Jamie Carragher has stated that Manchester United have the quality to win the title but used a comparison to a couple of Liverpool teams from earlier in the Premier League era to suggest they will ultimately fall short.
A midweek victory over Brighton put United three points clear at the top of the Premier League heading into Sunday's clash against Liverpool at Anfield.
That will be a real test of the title credentials of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and Carragher believes the current team is similar to two previous Liverpool sides, which failed to win the title.
"They remind me of the Liverpool teams that came close to winning the title under Roy Evans in 1997, and the one which narrowly missed out under Brendan Rodgers in 2014," he wrote in the Telegraph.
"Their points tally at this stage of the season is similar. Evans’ side were top with 38 points after 18 games. After 17 games, Rodgers’ Liverpool led with 36 points, identical to United today.
"The mood at Anfield during those times might resonate with United supporters now, particularly since the win over Burnley which took them top of the Premier League on Tuesday.
"Whenever there was a flicker of hope on Merseyside throughout the 1990s and 2000s, cautious excitement at an encouraging start was balanced by realism that the hard work was to come. Supporters were itching to believe, but were reluctant to do so prematurely.
"Even when they were leading at the halfway stage of the season, no one truly thought they would become champions. The aforementioned Liverpool teams were occasionally thrilling, but generally flawed. And when the moment of truth came, they could not be trusted."
