A Plan for Liverpool to Catch Arsenal at the Top of the Table

Liverpool sit comfortably in second place during this third international break of the season—just two points behind Arsenal. A win in their next match, the lunchtime kick-off against Everton, would actually see them rise to the top of the Premier League table, at least temporarily.

But as evidenced by the meeting of the two sides earlier this month, Arsenal are currently ahead of Liverpool in their overall development.

“They are a very good side with very good players, and for us we're playing catch-up" Brendan Rodgers told ESPN after the 2-0 defeat at the Emirates.

So what can Rodgers' Liverpool do to catch up the London side?

Beat the lower-table teams

This is something that Rodgers' side have become very competent at under his tutelage. As evidenced by the last three home results—4-0, 4-1, 3-1 against Fulham, West Brom and Crystal Palace, respectively.

The Liverpool statistician Andrew Beasley calculated Liverpool's results against the bottom 10 sides since the Premier League began. No surprise to find that the best points average was achieved in 2008/09, when Rafa Benitez's side recorded the club's best ever Premier League points tally.

In recent years, this has been Liverpool's Achilles' heel. The two seasons immediately prior to Rodgers' arrival were two of the worst. 

In fact, 2011/12—Kenny Dalglish's full season in charge—saw Liverpool pick up just seven victories against bottom-half clubs (compare this to 15 under Benitez's charge in 2008/09). Rodgers' side already have five this season.

Results against Hull, Norwich and West Ham will, arguably, be more important than those against Man City, Tottenham and Chelsea in December.

Keep the key trio fit

The attacking trio of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho is good enough to beat any defence in Europe.

Keeping them fit will be crucial to Liverpool maintaining their place near the top of the table. Rodgers can also look to "rest" each of them in order to avoid any long-term injuries. Remember that Coutinho and Sturridge are both relatively young at 21 and 24, respectively.

Buy smart in January

If Liverpool can have another productive winter transfer window, just as they did with the signings of Coutinho and Sturridge last January, that will provide the perfect platform for the final stretch of the campaign.

"The focus is on bringing in players that can come straight in and improve our team" Rodgers explained to The Guardian. "We did that last year and benefited from that. We know what we need to improve."

Crucial to this will be not only identifying the correct players, but also the correct areas where the first team needs improving.

A midfield addition seems the highest priority, somebody to compete with or replace Lucas Leiva as the first-choice for the holding midfield position. That's not to say that Lucas should be sold—but perhaps less reliance on him every match to perform.

Added depth up front in the case of Suarez or Sturridge being injured is also needed, while left-back remains a problem area despite the arrival of Aly Cissokho on loan for the season.

Forget defeats to big clubs

Defeats to the top four can be damaging—as Man City found out when Peter Crouch's goal in 2010 saw Spurs into the Champions League at City's expense—but over the course of the season, a team can dictate their own fate by beating the rest of the league.

Eighty-four points are on offer from games against the teams outside of the top six. This is where Liverpool need to concentrate. Maintain morale and move on, don't let a defeat to a side who have established Champions League players warming their bench derail any momentum.

Focus on Top Four

By focusing on achieving Champions League qualification this season, the summer can then see the Reds buy Champions League-quality players and then make the push to the next step.