James Milner confident 'calm' Liverpool can end league title wait but expects stiff challenge from Manchester City

Reds hold a six-point lead over champions Manchester City after 10 games

Powered by automated translation

James Milner has said Liverpool are "confident" they can go on to win the Premier League title after laying the foundation with last season's Champions League triumph.

Liverpool won their sixth European Cup in June, defeating fellow English side Tottenham Hotspur in the final as Jurgen Klopp delivered the first trophy of his near four-year managerial reign.

The Anfield club were narrowly pipped to the league title by Manchester City last season, finishing second by one point despite collecting the third-highest points tally in Premier League history.

This season, however, Liverpool have taken the early initiative to lead City by six points having won nine and drawn one of their first 10 league games.

Their current position and overall form has made the Reds favourites to end their 30-year wait for an English league title, and Milner is convinced that they have the setup to win a first Premier League crown.

"This season we have a team that can do it," Milner told The Guardian. "I think there's a calm around the club, both inside and outside, and people are confident we can get it done.

"Hopefully winning that first trophy, the European Cup, as a squad will give us the experience to win the league."

Liverpool won the last of their 18 top-flight league titles in 1990 and Milner, who won two league titles at City before moving to Liverpool in 2015, said the team were expecting another tight title race in which defending champions City push them every step of the way.

"City are so good they're capable of winning every game," Milner, 33, said. "The gap is not that big so we have to just keep pushing and not worry too much about the title.

"A couple of bad games can happen and with the amount of games we're playing there might be a couple of injuries. It could be a couple of poor performances and the lead's gone. That's why it's so special to win the league."

Liverpool host Arsenal in a fourth-round League Cup encounter on Wednesday before resuming their Premier League campaign at promoted Aston Villa on Saturday.