Gary Neville believes Manchester City have got stronger with their summer transfer business - unlike, in his opinion, Liverpool.
Both clubs have bolstered their attacking firepower in the window. Darwin Nunez arrived at Anfield for an initial fee of £64m while City activated Erling Haaland’s £51m release clause just two days beforehand.
But the two Premier League titans have also lost key attacking players after Pep Guardiola's side sold Raheem Sterling to Chelsea and Liverpool saw Sadio Mane depart for Bayern Munich, which raised the question between Neville and fellow pundit Jamie Carragher on the Overlap Live Fan Debate as to whether the duo have got stronger.
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“If you’re making a prediction now, I’d say that City have got stronger,” said Neville, speaking on the Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet . “I don't think that, hand on heart, you could say that Liverpool have got stronger, because Mane was unbelievable. I don't think that you can say that Liverpool are going to be weaker, but you can definitely say City are going to be equal to last season if not better.”
City have won the last two Premier League titles without a recognised striker playing regularly despite calls for Guardiola to sign a natural No.9. The Etihad boss remained stubborn in alternating his front three and deploying a 'false nine' such as Phil Foden or Sterling.
Similarly, Guardiola's counterpart Jurgen Klopp has deployed Roberto Firmino as his leading man for the majority of his time in charge of Liverpool, with a combination of Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Mane also filling the role at times. Having a natural goalscorer at the helm will be a different experience for both managers, and Carragher admitted that it is hard to predict how both strikers and managers will adapt.
“We don’t know what Nunez is going to do, though.” Carragher added, speaking on the Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet. “What I’m saying is that both teams are going to be different. Liverpool have never played under Klopp with a big centre-forward, and even Pep - of course, he played with (Sergio) Aguero - but in the last couple of years they haven’t really played with a striker so they’re going to have to adapt and they’re going to be slightly different.
“They're still going to be the two best teams, they're still going to be the teams competing for the title, but we don't know how far away… will they drop five or six points? Will they gain five or six points?”
Liverpool sent an early psychological blow by beating City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Saturday with Nunez scoring their third goal while Haaland struggled. Klopp’s side can take an early lead in the Premier League race when they kick off their 2022/2023 Premier League campaign at Fulham on Saturday. The defending champions then travel to West Ham United on Sunday.
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