Fasten your seatbelts; this ride is picking up speed.

Well, you can’t say that it won’t be an interesting end to the current. Battling for 4th place after running the eventual Champions so close last season hardly equates to content at Melwood, but it’s still going to exciting for everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club.

Sunday was encouraging, and our current form is beginning to mirror our efforts at this point last season. The dominant display against Sunderland was in stark contrast to the way that we relinquished a solitary goal lead over Man United last weekend. On that occasion, the home side bullied us. After recovering from their early set back they got themselves back in the game and won convincingly; we were the 11 school yard bullies this weekend though.

The fluidity in the front five’s interplay promoted some glorious one/two touch football; the understanding was apparent. Johnson’s running which enabled with him link-up with Maxi was a thorn in Bruce’s side. Torres was sharp and Gerard had one of his better games of recent times.

This quick, sharp, skilful approach to the beautiful game creates space, stretches play and is a pleasure to watch. It’s what Arsenal have done so well at during Wenger’s tenure, and why they’re regarded as the stylish and attractive team in the top flight. For all the criticism Benitez gets for negative, defensive football, this performance goes someway to dispel that myth.

Momentum is building at a decisive moment in the season, as 6 games remain in the League and potentially 5 in Europe, there is still much to play for. Like all LFC fans I would prefer our next European opponents to be Barcelona, as opposed to Benfica, but that’s the situation we are in. Full support for the team and management is essential as accolades, recognition and success beckons.

Sunday’s game saw the club win for an 8th consecutive time at Anfield in the Premiership. Such a run of form is vital to ensure Champions League football at Anfield next season, which not only confirms the club as an elite force across the continent, but attracts the best players in the world, while retaining the services of its current stock. It’s been the journeys away from Anfield that have troubled the Reds this season, with only 4 league victories in 16 games; the same record as Wolves (no offence intended). This trend needs addressing with trips to Birmingham, Burnley and Hull rounding off the away days of the current season. I can’t see why 9 points should not be attained, allowed real pressure to be exerted on the three other challengers for the 4th place.

Furthermore, Fernando Torres hit 20 goals for the season at the weekend. 30 goals is a viable total for a man whose is bang in form, a staging record considering the number of games he’s missed with injury this season. Liverpool we need if firing on all cylinders if such consistency is maintained for the duration of the season.

It’s over the past few weeks that I’ve began paying as much attention to our run-in as I’ve done to Spurs’, City’s and Villa’s; and I’d say the fixture lists are encouraging. Of the four teams, I’d ours is the less demanding, but teams towards the lower echelons of the division often produce superhuman performances when Premiership survival is at stake.

Saying that, I’d rather face Burnley, West Ham and Hull, as opposed to Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal: 3 of Tottenham’s opponents in April. City, another team to host Tottenham before the season’s end, have equally stern challenges to come between now and May. With games against their Mancunian counterparts, Arsenal and Villa in addition to Spurs, their fixtures hardly amount to nailed-on victories, as the possibility of dropped points appears all the more likely.

If City, Villa and Tottenham draw the games in which they face each other, then that’s 2 points dropped for Spurs and Villa, and 4 by City. Tottenham could then draw one of their 3 games against the title contenders; let’s say they draw 1, then in total that’s 10 dropped points by Harry’s Boys between now and the 5th of May. In the same time period, City could feasibly drop 9 points, in their 4 crunch games, leaving Villa with the opportunity to mount a late surge for 4th. I admit that all this is speculative, but it’s a possible scenario in a season that has been anything but habitual.

One of Villa downfalls is their goal difference, which is way behind City, Spurs and Liverpool after their mortifying defeat away at Chelsea. With a goal difference amounting to +17 better that Villa’s, Tottenham have the additional benefactor of a +28 goals for the season. It could be that their 12 league goals against Wigan play the decisive factor in deciding who emerges as the victors in the race for 4th place.