Liverpool arguably have their best chance to win the Premier League this season but the challenge of knocking off Manchester City is a massive one.
The Reds almost ended their long pursuit of the domestic title last term as they fell one point short of Man City, who won the league crown for their second consecutive season under Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard may be a fantastic coach, much like Jurgen Klopp , but it's clear City's financial muscle gives them an advantage over the rest of the field.
Klopp has alluded to this in the past , something which has been met with plenty of pushback from the Blues , but a CIES Football Observatory post has summed up just how hard the fight is for Liverpool .
CIES have ranked every side in the top five leagues around Europe based on the transfer expenditure to assemble their squad. Whilst Liverpool have landed some bargains in recent years, the findings still offer a glimpse at just how powerful City are after becoming the first side in history to have a squad worth more than €1billion euros in transfer expenditure.
The Blues have a squad value of €1.014bn (£908.5m), while the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are worth €913m and €902m respectively.
Manchester United are back in fourth with a squad value of €751m, slightly ahead of Juventus (€719m).
Barcelona (€697m), Liverpool (€639m), Chelsea (€561), Atletico Madrid (€550m) and Arsenal (€498m) round out the top ten squad values around Europe.
Everton are the next Premier League club in the list worth €486m and the Toffees are ahead of Tottenham Hotspur (€465m).
Leicester City are the only other Premier League side in the top 20, with the Foxes' squad valued at €312m.
Transfer expenditure to assemble squad European top ten (in euros)
Man City €1.014bn
PSG €913m
Real Madrid €902m
Manchester United €751m
Juventus €719m
Barcelona €697m
Liverpool €639m
Chelsea €561m
Atletico Madrid €550m
Arsenal €498m
