Paul Merson has shared his thoughts on whether Manchester City can regain the Premier League title this season.
Last season saw the Manchester club win their fifth Premier League title in six years and their third in a row.
With Pep Guardiola’s side set to kick off their latest campaign this evening with an away match against Burnley, one pundit has had an early guess at how the title race could pan out for the reigning champions.
Merson backs City to have tough title race
In a recent column for Sportskeeda previewing the first round of Premier League fixtures, Merson had this to say about City and their chances of regaining the league title.
He said: “I don’t see the title race as a foregone conclusion this year. It’s going to be difficult for Manchester City to defend their Premier League title.”
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Last season saw the Manchester club win 28 of their 38 league games, drawing five and losing five, while scoring more goals (94) than any other side and conceding the joint fewest (33).
Although City won the league, they spent the majority of the campaign in second place, with Arsenal being at the top of the table up until the crucial period of the season where they dropped enough points to see the Citizens take advantage and pip them to the title.
In terms of what changes to the squad have taken place at the club this summer, they have seen Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez leave and Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol join.
However, with other clubs around them in the table making some significant changes to their squads, such as Arsenal who have brought in Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, it’s understandable why Merson thinks City could be facing a tough challenge in terms of winning the Premier League title this season.