Former Liverpool and England defender Glen Johnson says the Reds currently have the best attack in the Premier League.
Johnson’s former club head into the new season as second favourites behind Manchester City to win the title despite beating their rivals 3-1 in the Community Shield last weekend.
While that result will count for little when the Premier League gets underway, Johnson insists it demonstrated why Liverpool could have the upper hand this term.
In a recent interview with Premier League betting site Betway, Johnson claimed that Jurgen Klopp’s first-choice attack is superior to City’s.
“I’m doing it without (Erling Braut) Haaland based on he hasn’t done anything yet,” he said.
“(Darwin) Nunez is my gamble, (Luis) Diaz is top class, (Mohamed) Salah probably the best striker in the league.
“If Nunez can get it right in the league, I think that front three will be more dynamic than the others until Haaland performs.”
Despite selling Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich this summer, Liverpool still have a wealth of attacking options at their disposal.
Much is expected of Nunez following his big-money move from Benfica and he was quick to get off the mark with Liverpool’s third goal last weekend.
The addition of Haaland to City’s ranks was widely tipped to make them unbeatable, but the Norwegian goal-machine was disappointing on his debut.
He made a few promising runs off the ball, but a horrendous miss from six yards late in the game was his most memorable contribution to proceedings.
While Johnson says Liverpool have the upper hand in the attacking stakes, Richard Dunne believes Haaland will be a difference maker for his former club.
The former Republic of Ireland international was unequivocal in his support for City and believes their attacking options will blow away their rivals this season.
“(Phil) Foden is an unbelievable footballer and Jack Grealish is going to improve massively this year,” said Dunne.
“Then you add in Erling Haaland. I don’t think Nunez is going to have the same impact as Haaland.”
In fairness to Johnson and Dunne, it is difficult to separate the respective attacking options of last season’s top two clubs.
Both Nunez and Haaland are top-class acquisitions and will probably cause mayhem in the English top flight this season.
Diaz and Salah are an excellent support cast for Nunez, while Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are talented back-up options.
While Dunne singled out Foden and Grealish as partners for Haaland, City also have Riyad Mahrez and Julian Alvarez in their squad.
Given the attacking talent at both clubs, what cannot be argued is that fans are in for a treat during the upcoming Premier League season.
