Jamie Carragher adamant in belief on Liverpool Premier League title chances as Gary Neville picks his winners

Jamie Carragher has explained why he does not think Liverpool can win the Premier League title this season, while his colleague Gary Neville has picked out who he thinks will hold aloft the trophy in May as the race between Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City intensifies.

The Merseysiders went into this weekend’s round of fixtures sat top of the table, having lost just once of their 16 matches played so far and showing that they are back to being Mentality Monsters by becoming kings of the Premier League comeback.

However, while pre-season favourites Manchester City were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace on Saturday, Liverpool saw Arsenal and Aston Villa both climb above them with victories earlier on Sunday.

That meant that only a win over arch-rivals Manchester United in the big Sunday showdown could propel Jurgen Klopp’s side back to the summit. However, a dogged United performance saw Erik ten Hag’s side dig in to claim a probably-deserved draw to frustrate their hosts.

The result means Liverpool have failed to win at Anfield for the first time this season, while United become the first team to prevent them from scoring in a game since April.

And after the game, Carragher says he saw nothing from Liverpool that changes his mind that it is too soon to say Liverpool can win this season’s Premier League title for the first time since 2020.

“I think it’s like Liverpool are playing a season ahead of schedule, ahead of where they should be. How good is this Liverpool team?” Carragher asked on Sky Sports when asssessing their title chances.

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Carragher explains why Liverpool cannot win Premier League title

Revealing what he thinks Liverpool’s realistic aim for the season is, he believes they will be content to finish back in the Champions League places.

“I think the feeling was that they wanted to make it back into the Champions League for this season and then get back up there, but I think you can even speak to Arsenal supporters and wonder about their own team. They have that goalkeeping situation over there so it feels like there are questions around the top two right now.”

Turning attention back towards Liverpool, Carragher says that if the chance to win the title does get within their grasp, then they will undoubtedly go for it, though he feels the Reds have relied on luck so far to take them to where they are in the table.

“I don’t think Liverpool will win the league, not this year. I think they’ve had good luck so far, certainly had bad luck with the Tottenham game but they’ve also ridden on some lucky results so far. I’m not sure they can continue to do that.”

Gary Neville rules out Liverpool as he names his title winners

Neville, who joined Carragher in the studio after the game, also thinks the title will be a step too far for Liverpool this season.

And he reckons it will be Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal who get their hands on the crown, with City’s recent slip ups to prove costly in the long run.

“I don’t think Liverpool can win the league,” the United old boy declared.

“I had Arsenal at the start of the season and that’s only because I could see City having a little slip after the incredible treble-winning season they had last year. With Pep Guardiola, how many times does he only win one game in six in the league?

“It’s not complacency but I think there’s times where in the first part of the season, games might not feel as important as you want them to be. Come February, the Champions League knockout stage could come and they’ll hit the ground running.

“I think it’ll come down to injuries in the end – if Arsenal can keep their players fit, they’ve got an incredible chance to win it this year but you can’t rule City out, obviously.”

Klopp, meanwhile, feels the intensity of Liverpool’s Christmas schedule will test them severely, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to West Ham coming up in midweek prior to Saturday’s huge game against Arsenal at Anfield.

“It’s a tough period. We play Wednesday against West Ham, they’re flying and playing really well at the moment, then we have Arsenal and Burnley. It’s horrendous,” said Klopp after the match.

“We have to make sure we get enough points in this period but then there’s a lot of football to play after that too. It’s important we get through this with as many players as possible.”

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