Jamie Carragher has now made a claim about Manchester City and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The 45-year-old discussed the treble winners when writing for the Telegraph.
So, what did Jamie Carragher write about Manchester City and the FIFA Club World Cup? Let’s take a look…
What Jamie Carragher wrote about Manchester City
Well, the Sky Sports pundit believes Manchester City could return from the FIFA Club World Cup with a psychological disadvantage in the Premier League title race – if the Citizens find themselves needing to bridge a huge gap.
When discussing Liverpool’s Premier League title chances, Carragher wrote: “Nobody will write City off yet. To me, they remain the favourites. But their sluggish start by their standards has given the others a chance, and their participation in the Club World Cup presents a golden opportunity for their rivals to open up a considerable gap and generate some scoreboard pressure.
“Even with games in hand, if City return from Saudi Arabia and find themselves ten points behind, they will be thinking they cannot afford many more mistakes.”
Manchester City will only miss one Premier League game while partaking in the FIFA Club World Cup – a clash against Brentford at the Etihad Stadium, which has been postponed.
In the meantime, the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal will play two Premier League games.
Therefore, the Reds in particular could go ten points ahead of Manchester City if they defeat Manchester United and Arsenal, as Jürgen Klopp’s side are currently four points clear of the Citizens at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester City must focus on FIFA Club World Cup and stay relaxed
Carragher makes an interesting point, although Manchester City are too experienced and professional to allow a potential ten-point gap to affect them mentally.
Of course, a gap of that size would look daunting on paper, but if a ten-point lead does end up happening, the treble winners simply need to trust themselves to do the business in their games in hand.
Guardiola can certainly take confidence from his side’s efforts last season, in which Manchester City overturned Arsenal’s eight-point lead with a stunning end to the campaign.
Ultimately, Manchester City have never taken part in a FIFA Club World Cup campaign, so the chance to make club history with success in Saudi Arabia should be the priority right now.
