30 Sept 2016

Molby raves: £149m quintet are a 'real positive' for Liverpool and may achieve rare 'double figures' feat

With 16 goals in 6 Premier League games, Liverpool are scoring goals for fun, but none of the club's strikers have yet found the net in the league this season. Is this a problem? Anfield legend Jan Molby doesn't think so.

In his Friday column for the Liverpool Echo, Molby mused:

"There's every chance we'll have five players in double figures this season. The goals are flowing and they are being shared around which is a real positive".

Liverpool's goalscorers in the league this season:

* 3: Coutinho, Lallana, Mane, and Milner.

* 2: Firmino.

* 1: Lovren, and Henderson.

Sturridge, Origi, and Klavan have also scored in cup games, so in total, ten Liverpool players are on the scoresheet this season. As Molby states, this is indeed a positive, but in my view, it's dangerous to rely on the likes of Lallana, and Coutinho to reach double figures:

* Outside the Championship, Lallana has never scored more than 9 goals (all competitions) in a single season. His personal best for Liverpool is a pitiful 7 goals (last season) only 4 of which were in the league. Overall, Lallana has averaged just 7 goals per season over the last 4 years.

* Coutinho has hit double figures just once in his career (12 goals in competitions last season), and he's never scored more than 8 league goals in a single season for Liverpool. Overall, Coutinho averages 8 goals per season over the last 4 years.

Conversely, Mane has averaged 17 goals every season for the last four years, so there's a high probability that he'll repeat that feat at Anfield. The big test comes in January, when Mane will miss 5-7 games due to the African Cup of Nations; will Coutinho and Lallana pick up the goalscoring slack?

It's a risky bet, which is why it's vital that at least one of Liverpool's strikers consistently weighs in with goals this season.

* Lallana: Cost £26m. Mane: Cost £34m. Firmino: Cost £29m. Coutinho: £45m-rated. Milner: £15m-rated


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