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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has backed Manchester City to remain the leading force in English football, predicting that Enzo Maresca will win the Premier League title in his first season at the Etihad. The pundit feels the race will come down to a straight contest between the Cityzens and current champions Arsenal, while effectively dismissing the chances of his old club Liverpool and Manchester United.

City vs Arsenal: a two-team battle for the title

Carragher believes the Premier League crown will once again be fought out only between Manchester City and Arsenal, with the Liverpool great tipping Maresca to follow Pep Guardiola by bringing the domestic title back.

Speaking on the Football Ramble podcast, Carragher explained why he was choosing the blue side of Manchester despite the change in management. "Where we are right now, and we know there’s still a month to go transfer-wise, I can only see Arsenal or City," Carragher said.

"There’s a question because he [Maresca] is new to the role but I’m a fan of Maresca in terms of what he does on the pitch, in terms of what happened at Chelsea, in terms of watching him tactically and how he set up."

The Rodri factor and Arsenal's distractions

A key condition in Carragher’s prediction is the future of Rodri. The Spain midfielder is widely seen as the most important part of the City setup, and Carragher believes his presence could be the decisive element in the title race with Arsenal.

"I think City. The reason I think City is that I think they were still close last year. I know Pep’s gone, I get that. When you’ve had the same manager for ten years, the flip side of what people will say is that it’s hard to come after him. Just something a little bit new, a little bit fresh. I think if Rodri left for Real Madrid then I wouldn’t be saying that but in terms of where they are right now… If you’re City, what’s the point in selling Rodri? What’s the point?"

Liverpool lacking the tools for a title push

While Liverpool supporters may have been hoping for a title challenge under new manager Andoni Iraola, Carragher has downplayed those expectations. The pundit said the squad at Anfield is not yet complete and needs major additions in important positions before it can properly compete with the top two.

"Right now I don’t think Liverpool are equipped to be thinking about a title," Carragher explained. "Who knows what’s going to happen over the next month but I don’t think they’re close to that. I think Liverpool need two defenders and a top right winger to be in the chat or be in the chase. They haven’t replaced Mohamed Salah. We’re going for Bradley Barcola and I’m sitting there, scratching my head."

"The manager and the people sorting the transfers out obviously know a lot more about what’s going on behind the scenes, what the squad needs, than me. But I’m looking at it and we’ve got about four players who can play left wing and we’re going for Barcola. They haven’t got one player who plays right wing in the squad," Carragher said.

Man Utd moving in the right direction

Shifting focus to Old Trafford, Carragher said there has been an encouraging change in Manchester United’s transfer approach, although he still insists they are not in contention to win the title. United, in his view, have stepped away from their earlier "obsession" with blockbuster names and are now targeting what he sees as smarter, more tactical signings.

"Manchester United won’t win the league," Carragher said bluntly. "The thing I’ve probably liked about United this summer is it has felt like for years that they’re obsessed with this big name. And I worry a little bit about my own club Liverpool with that, with what we did last summer. But what I would say about Man Utd, it doesn’t feel like they’re on this mission to go and get this big name."

He added: "Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans… sort of what you might think are clever [signings], people not expecting that, something a bit different. It feels like United are going down that road which is probably healthy for them because it just felt like it was about spending name, getting the name and keeping the fans happy without any idea of how it was going to work."