Thursday 26 April 2018 09:25, UK
Craig Bellamy has backed Liverpool to mount a serious challenge for Manchester City's Premier League title next season.
Third-placed Liverpool currently sit 19 points behind the champions City in the league, but the Merseysiders inflicted one of their two league defeats and knocked them out of the Champions League with an emphatic 5-1 quarter-final aggregate victory.
Bellamy acknowledges Pep Guardiola will strengthen his squad this summer but believes the additions Jurgen Klopp will make could propel Liverpool to a first league title since 1990.
"I believe Liverpool are one or two players away from mounting a charge on this incredible Manchester City team," he told The Debate.
"The scary thing about it is City will get better too. This season has been that incredible but are they going to reach the same points tally they got this year?
"It'll be difficult to do that next year - all the teams are going to strengthen, the finances allow them to.
"Liverpool aren't going to be selling anyone, they've got Keita coming in, maybe a new goalkeeper, and with a couple of players they're a team who could win a Championship.
"If Guardiola throws anything tactically [at Klopp], this guy can deal with it."
Having knocked City out of the Champions League, Liverpool put a foot in the final with an imperious 5-2 semi-final victory over Roma.
The run towards the final has evoked memories of Klopp's tenure at Borussia Dortmund, which saw his loosen Bayern Munich stranglehold on the Bundesliga and reach the Champions League final in 2013.
"Liverpool have established a certain way of playing, which Klopp does," Bellamy added. "He did it at Dortmund in a dominant Bayern Munich period.
"That's why Liverpool brought him in, you can see what he'd done at Dortmund and it's going that way at Liverpool.
"If they get to the Champions League final, which I expect them to do, I could see them winning that game. It's great on confidence for Liverpool.
"But look at one or two of the players where they are weak, and everyone knows they need to tighten up a bit because going forward, they can live with anyone."
Watch Liverpool v Stoke live on Saturday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Premier League.
