West Ham United legend Sir Trevor Brooking believes that Liverpool were always going to challenge for the Premier League title this season, as he cautioned the Hammers over keeping the damage down to a minimum from their trip to Anfield this coming weekend.
The Reds, who saw their 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end last weekend, are presently third in the league table with 30 points from 14 games, just four behind leaders Chelsea.
And Brooking stated that he always expected Liverpool to be in the title race in the present campaign as they are not playing in Europe.
The 68-year-old insisted that despite West Ham beating Liverpool 3-0 in the league at Anfield last season, he is expecting a tough outing against the Reds on Merseyside at the weekend.
“Liverpool have got a couple of injuries at the moment but it is not an easy place to go and they are a bit like Chelsea this season that they don't have European distraction and were always going to be challenging for the title”, he said on West Ham TV.
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“They have got a lot of strength in depth and it will be a tough game.
"We had great result there last year but I can't remember having the best of times at Anfield during my playing days.”
Brooking, who feels West Ham will be keen to leave Anfield without a thrashing, went on to underline the importance of the Hammers’ upcoming home games against Burnley and Hull City.
“You normally look forward to it, but with the ways things are going and the gaps in the squad, we want to emerge from it without too much damage”, he continued.
“The next two home games against Burnley and Hull are massive and we want to try and get back on a winning run.”
