Jamie Carragher makes big Pep Guardiola claim in new Man City battle with Liverpool

Jamie Carragher believes Manchester City are presently "facing challenges unlike any they have encountered" under Pep Guardiola as the legendary defender outlined the opportunity in front of Arne Slot's Liverpool this weekend. City have lost their last three in all competitions and head to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

They will do so two points behind league leaders Liverpool, who entertain Aston Villa later in the evening at Anfield in the final round of fixtures before November's international break.

Carragher highlights the absence of Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who is out for the campaign with ACL injury, as a major reason behind the champions' current malaise and thinks City are going through one of the most difficult periods under Guardiola during his nine-year reign to date.

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And the 2005 Champions League winner, who likened Rodri's absence to Virgil van Dijk's after a similar injury in October 2020, wrote in his Telegraph column that the current struggles at the Etihad must be seized upon by Slot before they inevitably regain their form.

"Manchester City are facing challenges unlike any they have encountered in the Pep Guardiola era," writes Carragher. "For the first time since he built his all-conquering team, his title rivals are seeing more than one glimmer of hope.

"City have faced injury problems and glitches in form before. There should be caution before making bold declarations about the champions falling backwards given their history of slow starts before pushing down the pedal in the second half of the season.

"But there are significant differences this time because a series of issues are presenting themselves at once. The first most obvious difficulty for Pep Guardiola is his injury list, and specifically the absence of Rodri for the rest of this season.

"The Ballon d’Or winner’s loss was bound to be felt after he underwent knee surgery. There is no-one in the City squad like him, so in the short-term he is irreplaceable. The blow can be likened to when Liverpool were denied Virgil van Dijk when defending the title in 2021. It is my belief Jurgen Klopp would have won his second Premier League crown had Van Dijk been fit."

Carragher adds: "What Guardiola cannot control is how events at the Etihad might encourage the chasing pack, especially Arsenal and Liverpool. This is a massive weekend for Arsenal heading to Chelsea.

"They cannot afford to let the gap to City rise to eight points and Liverpool to 10. Liverpool’s players have become accustomed to going toe-to-toe with City, even if it is new territory for Arne Slot.

"They often say it is the hope that kills you, and that has been especially true for Liverpool and Arsenal in trying to beat a manager as good as Guardiola. In this situation, that hope must also be the source of motivation to seize the initiative before City inevitably reassert their class."