Jamie Carragher claims Man City face title race being ‘over before Christmas’ if the champions lose to Liverpool – with Pep Guardiola already ”thinking about what he will leave behind’

Jamie Carragher has suggested Manchester City could see their Premier League title defence come to an end if they lose to leaders Liverpool on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s side halted a run of five successive defeats in all competitions on Tuesday, but Man City collapsed from a 3-0 lead to draw against Feyenoord in the Champions League.

Man City face a daunting prospect of facing a Liverpool side riding high under Arne Slot this weekend as they bid to end a run of six matches without a win.

The defending champions remain second in the table, but are eight points adrift of Liverpool ahead of the clash.

Writing in his Telegraph column, Carragher suggested defeat at Anfield could leave Man City with too much to do as they bid for five consecutive Premier League titles.

He argued Man City would have to produce one of their trademark winning runs to overhaul the deficit should they lose.

Jamie Carragher suggested defeat for Man City on Sunday could end their title defence

The ex-Liverpool defender suggested Man City’s form suggests they would not overhaul an 11-point gap

‘With some hesitation, I will make a prediction which – because of the Guardiola factor – may come back to haunt me. If City lose to Liverpool, their title defence is over before Christmas,’ Carragher wrote. 

‘An 11-point gap would be too much.

Carragher added: No one analysing their performances could presume they will not lose more of the 25 games remaining after the Anfield trip. On current form, City could lose another five or six.’

Despite Man City’s poor run of form, Guardiola committed his future to the club last week.

Guardiola’s contract had been due to expire at the end of the season, before he signed a new two year contract to extend his stay until 2027.

Should Guardiola see out the contract, it would see the Spaniard’s tenure reach a decade.

‘Since the beginning of the season I’ve been thinking a lot,’ Guardiola said after signing the deal. ‘I thought that (this season) should be the last one.

‘But with the problems we had in the last month, I felt that now is not the time to leave. I would have let the club down.

Guardiola agreed a two-year contract extension at Manchester City until 2027 earlier this month

He claimed he did not want to ‘let the club down’ following their recent run of results

Carragher claimed Guardiola could mirror Jurgen Klopp in overseeing a rebuild before leaving

‘I felt that I could not leave now. Simple as that. Maybe the four defeats was the reason why and I felt that I cannot leave. I felt the club still wanted me and the fact we’re still together so I signed.’

Carragher highlighted Guardiola’s comments and drew a comparison to the end of Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool.

He suggested Klopp had decided to stay longer at Liverpool than he planned to help oversee a rebuild following a dip in the 2022-23 season, which saw the club miss out on Champions League football.

‘Guardiola could have quit at the end of this season with his legend secure, stepping aside for the next coach to reshape the next era of City success,’ Carragher suggested.

‘Instead, he sounded like a man who was already thinking about what he will leave behind, his conscience telling him that if a rebuild is necessary it is his duty to lead it. 

‘Guardiola wants to leave City on the same terms and the poor run preceding his deal convinced him it was not the right time to walk into the Manchester sunset.’