Manchester United legend Gary Neville feels Liverpool face a long, long wait to be considered genuine title challengers.
Ahead of today's blockbuster at Anfield, Neville wrote in the Mail on Sunday: "It is 23 years and counting since they were last champions - that is a sustained period of failure for a club of Liverpool's stature.
"And I do wonder how they are going to break into the elite when you have the power of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, the relentlessness of Arsenal and the current spending from Tottenham.
"We went 26 years without a title at United but I fear it could be even longer for Liverpool. I always think the strength of a squad is how they would cope without their two most important players for a period. Imagine if Manchester United were without Robin van Persie and Nemanja Vidic for a number of weeks, or City without Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure. The drop in performance for both clubs with their respective squads would be less than if Liverpool lost Gerrard and Suarez together."
