‘I expect it to get close’ – Gary Neville gives Liverpool and Chelsea hope of catching Premier League leaders Manchester City

Gary Neville has given Liverpool and Chelsea hope of catching runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City and says he ‘expects’ the title race to ‘get close’ towards the end of the season.

Defending champions City are nine points clear at the top of the table ahead of the mid-season winter break, having won 18 of their 23 matches this term and 12 in a row before Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Southampton.

While Pep Guardiola’s side have enjoyed a brilliant run over the past two months, both Liverpool and Chelsea dropped points over the festive period, with the Reds losing to Leicester City and the Blues failing to beat the likes of Brighton and Everton.

Given Manchester City’s dominance and the club’s success in recent years, many pundits have declared the title race over with four months of the season still to play, but Neville believes there could yet be a twist.

‘I think Liverpool are doing really well without two of their main players [Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane],’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.

‘Things like [City’s 1-1 draw at Southampton] give a little bit of encouragement. City are a machine and you don’t expect them to make a lot of mistakes – but they could, and Liverpool and Chelsea have got to believe that.

‘I’m not that disappointed in Liverpool because I think they have to be at full pelt all the time to get to City just because they haven’t got the squad that City have got.

‘But I do think Chelsea have [the squad] and I expect it to get close. I don’t expect this runaway league; five weeks ago, we expected this three-horse race and we’ve almost been pushed into a feeling that City have won it.

‘I don’t think we have got the three-horse race back this weekend through the fact that Chelsea and Liverpool have