Murphy tips Liverpool for Premier League title race "deja vu" after Mane exit

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy is expected his former club to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City once again for the Premier League title this season, despite Sadio Mane's exit to Bayern Munich.

In recent years, the Premier League title race has been dominated by the two sides managed by Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, with Liverpool and City making up the top two of the Premier League table in three of the last four seasons.

In the 2021/22 campaign, it went down to the final day of the season, with Sky Blues coming from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 to win their sixth Premier League crown in a decade.

Speaking on the title race, Murphy expects it to be a two-horse race between his former club Liverpool and City, and is interested to sign how summer arrivals Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland adapt to their new clubs, as well as seeing how the rest of the Premier League's top clubs attempt to close the gap on the outright top two.

Murphy, speaking on behalf of 888 told Mirror Sport : " I think it's going to be a little deja vu. I think we're going to see them go toe-to-toe, I think we're going to see more tremendous football, more on the front foot, creative, attacking football that we love to see these two teams play.

"I would think that people would automatically assume that City are now better because of Haaland. I think he does give them more firepower and more options, but it also changes the dynamic of how they play and how they have been used to playing.

"I think Liverpool will probably need a little bit of time to find the right way to play for Nunez because he is a young guy and he is adapting to a new league and he hasn't quite got the goals record that Haaland has got, so there is a few more question marks over him maybe but I don't see it affecting the end game, which is points and wins because of Liverpool's confidence, the strength and depth they have got now, especially defensively which was a problem of course two seasons ago.

"I think it will be tight again. You could toss a coin for me at the beginning of each season. The big question more for me is can Chelsea, with the new owners and investment there, bridge the gap? My gut feeling is that it would probably be too soon or too difficult to bring in too many new players and then settle quickly to coattail Liverpool and City.

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"I think Tottenham have made some great additions. The likes of Bissouma, he was a terrific signing. When you try and play Champions League football, cup competitions and Premier League, then that's difficult. They haven't done it for a while so it will be interesting to see how they cope with so many games and how they rotate the squad.

"The bigger question is can the teams below, the likes of United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, bridge the gap. My gut feeling is no, they can't and no, they won't. I think we will see Liverpool and City go toe-to-toe again. "

Liverpool's attack will have a new feel to it after Sadio Mane was sold to Bayern Munich earlier this summer after glistening and trophy-filled spell at Anfield.

However, with Luis Diaz signed last January and Diogo Jota also at the club, Murphy feels that the Reds have been very shrewd in replacing Mane while he was still there and is expecting Diaz and Jota to compete to complete the attacking line-up alongside Mohamed Salah and Nunez in the upcoming campaign.

"I was sad to see him go, because I was one of his biggest fans, I absolutely adore him," Murphy added. "I think he has been a wonderful player for Liverpool. He's got that wonderful balance of tremendous footballing ability with a work-ethic that is just relentless.

"I think everybody loves that in a player, even if he is not quite at it in terms of his end product, he just doesn't stop. He's been a huge, huge player for Liverpool. Nearly every fan I have spoken to or heard on a radio show is wishing him well and thanking him for what he has done, which tells you everything. In an ideal, you would keep all of your good players until the end, but football's not like that.

"I think what was clever is that they bought in a replacement for him really while he was still there in Luis Diaz. Diaz has got many similar traits to Mane in the tenacity, the energy, the work ethic, the good footwork.

"He scores a goal, he's got a fair way to go to reach the heights Mane did of course, we know that, bringing him in at a time Mane was still there was cute, it was clever, an intelligent bit of business. He's hit the ground running, he is comfortable in his surroundings.

"You'd think that the front three of Salah, Nunez and Diaz will start and Jota will come in. To be fair to Jota, I'm doing him a disregard because he has been sensational as well since he moved, he probably thinks he deserves a place in that 11. The luxury for Jurgen Klopp of course is that he doesn't have to throw Darwin Nunez in and play every game and if he needs a bit of time to adjust because he's got Jota.

"The options are great for Liverpool, gone are the days where that front three, you were scared to death if one of that front three are going off to the Africa Cup of Nations, the competition for places in the front area of the pitch now is great and it is what City have had for years. While I'm disappointed Mane has gone, I'm happy with what they have done in the market to replace him."

Danny Murphy was speaking on behalf of 888. Head to 888 now to play a range of exciting and entertaining games.