John Aldridge backs Liverpool to beat Chelsea to the title

Liverpool legend John Aldridge believes that the Reds are better equipped to go all the way in the race for the title than their competitors Chelsea, Manchester City or Arsenal because they have more players chipping in with goals. The Merseyside club have scored the maximum number of goals this season and have five players who have scored more than five this season.

The Reds are currently second in the table, six points behind Chelsea and a point above Manchester City, having played 17 games in the season. Aldridge believes that Chelsea, who are currently top, will not be able to sustain their charge as they are heavily reliant on Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, both of whom have been in imperious form this season.

Costa is the highest scorer in the league and the former Red believes his absence for a given period of time will cost the Blues dearly in the table. On the other hand, Liverpool have coped well without the presence of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, which says a lot about their depth. The Reds will be without Sadio Mane in January, who will travel to the African Cup of Nations on 3 January.

"Liverpool have options. You look at their goal-scorers and it is across five players and that's without Daniel Sturridge getting a run of games and scoring regularly which he's well capable of doing. Mane is scoring goals, Firmino and Lallana, then there's Coutinho to come back strong. If we can keep Sturridge fit and on the pitch there are plenty of options," Aldridge told 888Sport.

"Other teams rely on their best players. Chelsea have a very good team but if they were without Hazard or Costa you'd like to see how they'd fare without them. The same goes for City with De Bruyne and Aguero. Liverpool have actually managed without Coutinho and Sturridge."