OPINION: Manchester City still team to beat

Say whatever you want but the Premier League in England is the most appealing football brand in the world.

The excitement of the opening weekend in the new season set social media abuzz as Manchester United played host to Fulham last Friday.

It’s always difficult to make predictions so early in the new campaign because of the unpredictable nature of what is arguably the toughest league in world football. However, I think we can all agree that Manchester City will be the team to beat after the first round of matches.

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There’s something about The Citizens that just makes a cut above the rest even when they are missing key players. What makes City’s 2-0 away win over Chelsea more impressive is that they did without influential Spanish midfielder Rodri while last season’s player of the year Phil Foden started the game on the bench.

Pep Guardiola didn’t even need to call upon John Stones, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish who were all unused substitutes. It’s hard to ignore Guardiola’s huge influence on City where it’s not so much about names but the playing philosophy.

The Blue half of Manchester won a historic fourth straight premier league title last season and I wouldn’t bet against them making it five in a row. It’s hard to see who is going to stop them while Guardiola is in charge.

A lot of pundits and ex-players are tipping Arsenal to finally break City’s dominance in English football and it’s a fair argument to make with the gunners coming close on two occasions. The London-based club has closed the gap on City who edged them to the title by only two points in the 2023-2024 campaign and it was five in the previous season.

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As much as Arsenal are genuine title contenders, my dark horses are Liverpool. I think they will be in the league winner’s conversation towards the end of the season. My heart says Manchester United will win the league but  this is how I think the table will look after 38 games: Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.