7 Truths: Liverpool can definitely win the league, Leicester are back, Barcelona in trouble

ByEurosport

Published 22/10/2016 at 19:00 GMT

Liverpool have proved they can definitely win the league this season; Leicester City appear to be back on track; and Barcelona must have very mixed emotions. It's 7 Truths...

Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane celebrate scoring for Liverpool

Image credit: Reuters

Typical Arsenal flatter to deceive again

Having won seven consecutive matches, it must be so frustrating for the supporters to watch their team struggle at home to newly promoted Middlesbrough.

No cake for birthday boy Arsene Wenger this evening - his day was ruined.

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It could have much worse but for his goalkeeper, and the number of opportunities goal-shy Boro created must be particularly concerning.

Middlesbrough's Gaston Ramirez in action with Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny and Hector Bellerin

Image credit: Reuters

Liverpool can definitely win the league

Let's get the big issue out of the way: yes, Liverpool have kept just one clean sheet in their last 11 Premier League games. But that does not seem to matter right now. The victory over West Brom represented yet another important victory for the Reds against tough opposition.

Liverpool's Sadio Mane celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates

Image credit: Reuters

Jurgen Klopp's side have a genuine chance of winning the Premier League this season and five wins in their last six games should pretty much convince most people of that.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City remain the favourites, of course, but Klopp's men are playing with an irrepressible intensity and seem to have such a fine team spirit that an unlikely title win now appears possible.

Barcelona have a big problem

Okay, so having Lionel Messi back is undoubtedly brilliant and he was back to his sparkling best in the dramatic win over Valencia. With Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in attack, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, the fact is that Luis Enrique's men still have a pretty poor defence and it almost haunted them against Valencia. Now, with the seemingly serious knee injury sustained by captain Andres Iniesta, they may have a big problem.

Amid the unerring hysteria which surrounds 'MSN', the influence and immense value of Iniesta often goes unnoticed. His absence - perhaps for a prolonged period - could be a very serious issue for Enrique's men looking forward.

Leicester could finally be back

After continuing their 100 per cent start in the Champions League, Leicester's disappointing domestic form came back under scrutiny and they responded emphatically against Crystal Palace.

Leicester had created little until three minutes before half-time, but then suddenly the proverbial floodgates opened and Ranieri's men were rampant.

Leicester left striker Jamie Vardy on the bench but capped a fine week with a third home league win of the season thanks to fine goals from Ahmed Musa, Shinji Okazaki and Christian Fuchs. They really could be back...

Shinji Okazaki (2nd R) celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal

Image credit: AFP

Sunderland really are THAT bad

The Black Cats usually start the season badly before managing to turn it around in the nick of time, but this time it feels different.

They are only side in the division without a win and are yet to keep a clean sheet. It's hard to see where the goals are going to come from, with Jermain Defoe cutting an isolated figure up top, and few options on the bench.

Would anyone miss this team if they went down?

Tottenham’s lack of firepower could haunt them

For the second week on the bounce, Tottenham created enough chances to easily win. However, for the second week running they failed to finish off said chances.

Harry Kane cannot return quickly enough. Vincent Janssen may very well turn out to be a fine Premier League striker but, as it stands, he is a forward shorn of confidence and conviction. His hold up play is pretty good but he spends too much of his time with his back to goal. He started on the bench and offered little goal threat when he replaced Son Heung-min in the second half.

Tottenham’s over-reliance on Kane has been a problem for going on two seasons now and for a club that have pretensions of competing in the Champions League and potentially winning the Premier League, that just is not good enough.

Everton hint at problems in their approach after early form runs out

After early success under Ronald Koeman, Everton have started to fall off the pace, with no wins in their last five matches in all competitions.

They are not as calamitous in defence as they had been under Roberto Martinez, but they have conceded in each of their last six games.

The main problem seems to be a lack of ruthlessness in attack, taking too long in possession to deliver crosses that were aimless and easily dealt with. Koeman and his players need to refocus.