7th heavens beackons for Liverpool

Just about everyone was wrong.

In pre-season, there was talk of a famous five; a quintet of quality contenders for the Premier League title.

There were the two halves of Manchester, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham (remember them?).

Liverpool were going to contest the Europa League cast-offs.

A top-four finish was the stuff of daydream believers.

But the Reds are poised to make monkeys of us all.

Brendan Rodgers' boys are on top, in form and have the calculator in their corner.

Six games, six victories and the seasonal suffering will finally come to an end. And there are six reasons why those final fixtures could end with an open-top bus parade through the jubilant streets of Liverpool.

1 West Ham v Pool: Sterling Resurgence

Rodgers' selections appear to be touched by the knowing hand of a clairvoyant.

His decision to recall Raheem Sterling proved decisive in shooting down Spurs.

Where others might be fearful, the winger floated away on his remarkable confidence, proving to be the prickliest of thorns to a drooping Danny Rose.

He didn't dribble against Tottenham. He danced; all hip swinging, pass flicking and flank switching.

Either George McCartney or Guy Demel will be served up for potential humiliation at Upton Park this Sunday.

Hungry like a wolf, Sterling promises to feast on either fullback.

The first of the final six fixtures threatens to be a brutal, bloody banquet.

Against Tottenham, Sterling was operating on a higher plane. He'll be on the England one to Brazil and should be in the starting line-up against Italy.

He's still only 19. That's scary. For McCartney and Demel, he's a nightmare on Green Street.2Pool v Man City: Anfield Fans the Flames

Liverpool were hammering Tottenham and heading for the top of the table. Manchester United were wallowing in their mid-table wilderness.

And Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish celebrated with the Kop as Anfield made Alcatraz seem more appealing to visitors.

Only half-time tracks from Rick Astley stopped the weekend from returning to 1990. The Anfield of old is back and on the attack.

On the Kop, loyalty always provides polite applause. Casual hope pumps up the volume, but expectation blows the roof off.

Manuel Pellegrini thinks he knows the Premier League.

In Liverpool's second of six key games, the City manager will go back to school. A history lesson awaits the Chilean.

In its prime, the Kop became a match-day magnet; practically pulling the ball into the net.

In a glorious throwback, the euphoric screams of title dreams returned against Spurs. Pellegrini cannot be fully prepared for what he will face at Anfield. The biggest mouths on Merseyside are waiting.

3 Norwich v Pool: Suarez Preys on the Weak

Luis Suarez displayed another of his incomparable qualities against Tottenham.

He's an unforgiving scavenger. As he overtook Robbie Fowler's club tally for his 29th goal for the season, the Liverpool striker offered a reminder of why he's as much an anarchist as he is an artist.

He bullies the vulnerable. He picked away at Michael Dawson's weakness with a vulture's precision.

No one else in the Premier League is so ruthlessly adept at exploiting a dying defender.

For all his exquisite attributes, Suarez stalks the wounded like starving hyenas attacking a limping lion.

He heads to Norwich for Liverpool's third game to chase down the struggling Sebastien Bassong and Joseph Yobo. It's such a predatory encounter David Attenborough should provide the commentary.

4 Pool v Chelsea: Rodgers no longer the Pupil

The classic Star Wars scene where Darth Vader mocks Obi-Wan Kenobi, claiming "when I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master" could well be acted out on the touchline when Chelsea venture into Anfield for Liverpool's fourth game.

Rodgers was once a coach under Jose Mourinho's tutelage. If the Reds prevail, he will be claimed as the new Messiah, leaving his old mentor looking like a very naughty boy. And he could.

Rodgers' subtle tinkering appears blessed by divine intervention.

During an eight-game winning streak, he favoured a midfield diamond including Joe Allen to shore up that shaky defence.

Against Spurs, he recalled Sterling and switched to a 4-3-3, pinpointing the visitors' fullback flaws highlighted by Southampton the previous week.

His policy was validated within two minutes. Rodgers is proving a masterful tactician; one of the few who could "out-Mourinho" Mourinho.

5 Palace v Pool: Drilling through Hard Midfields

Tim Sherwood strung five midfielders along the halfway line like Christmas fairy lights. They proved to be less than illuminating.

Crystal Palace employed a similar formation against Chelsea, but with more defence-minded enforcers, twice the resolve and a manager who spent less time on a phone than a lovesick teenager.

In their fifth game, Liverpool will encounter a resolute wall at Selhurst Park. But they have the drillers to punch holes.

Jordan Henderson cleans up with the hankie-holding fussiness of a kiasu mother and Philippe Coutinho is increasingly teasing at being the best of the rest. He spun away from every hapless Tottenham marker.

For Spurs, it was like trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. Coutinho found space and the goal's bottom corner in one fluid movement. He could bring the wall tumbling down at Palace.

6 Pool v Newcastle: It's Gerrard's Time

The hashtag #StevieG trended on Twitter on Monday morning. For 16 years, Steven Gerrard felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. Now he has the world on his side.

The tweets were largely united in their idealism. Let this be the Liverpool skipper's year.

When Newcastle visit Anfield in their final game, Gerrard will be omnipresent. He will be a man for all 16 seasons against the Magpies. From now until Newcastle, he will chase and harry; sweep up and shoot down; create and crush.

The automaton made on Merseyside will not stop. And who would seriously deny the 33-year-old a winner's medal?

Newcastle won't.

The original Roy of the Rovers fully deserves a comic-book ending.

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