If Liverpool managed to remain at the top of the premier league table till Salah returned from the African Cup of Nations, Liverpool might end up winning the premier league trophy because Salah's presence would boost their morale to win more of their matches.
Liverpool continued improvement in performance will not have too big an impact as long as Salah plays for his country in the Africa Cup of Nations. Klopp has drawn up a plan so that his team's performance remains stable even though he is without his mainstay striker, he still has several players who can be relied on to fill the position left by Salah. Liverpool who are leading the EPL standings, will continue to try to maintain their position without the slightest dependence on Salah. They must be able to help each other so that their team can get full points in every game.
Salah is very important for Liverpool, even Klopp will be depressed to find a replacement for Salah because Salah is one of their key player that if he's absent the team faces difficulties, why I said Salah is very important is that in every match you will always notice his present because he normally assist or score goal, or the both in any games they had.
Aston Villa who has performed well this season, is a threat to Liverpool. Liverpool's mistakes could have fatal consequences because they are only three points apart. Manchester and Arsenal will also not let Liverpool sit comfortably at the top of the standings, the competition is very competitive so Liverpool must always be able to maintain their position safely with consistent performances.
Aston villa are trying to replace Newcastle united position this season, they are making table uncomfortable for Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester city and Tottenham Hotspur, which the top teams find it hard to maintain their points, this has become really challenging for them because Aston villa are fighting for the title, I think the only team that will face this challenges most are Arsenal. Manchester city have just 19th matches and still have outstanding to catch up the rise with other, with their current squad still they are still the strongest team in Premier league, if they can win the outstanding match they will move to second in the table with 43 points, two points behind the Liverpool and one point ahead of Aston villa. All this top three are in their good performance now the arsenal will find it difficult to overtake any of them.