Emile Heskey believes Liverpool's frontline can propel the Reds back to the top of the Premier League within the next couple of seasons.

Jurgen Klopp's side have scored 16 league goals in seven matches so far this season, with 12 of them accounted for by Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota.

And their former striker has been impressed by the way Anfield legends Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have been replaced so quickly.

Speaking ahead of the Reds' trip to Brighton on Sunday, Heskey exclusively told LiveScore: "They've got so many options.

"They can choose from several formations. Obviously the main man is Salah and everything else is worked out from there but you've got the likes of Jota and Diaz coming in and scoring goals.

"Nunez is like a throwback Premier League striker. He gives 100% with his running and he doesn't give defenders a minute's peace. I like him off the left where he can run at defenders but he's very adaptable.

"Following that front three of Salah, Firmino and Mane was always going to be difficult but they're looking very sharp.

"To be honest, I think the title will be a step too far this season because you basically need 100 points to stop Manchester City. That might be beyond them for now but next season I expect a challenge."

Next Stevie G

Heskey has also been impressed by summer midfield recruit Dominik Szoboszlai, after an encouraging start to his Liverpool career.

The 22-year-old Hungarian has scored two goals for Klopp's men so far, with his second — a powerful effort from range in the Carabao Cup win over Leicester — drawing comparisons to legendary midfielder Steven Gerrard.

Heskey said: "When you're wearing No8 and scoring goals like that, you're going to be compared to Stevie G.

"I think we need to be a little bit careful. Stevie could drive and take the game by the scruff of the neck and we haven't seen that quite yet.

"But I believe he's capable of it. He's a young lad, he shows a lot of confidence to take the shots on and I think he can go really far."

Seagulls circling

Liverpool's game at the Amex Stadium looks to be among the most entertaining of the weekend, with a league-high 33 goals scored in the Seagulls' seven league outings so far this term.

And Heskey expects the visitors to edge an exciting affair.

He said: "Brighton play some really attractive football.

"It's going to be an interesting one. It's a tough game for Liverpool because they have to come to terms with that possession-based Brighton style.

"I do expect them to win, though. I think they'll have enough quality."

The game will be Liverpool's first in the Premier League since one of the most controversial matches of the season so far, at Tottenham last Saturday.

Luis Diaz was denied a legitimate goal after a VAR communication breakdown and Heskey says the officiating system is causing unnecessary confusion.

He added: "Ultimately, it's still human error.

"We were led to believe VAR would remove that but it's still there. For me, a lot of the mistakes are quite obvious but we are never going to eradicate them.

"It should be fairly seamless now but we're still seeing so many poor decisions."

Emile Heskey was speaking on behalf of sharemarketcap.com.