TalkSPORT pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor believes Liverpool could be fighting to stay in the top four by the end of the season.

The Reds were widely considered as one of the favourites for the title but a poor start to the campaign has already left them five points behind Manchester City. Agbonlahor says that, with the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea also competing for Champions League qualification, Jurgen Klopp’s side may struggle to compete:

“They are fighting to stay in the top four because Arsenal are on it. Spurs are on it – they’re knowing how to win games, Arsenal and Spurs. They’ve got that winning mentality and they’re winning games. Chelsea will get better.”

Agbonlahor backed up his statement by listing some of the issues he saw in Liverpool’s 0-0 draw against Everton at the weekend:

“Salah doesn’t look like he’s going to score and that is not like Mo Salah. He has to come out wide and find space. The midfield didn’t work. They played Fabinho as a sitter and in front of him [Harvey] Elliott and [Fabio] Carvalho. It just didn’t work for me today. At the back, [Andy] Robertson was dropped, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] got taken off after 60 minutes. Something isn’t right with that defence with Liverpool and they are dropping too many points.”

There is no doubt that the Reds have struggled, although Agbonlahor may be exaggerating things slightly. Roberton was rested at Goodison Park, while Alexander-Arnold was taken off with the midweek game versus Napoli in mind.

The problems in midfield are well-documented but it will be hoped that the arrival of Arthur Melo will help mitigate things somewhat. Salah, meanwhile, has three goals and three assists from seven appearances so alarm bells shouldn’t be ringing quite yet.