Steven Gerrard is confident that Liverpool’s attempt to save their season will benefit from the World Cup break and is backing the Reds to start the Premier League with a bang.
Liverpool came close to an unprecedented quadruple last season after winning the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and placing second in the Premier League and Champions League.
This season, Jurgen Klopp’s squad has been unable to make a similar push, and they entered the World Cup break in sixth place in the Premier League, an alarming 15 points behind league leaders Arsenal.
When asked if he thought Liverpool had been given a second preseason, former Reds captain Gerrard responded as follows on the team’s website: “Yeah, it’s an opportunity to get a lot of work in on the training ground, reset a few things.
“I’m sure Jurgen and his staff are doing a lot of things tactically, but it’s also an opportunity to have a much-needed rest. They’ve played a lot of football over the last few years, they were involved in every competition last year.
“So to have a small pre-season before a ball was kicked, [then] to have this opportunity to rest and then have a second build-up, I’m hoping that Liverpool come flying out of the blocks.”
Liverpool played 63 games in the 2021–22 season, which was draining given their run to three cup finals. According to Gerrard, the ongoing break could set them up for an exciting 2022–23 campaign.
“I expect a really strong six months and finish to the season, because important players have had the chance to rest and recover and the players in the World Cup should come back full of confidence, in a good place, physically ready,” said former Rangers and Aston Villa boss Gerrard.
“I expect a really strong, exciting finish to the season for the Reds.”
Next Thursday, Liverpool will travel to Manchester City for the EFL Cup, and then on December 26, they will play host to Villa, who fired Gerrard as their head coach in October.
