Liverpool go to Middlesbrough this evening knowing that victory could take them above Arsenal into second place in the Premier League.

The Gunners lost 2-1 at Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals Everton on Tuesday night, which means that they are only three points clear of Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead of the Reds’ trip to the North West tonight.

Klopp’s men themselves will look to bounce back after a frustrating few weeks, which has seen them let slip a 3-1 lead at Bournemouth to lose 4-3, and then draw 2-2 at home to struggling West Ham on Sunday.

It’s now one win in four for Liverpool since their 6-1 victory over Watford on November 6, which was a result that sent them top of the Premier League. Now though, they are six points adrift of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea at the top.

Nonetheless, it has still been an excellent start to the season for Klopp’s side, who have won nine of their opening 15 games, and beaten the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leicester already this season.

They are also into the last four of the League Cup, having beaten Leeds 2-0 in the quarter-finals, and they’ll hope to get the better of Southampton in the semis when they take place in the New Year.

But, as it’s approaching Christmas and the halfway point of the season, we thought we’d have a look back on Liverpool’s campaign thus far…

PRO – Goals galore

Liverpool have the most exciting attacking side in the Premier League.

Their tally of 37 goals is more than all but one team (Arsenal) in the top-flight, and they’ve scored freely against the likes of Hull (5-1), Crystal Palace (4-2), and Watford (6-1) thus far.

They also fired four past Arsenal and Leicester earlier on in the campaign, and in Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, and Sadio Mane, they have the deadliest front three in the division, who between them have scored 17 goals and laid on 12 assists this season.

With the likes of James Milner, Adam Lallana, Emre Can, and Divock Origi also chipping in with goals, Klopp knows his side will always carry a goal-scoring threat, and it could be enough to fire them to the title.

CON – Defensively not good enough

However, for all their exciting attacking endeavour, they are lacking in defensive solidarity.

Joel Matip arrived from Schalke in the summer and has done well alongside Dejan Lovren, but they are still leaking too many goals.

They have conceded 20 goals so far this season, more than any other side in the top six, and have kept just three clean sheets in 15 games.

A 0-0 draw at Southampton and a 2-0 win over Sunderland suggested that they had started sorting their defensive issues, yet they’ve conceded six goals in their last two games against Bournemouth and West Ham, some of which were avoidable.

Goalkeeper Loris Karius is clearly struggling between the sticks, which can’t give the defence in front of him much confidence, and it’s something Liverpool need to address to sustain a challenge this season.

PRO – They are title contenders

Liverpool are certainly title contenders, and their record against the sides at the top should give them great confidence ahead of the second half of the season.

Klopp’s men beat Arsenal on the opening weekend, drew at Tottenham at the end of August and then beat them in the League Cup in October, beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, and drew 0-0 at home to Manchester United on October 17.

That’s eight points from four games, two of which have been away against the two sides currently above them in the division. It’s an excellent record.

Having this confidence from these results will be invaluable going forward this season – they just need to keep themselves in the race by beating the so-called lesser teams.

CON – Dropped points

And beating these so-called lesser teams has been a challenge in the last few weeks.

Although these results shouldn’t take the gloss of an excellent start to the season, one win in four against Southampton, Sunderland, Bournemouth, and West Ham is not what they were looking for when they travelled to St Mary’s on November 19.

A point at Southampton is a good result, as is a win over Sunderland, but they’ll be frustrated with the defeat at Bournemouth, especially being 3-1 up with 15 minutes to go, and the draw at home to West Ham, where they led early but couldn’t assert their dominance.

Consequently, from being a point clear at the top after beating Watford 6-1 on November 6, they are now six points adrift of Chelsea going into tonight’s game away at Middlesbrough.

That’s another game they need to win if they want to win the title this season.

Player of the Season – Philippe Coutinho

Several Liverpool players have been excellent so far this season – Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Mane, Firmino – but almost everything good that they do comes through Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian international was outstanding prior to his injury against Sunderland, netting five and assisting five in 12 Premier League starts, and has clearly been missed in the last few games.

The 24-year-old is one of the best attacking players in the league, and has greatly benefitted from and contributed to the lethal front three Klopp has at Anfield in him, Mane, and Firmino.

Liverpool fans will likely be counting down the days until he’s back available for selection.