Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher both snubbed Liverpool and Chelsea from their top-four predictions, laying bare the Premier League giants' woes this season.
While a rudderless and 10th-placed Chelsea are in flux during a January transfer window in which they've already spent a whopping £152million, Liverpool have gone from contending for an unprecedented quadruple last term to slumping to ninth at the midway point of their wretched campaign. The two teams met on Saturday at Anfield, playing out a drab 0-0 draw which was representative of their middling positions in the table.
Although there's plenty of the campaign left for Graham Potter and Jurgen Klopp to change their respective sides' fortunes, Neville and Carragher aren't hopeful for them. The punditry duo didn't agree on everything, however, with Neville selecting the slumping Tottenham Hotspur to finish fourth and Carragher going for high-flying Newcastle United.
"Have your ruled your own mob out then?" Neville asked on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, referencing Carragher's former side. "No, I don't think Liverpool will get in the top four," the former Anfield stalwart bluntly replied. When Neville brought up the fact that Liverpool are "only" 10 points behind current fourth-placed side Manchester United - who both pundits included in there predictions alongside Arsenal and Manchester City - with a game in hand, Carragher still wasn't convinced.
"Only 10 points?" the ex-Reds centre-back responded. "How many points before you say someone can't do something? My point is, you're talking about points difference and teams coming back to playing to where they were last season, Liverpool are not playing well enough... Liverpool won't get in the top four."
Chelsea, meanwhile, were out of the discussion. Potter, who was appointed to replace the popular boss Thomas Tuchel in September, has been backed in the transfer market by co-owner Todd Boehly but still doesn't appear to have a grasp on his squad.
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While the Blues are beginning a new dawn and Potter will likely to be given time at Stamford Bridge, Klopp's Liverpool seem to be coming to the end of the road as far as this era goes. An ageing squad and constant injury issues are taking its toll, with the Reds looking a shadow of their former selves.
Klopp has been left so disappointed by Liverpool's season that he's told supporters to lower their expectations and "be ready for little steps." The Reds boss added after Saturday's miserable draw: "In the end, I'm okay with 0-0 because you have to accept these steps. We can build on that. Both teams were very aggressive."
Potter was more upbeat in his assessment and affirmed: "I'm excited for the rest of the season. I'm always excited although sometimes you have to suffer and we have suffered this season."
