Former Liverpool man Stephen Warnock has identified the FA Cup and the Champions League as being the key factors in deciding the Premier League title race.
Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all qualified for the knockout rounds of the Champions League, while the FA Cup will really kick into gear in the New Year.
Warnock explained: “There’s load to play for at this moment in time,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “We’re in December. This is silly. Everyone’s getting carried away saying ‘it’s Liverpool’s’, ‘it’s done and dusted’ – no chance.
“There so much more to happen this season. And once the Champions League kicks in and the FA Cup kicks in that’s when it does become very, very interesting.”
"All this talk #LFC have already won the #PL is silly"@StephenWarnock3 says the #UCL and #FACup campaigns for Liverpool and #MCFC will have a big say in the title race. pic.twitter.com/LOZ0NWH2Mu
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) December 30, 2018
OPINION
Warnock is right, the title race could well come down to who handles the different competitions better. Liverpool have the advantage at the moment, of course, but if they go deep into the cups and City don’t then that could hand Pep Guardiola’s side the advantage. Both teams have very good squads and so there’s no real advantage for either team on paper, but Liverpool do have the experience of juggling a deep European run with a league campaign from last season. They know how to get up for those big Champions League nights and then return to the league at the weekend. City didn’t go as deep into the competition as Liverpool last term so they don’t quite have that same experience. It’s likely that both teams will do well in the FA Cup and the Champions League so, as Warnock says, it may just come down to which of the sides juggle their multiple interests the best.
