Joel Matip expects title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City to both drop points between now and the end of the season.
The centre-back was part of the Liverpool team that returned to the top of the Premier League table thanks to their late victory over Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday, but City can move back to the summit themselves if they overcome Cardiff on their own patch on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s next match is a tricky looking away fixture against Southampton on Friday and Matip feels both title challengers will slip up during the run in. “I think it will be hard for both teams to play these kind of games without dropping points,” Matip told Sky Sports. “But we are only looking to our next opponent.
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That is the most important thing.” Former Schalke star Matip has established himself as a first-team regular at the heart of the Liverpool defence alongside Virgil van Dijk over recent months.
The 27-year-old is a big fan of his central defensive colleague, but he feels the entire team are responsible for Liverpool’s defensive resilience this season – the Reds have conceded just 19 goals from their 32 league matches to date this term. “We have all made it quite good,” Matip added. “Virgil has had a big impact on the whole defence but it starts at the front, we put pressure on the opponent. It makes life easier for us. “The whole team is defending much better.”
