Jamie Carragher insists Liverpool are ‘ahead of schedule’ in their rebuild, but admits he fears his former club will fall short of winning the title this season

• Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool are doing better than expected this term
• However, he doubts they will be able to win the Premier League this season
• Where is Liverpool’s Declan Rice? If Jordan Henderson hadn’t taken the Saudi cash, he’d be in Jurgen Klopp’s team – It’s All Kicking Off

Jamie Carragher has admitted Liverpool are exceeding his expectations this season, but doubts they have enough to win the Premier League title.

Liverpool overhauled their squad over the summer, with the likes of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino leaving the club, while Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch arrived at Anfield.

Having finished fifth last term, the Reds have moved back into title contention this time around and find themselves just one point behind leaders Arsenal.

Carragher believes his former club are ‘ahead of schedule’ but thinks they will struggle to keep themselves in the title race as the season progresses.

‘Throughout the season, when you look at the points Liverpool have got they are one of the top teams in the country,’ Carragher told Sky Sports ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup quarter-final with West Ham tonight.

Liverpool are just one point off top spot in the Premier League table after 17 games

Jamie Carragher thinks they are ‘ahead of schedule’ in their rebuild, but doesn’t think they’ll win the league

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‘But when you actually look at the performances, I’m not sure. And I just think I probably need a little bit more convincing. 

‘There’s no better way to do that than by getting a great result against Arsenal at the weekend, who at this moment are top of the table. But I just think Liverpool might be a little bit short of winning the title, I hope I’m wrong. 

‘It might be a season that’s a little bit different than what we’ve seen in the past where you’ve almost felt like you had to win almost week after week. The standards that Liverpool and Manchester City set for so long, it may be a little bit different this season. I think if Liverpool are to win the league, it would have to be a season where maybe it was just mid-80 points rather than mid-90.’

‘In most Liverpool supporters’ eyes, Liverpool are ahead of schedule, in terms of being the top of the table at this point. I think people felt with the new midfield and almost this reboot of this Liverpool team under Klopp, it’d be more like next season, maybe with a couple of extra additions, maybe a holding midfield player, maybe another centre back then you’d be in a position to really go for the title. 

‘So Liverpool are probably overperforming results-wise or points that they’ve got at this stage, I think is probably a big surprise for most supporters who were probably targeting a trophy and a top four finish. 

‘It’s just whether they can stay in that position. I think most people are not quite sure.’

Carragher is unsure whether Liverpool can win the Premier League for the second time, but they are still involved in four major competitions.

He has urged Jurgen Klopp’s men to take the Carabao Cup seriously tonight, as he views it as a ‘great opportunity’ for them to win a trophy this season.

Carragher thinks Jurgen Klopp’s men may be ready to challenge for the league next season, and wants them to target a cup this term

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‘I think most teams who go on to win either a Premier League title or maybe a Champions League, which is obviously what Liverpool should be looking for in the coming years, they normally win an FA Cup on a Carabao Cup first, you get that taste and you go on from there. So I think this this competition is important,’ he added.

‘I think especially with the results last night, especially with Newcastle, Everton going out, I’m just thinking from a Liverpool point of view, if, if Liverpool were to get through tonight, and you got one of those in a semi final.

‘Newcastle, the energy, you would have to expand to get past them psychologically, or what Everton would do in terms of two derby games. 

‘I think it’s a great opportunity for both teams tonight that whoever gets through, I think they’ve got a great chance of picking up a trophy.’

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