Shaun Wright-Phillips predicts where Liverpool FC, Man City will finish
Shaun Wright-Phillips is backing Manchester City to make it four Premier League titles in a row this season under Pep Guardiola.
The defending champions currently lead the way at the top of the English top flight – they sit one point ahead of second-placed Liverpool FC heading into the clash between the two sides at The Etihad on Saturday lunchtime.
No team has ever won the Premier League four times in a row, but former City and Chelsea FC winger Wright-Phillips, 42, feels last season’s Treble winners have what it takes to achieve the feat.
“They believe they can, so I’ve got to believe they can,” Wright-Phillips told The Sport Review when asked if he thinks City can make it four in a row. “The hunger and desire they’re still showing even after winning the Treble, which is normally the hardest thing, they’ve come off the back of that and started the season in an ‘up’ position.
“It’s almost like winning is a drug to them, like an adrenaline rush. They can’t get enough of it. Everyone wants to score and create goals, they work hard for each other. And when you have a manager that wants you to get better all the time and keep learning new and different tactics, and different ways to play their position, you would like to think that it [a fourth title in a row] is possible.”
Asked about how he sees the top four shaping up, Wright-Phillips tipped Liverpool FC to finish second, with Newcastle United and Aston Villa taking up the other two Champions League qualification spots.
“I think City will still win the league,” he said. “Not by a massive margin, it will be another tough one.
“I think Newcastle will be in the top four, you’ve got to put Arsenal in there. Spurs I think, have just shown that without certain players they may not pick up the results they actually need. They’ve lost James Maddison who is basically the most creative player in the Premier League.
“Spurs I think may just miss out on the top four, Man United too. I may put Aston Villa in there as a bit of a dark horse actually. So I’m going to go Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa.”
Jurgen Klopp (Photo: Vitalii Kliuiev / depositphotos.com)
Erling Haaland was one of the driving forces behind Manchester City’s success last season, with the Norwegian forward having scored 36 goals and made eight assists in the top flight on their way to the title last term.
Asked what impresses him most about Haaland, 23, as a player, Wright-Phillips replied: “What really surprises me is how long he can go without touching the ball. When I was playing, if a striker wasn’t getting the ball, they would drop deeper and deeper.
“Look at Harry Kane at Spurs around four years ago – everyone was saying he needed to be higher up the pitch. He was dropping deep because he wasn’t getting the supply. For Haaland to just go 25 minutes not touching the ball, then get one touch in the box and put it in the back of the net, I think that is an art in itself.
“If you give him that chance, he will take it. It doesn’t bother him if he misses. If he misses, he believes he will get another one and that one will go in. That’s the mentality he’s got. He doesn’t lose confidence, he just keeps going and going.”
• Shaun Wright-Phillips was speaking to The Sport Review on behalf of NewBettingOffers.co.uk
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