Gary Neville believes that Manchester City will be ‘incredibly dangerous’ if they are in a similar position in February to what they are now.
City dropped more points in the Premier League on Saturday, drawing 2-2 with Crystal Palace after being 2-0 up and cruising.
Sloppy defending saw the Eagles leave the Etihad with a point, and it’s now just one win in the last six in the league for City, who have now flown to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup. Urawa Red Diamonds will be City’s first opponents, with the game taking place tomorrow night.
The way in which City relinquished their lead on Saturday against Palace was very concerning.
The City defence has not been this poor for some time – but Sky pundit Gary Neville still doesn’t believe it’s a time to panic for Citizens fans…
Gary Neville makes fresh prediction about Manchester City after Crystal Palace draw
Neville was speaking about City after watching Liverpool and Manchester United play out a 0-0 draw at Anfield yesterday.
The pundit doubled down on his view that complacency has crept in at City, which he feels is a natural by-product of experiencing an incredible high such as winning the Treble.
But he feels City will be ‘incredibly dangerous’ if they can still be in the mix come February. He said on the Gary Neville podcast: “Manchester City are below their level. But they’ve built up so much credit in the bank over the last few years that they’re allowed that few months off at the start of a season where they do drop below their level.
“They’re still only a few points off the top of the league. They’re still in the mix and still where they’d want to be in the pack ready to go. If they’re there in February, they’ll be incredibly dangerous.”
Work to do, but don’t write City off
City have some real problems at the moment, with the defence all at sea. Former defender Kit Symons was shocked to see the mistakes that led to Palace’s first goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
But Neville is not writing City off and neither should anyone else – because City have been there and done it several times in the last few years.
It is common for City to start seasons slowly and then click into gear around the midway point.
In January, Kevin De Bruyne should be back and his return may well prompt the improvement that is needed.
If City are still in the mix around February time, then there will be a very reasonable chance of winning that fourth straight Premier League title.
