Carragher names who he wants City to play in Champions League

Redaction Simon Brett with Dan Murphy
Published on 2024-02-07 09:30:00

Pundit Jamie Carragher is eager for Manchester City’s route through the Champions League to be as challenging as possible, in the hopes that it will give Liverpool a better chance at winning the Premier League.

As we get closer to the final stages of the campaign, there are still several teams that could potentially claim the trophy come May.

While Tottenham and Aston Villa are still within striking distance, the top contenders are currently City, Liverpool, and Arsenal.

At the moment, Liverpool is leading the competition with 51 points, but City and Arsenal are not far behind with 49 points each. This sets the stage for a thrilling title race.

The pressure is on Liverpool to clinch the title, especially as their iconic manager Jurgen Klopp is poised to leave the club in the coming summer after nine years in charge.

Carragher is keen to see his team win the Premier League for the second time. He expressed his desire for City and Arsenal to be pitted against each other in the Champions League, with the hope that it might divert their attention away from their league campaigns.

While speaking with Gary Neville on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, Carragher mentioned, “I’d love Arsenal to get City in the quarters because I think Arsenal are one of the few teams who could knock City out.” Neville responded by asking if this was for Liverpool’s benefit, to which Carragher agreed.

Carragher’s suggestion that Arsenal could pose a significant threat to City in Europe isn’t unfounded. This season, Arsenal have already defeated City once. Notably, City has struggled against Premier League teams in European competitions. They lost the 2021 final to Chelsea and have been infamously eliminated by Liverpool and Tottenham previously.

However, history has shown that facing other English teams in Europe has not hindered City’s domestic performances. When City faced and was eliminated by Premier League teams, they still secured the title in those seasons.

Additionally, in 2020 when Liverpool relinquished City’s hold on the trophy, it was Lyon, a French side, that knocked them out of Europe.

So, although Carragher’s idea seems to have merit, the evidence suggests that it may not necessarily benefit Liverpool in the end.

It remains to be seen how the rest of the season will unfold and whether Carragher’s wishes for a challenging Champions League draw for City will have the desired effect.

Read Original article on Manchester City News