Former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy is of the opinion that the Reds will struggle to finish in the top four once again. Manager Brendan Rodgers overcame several question marks about his future to sustain in his role.

However, there has been numerous changes at Anfield in terms of the coaching personnel and players. The arrival of players like Christian Benteke has brought a lot of positivity surrounding the club, but it has vanished after a mediocre start once again. Liverpool huffed and puffed to get a 1-0 win over newly promoted Bournemouth in the opening game of the season.

Since then, however, they have not been able to get a victory in the last two games. More recently, they were involved in a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of West Ham United at Anfield. It will go down as one of the worst results for the club in recent memory, but there could be more trouble in the near future since they visit Manchester United after the international break. Bellamy represented Liverpool for several years when the club was regularly qualifying for the Champions League. Now, however, it has become a rarity at Anfield. After managing it only once in the last five years, it looks like Bellamy is backing for another campaign without European football.

"I'd love to say they can qualify for the Champions League but I feel they will fall a little bit short of that again this year.I think [Christian] Benteke is a brilliant signing – he's definitely a player who is going to do well. They're desperate for [Daniel] Sturridge to have an injury-free season as he holds a lot of the keys as to how Liverpool will do," said Bellamy. The team may take a while before they start clicking and functioning at their best. Benteke, though, has been a reasonable success so far.