The Premier League is now approaching its final sprint, and the two-horse race of Manchester City and Liverpool threatens to go the distance.
City are searching for their fourth league title in seven years, whereas Liverpool are attempting to break a near three-decade duck without an English championship to their name.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds have lit up the English top tier with an expensive but nevertheless impressive assemble.
Ahead of their encounter with Southampton at St. Mary’s in the Saints first-tip flight home game since 1991, Liverpool go into the match with an unmatched, almost unblemished away record.
They have collected more points on the road than any other side in the Premier League, and one of the primary reasons for their lofty position.
Liverpool have already collected three more points away from home than they matched after last year’s full season, where they lost and drew five games and conceded 28 goals.
After 16 games in 2018/19 season away from Merseyside, Liverpool have lost only once and have only seen nine goals sail past goalkeeper Alisson, keeping clean-sheets in half of those games.
They haven’t conceded more than one more in any of those nine matches they’ve failed to have a shutout. It is testament to some of the stellar recruitments Liverpool have managed to procure, such as the world’s most expensive defender Virgil van Dijk and peerless fullback Andrew Robertson, as well as academy graduate Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The nine away goals is currently a joint lowest tally in the Premier League era. Liverpool have got three more games (including Southampton) to maintain that standard, with visits to Cardiff City and Newcastle United forthcoming.
Here are some of those sides Klopp and Liverpool can hope to emulate for fewest goals conceded away from home in a Premier League season.
1. 9 goals: Chelsea 2004/05
Chelsea in Jose Mourinho’s first season at the helm raised the bar. In total, the Blues let in just 15 goals throughout their season as they ended a 50-year wait for the title.
2. 11 goals: Arsenal 2001/02 / Manchester United 2008/09
Both sides won the Premier League in each respective season these tallies were recorded.
3. 12 goals: Chelsea 2008/09 / Arsenal 1998/99 / Arsenal 2003/04
4. 13 goals: Arsenal 1993/94 / Chelsea 2005/06 / Chelsea 2006/07 / Chelsea 2007/08 / Man City 2017/18
Liverpool would need a complete defensive capitulation in the final few away games of the season to suffer the ignominy of missing out on the list.
Of course, if three points continue to come their way week in, week out in some way and still leads to their first ever Premier League title, missing out on this particular record won’t be felt too sorely.
