Carragher lined his players up in a 3-2-4-1 formation, with Neville immediately dismissive of his punditry team-mate. But they diverged in a number of key areas, not least with Carragher opting to go for a three at the back system. That allowed him to play both Virgil van Dijk and Kevin de Bruyne, selections that drew criticism from Neville. Neville highlighted his ‘character’ and his xG shots on target to goal scored ratio as his rationale.
Neville was full of praise for both, with Udogie the standout in what was a barren selection. “It’s been a struggle for most teams at left-back. Udogie, different level when he played for them, big miss for them.” “It was either Ben White or Alexander-Arnold.
I wasn’t sure about him. But he’s developed into a really, really right-back.” Carragher’s team was then shown in its unusual formation, with Neville left shocked. He said: “What’s going on here, what’s this?
At one point five or six years ago, I picked a three at the back and got absolutely blitzed off him for it. No one loves De Bruyne more than me but he’s played less than a third of Man City’s minutes.” Carragher hit back though, insisting that despite his lack of minutes De Bruyne has continued to be the Premier League’s top player. He also claimed that Van Dijk’s importance cannot be overstated.
“Have you seen how many chances he’s created? Basically shows how good a player he is. The number of chances he’s created is off the scale.” Once Carragher had finished explaining his picks, Neville hit out at the Liverpool icon.
His main bone of contention was that Carragher had selected a formation that teams do not use, though his fellow pundit took issue with that claim. Neville said: “He doesn’t even believe what he’s saying here. He doesn’t even believe it himself this year. He’s created a system that doesn’t exist.
Oh my God. You’re walking in mud.” Carragher then responded: “What system do teams play with the ball, they play with a back three and they go with the two midfield. How many teams play a back three, a box with the ball and a front three?
That’s what my team do.”