“I’ve got a feeling…” – Jan Molby drops Liverpool title prediction amid projected points target | OneFootball

Jan Molby has set Liverpool a points target to aim towards if they’re to defend their Premier League crown this season.

The Reds lifted the trophy in May after collecting 84 points, 10 more than runners-up Arsenal, and the champions go into today’s fixture against Burnley as the only team in the top flight with their 100% record still intact.

Arne Slot’s predecessor Jurgen Klopp broke the 90-point barrier three times during his reign at Anfield but only won the title once, missing out to Manchester City by the merest of margins on the other two occasions.

However, Molby doesn’t expect Liverpool to require such a staggering points tally if they’re to make it back-to-back triumphs this term.

Molby sets Liverpool points target for this season

Speaking to Anfield Index, the former Reds midfielder said: “I’m not convinced we need to be the best Premier League team ever to win the league. I’ve got a feeling that 85 points might do it again, and we know what it was like when we went toe-to-toe with Manchester City.

“Every season we’re going in thinking, can we get 95+ points? I don’t know. Can we get 85 points? I think we can, and I think that might just be enough again, isn’t it?”

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League)

How many points would Liverpool realistically need to retain the title?

It’s understandable that some Liverpool fans are conditioned into thinking that 90 points is the bare minimum needed to be in with a chance of winning the Premier League – 92 and 97 weren’t enough for Klopp in 2021/22 and 2018/19 respectively.

Four of Pep Guardiola‘s six titles with Man City saw them earn 90+ points, which has skewed the perceived minimum requirement for lifting the trophy.

However, with the Spaniard’s side not as dominant as before and Arsenal very strong but not infallible, perhaps Molby is right in thinking that a tally in the mid-80s might just be enough to come out on top in what has become an increasingly competitive division.

Liverpool’s 84-point tally last season was actually the lowest for a Premier League title winner since Leicester’s fairytale triumph on 81 in 2015/16, and Slot’s team had 82 on the board on the day that they became champions against Tottenham Hotspur a month before the campaign ended.

The chasing pack are likely to ensure that the Reds won’t win it with four matches to spare again this time around, but anything in the high 80s or low 90s could be sufficient to get us over the line.

For now, though, the only points tally which matters is three, the amount with which we must come away from Burnley this afternoon.