Jamie Carragher predicts where Liverpool FC will finish this season
Jamie Carragher looks ahead to Liverpool FC's Premier League title defence this season
Jamie Carragher is tipping Liverpool FC to retain their Premier League trophy this season but is also expecting a much closer title race.
The Reds were the top team in the Premier League last season as they ran away with the trophy and won the title with seven games to spare, eventually ending up 18 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City in the table.
Liverpool FC have not been very busy in the summer transfer window, with the Reds having only brought in left-back Kostas Tsimikas so far from Olympiakos.
Chelsea FC, meanwhile, have been one of the more active clubs in the summer window, with Frank Lampard’s men having signed seven new players ahead of the new season including the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.
Manchester United will also be hoping to mount a title challenge this season, with the Red Devils having signed midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax this term.
Former Liverpool FC star Carragher is hoping that the Reds will be able to retain their title this season, but he is also expecting a closer title race than last terms.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TEAMtalk, Carragher said: “I’m a Liverpool man and I want to see them win the league again, but maybe not in the manner they did it last season.
“We want and we need to see a competitive title race I want to see the other teams get closer to Liverpool because we need it to be more competitive.
“We don’t want any team to be 20 or 30 points ahead and while I want Liverpool to win the league, I’d like to see them in the tight title race and winning it on the last day of the season in exciting fashion, going down to the wire and with less points than they got last season.
“If the top one or two teams are getting 99 and 100 points every season, it means there are fewer points to go around, so I would like to see the total points needed to win the Premier League go down to 90 points this season as that would mean we will have a more interesting title race.
“That could happen as I expect all the teams trying to chase Liverpool to do better than they did last season, but I only see two teams in contention for the title and that will be the top two for the last couple of years.
“The chasing pack have to bridge the gap on Liverpool and that’s why teams like Chelsea have been spending money in the transfer market to try and make that happen, but Liverpool and City are a long way ahead of the rest and I don’t see that changing.”
Liverpool FC will kick off their Premier League campaign with a home clash against newly-promoted Leeds United at Anfield on Saturday evening.
The Reds will then play Chelsea FC, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton in their next four games.
