Carra and Koeman: Why it’s a two-horse title race

Matt Stead

Jamie Carragher and Ronald Koeman believe the Premier League title race now consists of only two contenders.

Leicester opened up a five-point gap at the top of the league with a 1-0 defeat of Newcastle on Monday, and the Foxes have eight games remaining in their quest for an unlikely title.

Tottenham are in second after beating Aston Villa 2-0, and Carragher and Koeman believe that these two sides will battle for the championship.

Arsenal and Manchester City have a game in hand on both, but are 11 and 12 points behind Leicester respectively. Both sides are far closer to fifth, with West Ham just two and three points behind.

Speaking on Monday Night Football after Leicester’s latest win, pundit Carragher and Southampton boss Koeman explained that the two sides of the four who have never won the Premier League are the only two remaining in the title race.

“It will be a new situation for them (Leicester) now – 11 points from Arsenal, 12 points from City. They (Arsenal and City) are out of the title,” said Koeman.

“It will be the fight between Tottenham and Leicester and that makes the difference between before the game and after the game. Tottenham are still close but it’s now a fight between two teams. Before this game it was maybe a fight between four or five.

“That starts to run in your mind as a Leicester player. You come closer to winning the title and that makes the difference. Before today, the manager was mentioning the Europa League but after today they have really the Champions League. Then it’s about the title and that’s a different situation than it was before today.”

Carragher added: “Arsenal and Manchester City… they don’t look like teams that are going on to win the title. You look at the gap and you think ‘how many games would it take Arsenal to bridge that gap?

“It may take five or six games to get level and then you think where Leicester will be by then. I think there’s too much for them to do and (Leicester) are in too good form.”

Arsenal Jamie Carragher

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