West Ham striker Michail Antonio has boldly stated that he doesn’t want Liverpool to win the Premier League title this season.

At the start of the campaign, Antonio claimed that his team would finish above the Reds and he hasn’t heard the end of it since, with fans of the Merseyside club flooding his email inbox. Speaking on the Footballer’s Football podcast, Antonio said he hopes either Arsenal or Manchester City finish top of the table:

“I don’t want Liverpool to win the league. Because you Liverpool fans are still in my inbox. Get lost! I’m saying it with chest. I don’t want Liverpool to win the league! Come for me! Arsenal get it. Man City, get it. That’s all I have to say about that!”

To be fair to Antonio, even many Liverpool supporters had doubts that Jurgen Klopp’s side could mount a serious title challenge this season, having been well off the pace last year.

However, his cocky statements about West Ham being a better team went a bit too far and those comments have deservedly come back to bite him.

The title race state of play

Liverpool hold a three-point lead over Aston Villa heading into the winter break. However, Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham are all playing this weekend.

The Villans could go level on points with Klopp’s men if they beat Everton on Sunday, while City could go within 2 points of the Reds with a victory against Newcastle tonight. Spurs will also close the gap if they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Liverpool’s next 3 league fixtures

The Reds have some key games coming up. They play a resurgent Bournemouth next weekend, before taking on Chelsea (h) and Arsenal (a).

Considering they have matches in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup to play too, it will be a very busy few weeks after the winter break.

Watch a preview of Liverpool’s plans for the January transfer window on Shots!TV here