to struggle when playing newly promoted clubs or when playing clubs who we should be collecting 3 points from.

A superb example of this was the year where we pushed United for the title for most of the season and in the end finished second.

The reason we finished second that year was because we drew to the likes of Stoke, West Ham and Hull City at home.  That same year we did the double on United, the double on Chelsea and came from 2-0 down to beat City 2-3 at their place. This just shows how we can struggle and fail to get the results when we play teams that in theory we should be picking mainly 3 points against.

Yes it is nerve racking when we play the likes of United due to the rivalry and bragging rights between both clubs, but as it is a close match between evenly balanced teams the result can go either way and we don’t necessarily start as favourites.

For me personally it is why Liverpool haven’t won the Premier league, the lack of ‘arrogance’ when playing against teams that they should be winning and winning comfortably against.

Man City this year is an example of playing with arrogance and belief. When playing teams that everyone knows they should beat they don and they do it well, beating Swansea 4-0, Wigan 3-0 and Aston Villa 4-1 all at home are prime examples of why City are top and in my eyes favourites for the title.

This year King Kenny has to work out a way to change the forgettable past when playing weaker teams at home and ensure that the team’s current unbeaten record stays intact for at least another week or for as long as possible.

Having an unbeaten home record will enable the club to build a foundation to then look to challenge the likes of City, United and Chelsea for automatic promotion for the Champions league and top spot. Cmon you REDS!!

Daniel Clark