Peter Crouch insists Liverpool are "still in the title hunt" while backing his old club to finish above Manchester United come the end of the season.
Liverpool moved back into the top four after picking up a 3-1 away win at Tottenham on Thursday night.
The reigning Premier League champions had lost ground on arch-rivals United and Manchester City after a five-match winless run, but looked back to their fluent best against Spurs, with Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane all getting on the scoresheet.
The Reds are now sitting four points behind first-placed City having played a game more, with another crucial fixture against West Ham at the London Stadium up next on Sunday.
United missed the chance to return to the summit after losing 2-1 at home to Sheffield United in midweek, having previously been billed as favourites to dethrone Liverpool.
Crouch doesn't think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will be able to keep pace with Jurgen Klopp's men in the long run, and he still believes the Premier League trophy could end up back at Anfield for a second successive year despite their recent struggles for consistency.
“I believed it when they were still going through this bad spell. I had a little bet with Rio [Ferdinand] last night. I still think they will finish above United. I think they’re still in the title hunt," the ex-Reds striker told BT Sport.
“I think they have got some top players. I thought Henderson dropping into centre-back tonight was fantastic and, yeah, it’s going to be a struggle at times because Nat Phillips had to come on and I’m not sure what happened with Matip.
“They’re definitely struggling in that area, but when you’ve got the attacking talent they have on display you cannot write them off.”
Ex-United defender Ferdinand covered Liverpool's latest win alongside Crouch, and echoed his sentiments with regards to the Merseyside outfit's title credentials.
“‘Is their season over in terms of challenging?’ I think they have answered that emphatically tonight,' he said of Klopp's team.
“Yes, they were given some gifts tonight but you’ve got to be there to take them. They punished this Spurs team and Liverpool are going to be there or thereabouts.
“When you have got a strikeforce like this, yes they have had a bit of a blip in form, a little downturn in form in front of goal, but these guys are seasoned at knowing how to be around the top of the Premier League."
