Carragher warns Iraola faces title pressure if City are relegated over financial breaches

Jamie Carragher has warned that Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola will face intense pressure to win the Premier League title if Manchester City are relegated as punishment for their financial rules breaches, with the two clubs set to meet at Anfield on Sunday.

City were found guilty of breaking Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, with speculation mounting that relegation could be among the sanctions handed down. City maintain their innocence, have appealed the verdict, and say they are confident of full exoneration.

Carragher, writing in his column for The Telegraph, argued that a City demotion would fundamentally reshape the title race and remove the shield that rival managers have used to explain near-misses. “City have been a valid excuse for narrowly losing titles and trophies. For others, they have been a convenient one,” he wrote.

“For Liverpool, Chelsea and United, the timescale to become title challengers changes the moment City hear the outcome of their disciplinary hearing. The power shift will be instant and dramatic.”

The former Liverpool defender specifically named Iraola alongside Michael Carrick at Manchester United and Xabi Alonso at Chelsea as managers who would no longer be able to point to City as an obstacle. “We are not in a world in which Iraola can talk about long-term projects,” Carragher added. “Once the two immediate obstacles to another Liverpool title in the near future are reduced to one, there will be an expectation for his side to make haste.”

Liverpool have finished second behind City on three occasions in recent years, and Carragher urged the club to channel that “grievance as a source of motivation”.

Sunday’s clash at Anfield arrives as the Premier League resumes following a three-week international break, with the financial verdict hanging over the fixture as a backdrop.

In separate news, former Liverpool manager Arne Slot has taken his first role since being sacked at the end of last season following a disappointing title defence. The Dutchman, who had been linked with the Netherlands national team job before stating his preference for club management, has been appointed to UEFA’s Technical Observer Group. The body monitors the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League using statistical and video analysis.