Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has predicted that Liverpool will ‘go the distance’ in this season’s Premier League title race.

Shearer watched his beloved Newcastle suffer a 4-2 defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Reds at Anfield on New Year’s Day. Liverpool’s victory sent them three points clear at the top of the table, where they’ll stay for at least another 11 days due to FA Cup action.

Weighing up the title race amid Arsenal’s poor festive form and Manchester City’s recent resurgence, Shearer reckons there’s “no doubt” that Klopp’s side with either push the eventual champion right to the end or lift the trophy themselves come May. “They are going the distance,” the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer declared on The Rest Is Football podcast.

“There is no doubt about it, they are going the distance. They will be right up there come the last weekend of the season. They are a really good team.

“[Virgil] Van Dijk is back to his best, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is having a great time, they have an unbelievable goalkeeper and when you have the brilliance of Mo Salah, you have every chance. They have game-changers which can do that coming off the bench, they have so many options.”

Despite expectations on the Reds increasing after Monday’s much-deserved win, captain and star centre-back Van Dijk shut down talk of a title pursuit, claiming that it’s “far too early” to publicly discuss their challenge. “I’m not going to speak about any of this, I never did and I won’t do it now either,” the steely Van Dijk affirmed.

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