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Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher's competitive sides came out once more on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football as they made their annual Premier League predictions at the start of the season.
Jamie Carragher after Chelsea’s opening win over Fulham (Picture: Sky Sports) Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has named Arsenal’s biggest rival for the Premier League title this season. The Gunners clinched their first league title since 2004 last season, finishing seven points ahead of Manchester City. Mikel Arteta’s side made a bright start to their Premier League title defence, beating newly-promoted Coventry City 3-0 on Friday night. Arsenal then saw several of their possible title rivals flounder over the weekend, with Liverpool dropping points, Manchester City surviving a scare and Manchester United losing. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Man City needed two late goals to come from behind against Bournemouth while Liverpool scored an injury-time equaliser at Newcastle United. Man United were on the wrong end of what could yet prove to be the biggest upset of the Premier League campaign as they suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Hull City, the favourites to finish bottom. Chelsea have been named as possible dark horses for the title under Xabi Alonso and began their Premier League campaign with a thrilling 3-2 win over Fulham. Mikel Arteta is hoping to retain the Premier League (Picture: Getty) The Blues’ attack dazzled at Craven Cottage, with Brazil striker Joao Pedro,£117m summer signing Morgan Rogers and England playmaker Cole Palmer all getting on the scoresheet. Carragher said there were ‘things to really like’ about Chelsea’s performance but still views Manchester City as Arsenal’s biggest rival for the Premier League title this season. The Liverpool legend almost predicted Chelsea to finish second behind Arsenal but still believes Man City are the ‘better team’ even despite the departures of legendary manager Pep Guardiola and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. ‘A few weeks ago I had it in my mind that Man City had a chance [to win the Premier League],’ Carragher said on Sky Sports. New Man City boss Enzo Maresca (Picture: PA) ‘I just thought maybe Arsenal would be thinking more about the Champions League after coming so close last season and Man City would be desperate to get the title back. ‘But I changed my mind after Rodri left. I just can’t see Manchester City winning the Premier League this season without Rodri. ‘Having said that Man City are a better team than Chelsea. Not playing in Europe could be a factor and play a huge part for Chelsea and give them a big lift, we’ve seen that before with other teams. ‘But I would just go for Man City right now [to finish second behind Arsenal].’ Chelsea beat Fulham in their Premier League opener (Picture: Getty) On Chelsea’s opening west London derby win over Fulham, Carragher added: ‘There were things to really like. ‘On paper, that front three is sensational. It really is. It looked it in the game. Joao Pedro is fantastic, what a start for Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer was brilliant. ‘When you think about that front three, it’s as good as anything in the Premier League right now. ‘But I do have concerns defensively. They conceded a couple of goals and you look at the goalkeeper… Jamie Carragher's Premier League top-four prediction Arsenal Manchester City Chelsea Liverpool Arsenal won the Premier League by seven points last season (Picture: Getty) ‘They have to sort the goalkeeper issue out because it’s going to come back to haunt them this season, as it did tonight. ‘Chelsea will never win the league with Sanchez in goal. It’s impossible. You just need to think about the teams who’ve won the title recently. ‘Last three teams who won the title have all changed the goalkeeper. Pep Guardiola bringing in Ederson. Alisson comes in for Liverpool. Arsenal don’t win the league if they have Aaron Ramsdale in goal, not David Raya. Impossible. ‘So, one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal won the league, actually, was Raya, they wouldn’t have won the league without them. You can go back to histo
This was the fourth occasion that Fulham had started a Premier League season with a London derby and they have now lost all four. Gonzalo Garcia, a player he recruited from his former employers over the summer, made an immediate impression with some excellent movement and exhibited predatory instincts to open his account in England. In doing so, he became the first player to score on his Premier League debut for Fulham since Chris David in May 2014 against Crystal Palace.
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