Neil Warnock has backed Manchester City to pip Liverpool to the Premier League title again this season and highlighted a perceived Reds weakness as to why.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have created two of the best teams in the 30-year history of the league, and for the last five seasons they have gone toe-to-toe as the standout sides. Liverpool took the 2019/2020 title - their first in 30 years - but City have clinched the other four, at times by the slimmest of margins.
And games between the two have always been equally tight, with three of the last four clashes ending level - the only win for City being a 4-1 win in February 2021. But former journeyman manager Warnock has backed Guardiola’s side to make it five titles in six this season and cited one key Reds weakness as an explanation.
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“I tip Man City,” Warnock told TalkSPORT . “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.”
Warnock’s claim may have an element of recency bias mixed in, with Klopp’s side kicking off the new campaign in lacklustre fashion in the 2-2 draw at Fulham, but last season’s record against the big-six saw no defeats and the 2020/2021 campaign saw them lose only to Manchester City and Chelsea.
The two losses last season came against West Ham United and Leicester City, while the previous season - albeit with significant injuries in defence - saw Klopp’s side lose to the likes of Aston Villa, Southampton, Burnley and Fulham.
But Guardiola’s side have been far from perfect against so-called ‘lesser’ teams, tasting defeat against Crystal Palace last season and taking just one point from a possible six against a newly-promoted Leeds United the year before. No doubt this year’s race will once again go down to the wire.
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