Richards & Lineker agree on intriguing Premier League title race prediction amid Rodri ACL news
Micah Richards has suggested that Rodri’s (then suspected) ACL injury would even out the title race between Arsenal and Manchester City.
Potential contenders Liverpool were omitted from the discussion, with the Englishman claiming the Spaniard’s season-long absence still wouldn’t make the Gunners favourites.
“In answer to the question, yes, I think it makes it more balanced in terms of Arsenal’s chances of winning. I don’t think it makes them favourites, but I think it’s 50-50 now,” the CBS Sports pundit spoke on The Rest is Football podcast.
Gary Lineker added: “Yeah, I wouldn’t disagree with that.”
The Euros winner suffered the unfortunate issue during the Sky Blues’ dramatic 2-2 draw with Mikel Arteta’s men at the Etihad on Sunday.
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Meanwhile, the Merseysiders are set to take on Julen Lopetegui’s struggling West Ham United outfit this evening in the Carabao Cup.
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How severe is Rodri’s injury?
A statement from Manchester City’s official club website has confirmed the 28-year-old ‘suffered a ligament injury to his right knee’.
The full extent of the injury reportedly remains unclear with the club set to provide further updates following ongoing assessments.
Should Liverpool be considered potential title challengers after the Rodri injury?
It would be quite some feat for Arne Slot to secure a Premier League title for his new club at the first time of asking.
There’s no question that there’s enough talent in this Liverpool squad to potentially at least mount some kind of title challenge this term.
In all honesty, though, we’re hardly expecting the club to reach such sensational heights whilst our new head coach is in the process of imparting his own stamp on the side.
With that in mind, we’d agree with Richards that Arsenal and Manchester City – both outfits having been long-wedded to their managers – are in a better place to compete for league glory.
Liverpool’s four wins from five top-flight games played is nothing to sniff at, of course, and we currently sit second in the Premier League table for our efforts.
Bear in mind also that City’s record without Rodri last term – four defeats from five games without the Spanish international (BBC Sport) – indicates that there will be a more level playing field this year.
So it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on the Reds as a potential dark horse this season.
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