John Barnes has revealed why he is backing Liverpool to achieve their aim of finishing in the top four this season.

Despite the disappointment of Sunday’s Old Trafford defeat, the wing wizard feels the experience Rafael Benitez’s side have gives them a big advantage over their closest rivals in the race for Champions League football.

“That (experience) is why Liverpool have finished in the top four,” said Barnes. “Not just because of the expectation but because of the quality they have.

“They do have that quality and they haven’t lost that quality from finishing second last season. Things aren’t going well at this particular moment time.

“Tottenham and Aston Villa are a little bit different now because they have improved their squads. If you look at the bench, for example, when Liverpool played Tottenham first game of the season, arguably they had a stronger bench than Liverpool.

“So that’s a little bit different. but they haven’t got the experience of going all the way which Liverpool have, in terms of finishing in the top four.

“I think Liverpool have the expectations, and rightly so, because they’ve done it in the past and they’ve proven it. They have the quality and hopefully that will carry them to the finish line.”