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Will Liverpool keep the Premier League trophy or can Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea or another team take them down?
With the curtain up on the Premier League this weekend, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher give their verdict on whether Liverpool will keep their crown in 2020/21.
The Reds finished a unique 2019/20 by finally lifting their first league title in 30 years amid an empty Anfield, with the previous consecutive champions Manchester City finishing 17 points off the pace and Pep Guardiola presiding over the most. league losses (nine) from any season of his managerial career.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have only made one addition to their ranks this summer, with the arrival of Greek left-back Kostas Tsimikas to provide backing for Andrew Robertson, and though they have been strongly linked with a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcántara. The Merseyside club has seen all of their top four rivals join their squads since the season ended on July 26.
2:48 Liverpool may approach Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara in January to avoid paying a transfer fee, Kaveh Solhekol told The Transfer Show.
Liverpool’s first game with Leeds is live Sky Sports Premier League starting at 5 p.m. Saturday as one of six Sky Sports games in the first round of matches.
So how do Carra and Neville view the Premier League title race, as we await the return of the top flight this weekend?
Liverpool vs Leeds
September 12, 2020, 5:00 pm
To live 
Can Liverpool retain their crown?
Liverpool enter the new season in a position they have not been in since 1990, as the team to leave league champions, something Neville said would become a “stress” for Klopp’s men, especially without no major entries at Anfield to date. .
However, the eight-time Premier League winner believes Klopp can use his team’s past resilience under his leadership as a positive sign ahead of next season.
“Liverpool are the team to catch,” he said. “There is no doubt that it will become a stress for them. They have had the same players for almost three seasons, the Champions League final, the Champions League victory, going so close in the Premier League but then winning. The league is a massive demand psychologically, mentally and physically to place on the players without stimulating them again.
0:46 Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Micah Richards agree that Liverpool need to add some new faces to the team before the transfer window closes.
“Now Jurgen Klopp has been absolutely amazing and can certainly handle them and get the best of them, but I think if they had Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich, it’s the only area of the team where I would say they weren’t world class, and they are very good because the players are fantastic players. They have a great work ethic and attitude, they complement and complement defense, goalkeeper and attack brilliantly, but you put it in there and you already have a genuine world-class presence in middle of a brilliant team and that would do several things too
“Jurgen Klopp has shown that Liverpool can carry on. You win the Champions League and the following year you win the League, you have shown that you can carry on. Even to get the Champions League final and the comeback.” And winning it, and then winning the league again, has shown that he can make the most of them and that he can make them forget what happened last season.
“My only thing this season would be that demand from the same squad, the same players, the same message, the same relationships and the same jokes for two or three years without that slightly different something in the dressing room and that addition, just sometimes” . It can get a bit tiring and the idea of Thiago coming to Liverpool is a great moment because it deals with all those problems that can happen after two or three seasons. “
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Will the title come to Manchester?
0:46 Micah Richards and Gary Neville weigh in on Manchester United’s transfer business so far
After amassing 198 points in two seasons while lifting the Premier League trophy in 2017/18 and 2018/19, finishing almost 20 points off pace last season was something of a fall from grace for Manchester City with Pep Guardiola. , who ended the season with a single trophy on the back of two national triples.
Ferran Torres and Nathan Ake have already been added to Guardiola’s squad since the end of the season, and the club also hopes to bring in defender Kalidou Koulibaly as they look to regain the title they gave up in July.
Manchester United’s form in the second half of the campaign, which eventually propelled them to third place in the league from seventh in February, has also raised questions about whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can finally lead the club back to the league. title contest, seven years since they last lifted a Premier League trophy in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season. But who is more likely to arrive next May?
“I still think that Manchester City, more than Manchester United, will be the biggest obstacle to Liverpool retaining the title, but I see United getting much closer,” Carragher said. “The signing of Bruno Fernandes has been fantastic. He was outstanding in the second half of last season and I am very excited to see him for a full season.”
“If Liverpool don’t win the league this season, I don’t think it’s because they lacked motivation. This Liverpool team went to a Champions League final, came back the following year and won it, then went on to win the Premier League. “The only thing Liverpool is concerned about is that the team hasn’t changed too much. Sometimes you just need a bit of freshness, mentally more than anything. It will be interesting to see if they get a signing or two on the other end of the line.
“I don’t see Chelsea or Manchester United reaching more than 90 points to win a title. I hope they can close the gap to make it more exciting, but I still see Liverpool or City in the league.”
Is it time for Chelsea to shine?
0:48 Micah Richards, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville weigh in on Chelsea’s transfer business so far in the transfer window
Despite being under a transfer ban last season and having bled several young players with no Premier League experience, Frank Lampard, himself a relatively rookie manager, led Chelsea to the FA Cup final and another season in the Champions League.
But now, with close to £ 150 million already spent on some of Europe’s top talent, including Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, the pressure has mounted around Stamford Bridge, so can the Blues legend deliver?
Brighton vs Chelsea
September 14, 2020, 7:00 pm
To live 
“Chelsea is interesting because Roman Abramovich has wanted an extravagant team for 15 years, and every time he looks for the extravagant coaches to try to get the extravagant team, he has returned to that more methodical kind of approach that has been successful for the club “. “Neville said.
“I think this year he’s probably investing, partly because of Covid and he sees an opportunity to exploit the market, but I think because what Frank Lampard has done has invigorated him. The academy players finally came through, the emergence of Christian Pulisic. and other young players, a team that plays in a different way, more energetic and very good to watch.
“More inconsistent, less reliable, you always get it when you try to go with younger players and a different style, but I think that’s what he wants. He wants excitement, he wants excitement at Chelsea and that’s why he invested this summer.” to come back right now because he sees a team that has something they have always wanted. “
Sky Sports Fantasy Football is back!
Another year, another £ 50,000 jackpot up for grabs. Sky Sports Fantasy Football returns for the 2020/21 season.
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