Adam Lallana is “confident” Liverpool will finish in the Premier League’s top four this season, while he insists tomorrow clash against Manchester United is “payback time” for the club.
Fifth-placed Liverpool welcome fourth-placed United to Anfield this weekend, with just two points separating the teams going into the game.
A victory for Brendan Rodgers’ side would move them into the top four for the first time this season, and Lallana is upbeat that they can stay there.
“Chelsea, Manchester City, us and Arsenal [will finish in the top four],” he told The Guardian. “I am confident we can finish in the top four, we just need to remain focused. The next game is obviously going to have a bearing on that but I don’t think it will necessarily prove decisive.
“There are still eight games left after Sunday, so there will still be a lot of twists and turns. United have got Arsenal in their second to last game of the season, Southampton are at City. Anything can still happen. The top four battle involves seven teams this year. It’s great for the neutral.”
United ran out 3-0 winners the last time they faced Liverpool in December, with the result proving to be a turning point for the Reds, who have not lost a Premier League game since.
“This is payback time [for the defeat],” Lallana said. “There were glimpses of what we might be able to achieve in that game, chances we could have taken, but we lost 3-0 so it was disappointing for us.
“That result at United summed up where we were as a team. We had a difficult start to the season — it’s no secret we were struggling for form and confidence — but credit to the manager and everyone else at the club for sticking together and coming out the other side a lot stronger.”