Neil Warnock has admitted that he is tipping Manchester City, not Liverpool, to win this season’s Premier League title.
Speaking to TalkSPORT, the former manager said that while either Liverpool or Man City could win it, he’s tipping Pep Guardiola’s side.
“I tip Man City,” said Warnock. “I think Liverpool’s a great side as well, (but) I’ve always thought that Man City beat the bottom half sides easier.
“I always think you’ve got a chance against Liverpool. If everybody’s on the game and they’ve got one or two lads off like happened last weekend, I always think you’ve got a chance against Liverpool. Whereas against Man City, I very rarely think you’ve got a chance to get anything.”
Liverpool losing out on the fine margins
It’s still very early to make title predictions. But Warnock does raise a credible point. Liverpool don’t lose many in a season, but their inability to beat the lower sides of the division does often come back to haunt them.
Take last season as an example. Liverpool only lost two games all season. Those weren’t against City, Chelsea, or any of the other ‘big six.’ Instead, they were against West Ham United and Leicester City.
Those two teams both finished in the top half last season. With their quality though, Liverpool should still be beating them.
You can’t win every game, we all know that. And even City drop points where they shouldn’t.
But it does often feel as though Guardiola’s team make much lighter work of teams than Liverpool sometimes do. It’s hard to imagine City not beating Fulham last weekend, no matter how good the Cottagers were.
Regardless, The Reds should be commended for keeping some kind of pace with the Manchester club. The resources of the two teams are quite different. City are virtually able to sign £50m players in every position in the squad. Liverpool don’t have that luxury.
The margins between the two sides continue to be small. But it’s this one obstacle that does sometimes hold Liverpool back. Let’s hope they start to put that right this season, starting Monday night at Anfield against Crystal Palace.
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