Liverpool will need to "raise their game" from their current impressive form if they are to win another UEFA Champions League crown this term, believes Glen Johnson.
The Reds have made a flying start to life under Arne Slot, and sit eight points clear at the top of the Premier League after a dozen games as they chase a first title since 2020.
But it is in Europe where expectations are also high for the Merseyside outfit, having last won the Champions League in 2019, and with Real Madrid their next opponent.
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Liverpool have gone four from four in the revamped group stage this year so far, but Johnson, a former Reds right-back, believes they will have to lift their level even more to win.
“I don’t know," he told Betfred. "It’s always going to be the big guns that go far in the competition and a lot can happen between now and the final.
"Liverpool are so consistent at the moment and to win the Champions League, I believe they’ll have to raise their game slightly.
"However, they seem to do that when the big teams come to town and if they won the competition, it wouldn’t surprise me. Right now, it’s very tough to call who’s going to win it.”
Liverpool are the most successful English team in the history of the Champions League and its forerunner the European Cup, having won it on six occasions.
They reached the final three times under Slot's predecessor Jurgen Klopp, and won once, against Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 with a 2-0 victory in Madrid.