Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher doesn’t fancy the Reds’ chances of retaining the Premier League title next year, with the 2019/20 campaign pretty much in the bag.
The one key reason for this depends on whether spectator sports will have to remain behind-closed-doors next season too because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Carragher believes Liverpool have enough quality to see out the unusual period unscathed, but says the players will miss the atmosphere generated by the Anfield crowd – an issue he reckons Manchester City wouldn’t suffer from so much.
“I don’t think they [Liverpool] will be impacted more than anyone [else this season] because they’re one of the best teams so they’ll still get a lot of really good results, I’d imagine,” he’s quoted as saying by the Express.
“If you’d said to me it had happened last season and Man City and Liverpool were neck-and-neck with nine games to go, I’d strongly fancy Man City because I think they’d cope a lot better in this situation that we’re in right now.
“I do think the Anfield crowd creates a huge impact, I think Klopp’s football is slightly different to [Pep] Guardiola’s, a lot of that is using the energy of the crowd, the energy of the team, the intensity. Whereas I think it’s a lot more of a technical game with Pep as well.
“So I actually think it probably will be suited to Man City but I don’t think it will impact Liverpool more than any other club.
“Because the Anfield factor plays a huge part in the success of Liverpool, not just Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool but Liverpool going back to the year dot.”
We at EOTK agree with Carra’s comments – the Anfield faithful are famous for creating an atmosphere and willing the players on as the off-field ‘twelfth man’.
Even though these comments may come off as offensive to some City fans, the former Liverpool man is actually paying Pep Guardiola and his players a compliment.
Carra is saying the Citizens will have the edge in the 2020/21 Premier League title race because they don’t need to be spurred on by fans, unlike other teams.