Paul Merson says what Manchester City definitely ‘won’t’ do next season after struggling this year

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The 2024/25 campaign has been an underwhelming one for Man City and Pep Guardiola.

Having won four Premier League titles in a row, the Manchester club were expected to carry on their run, however, City have failed to live up to those expectations and as a result, have spent the last few weeks fighting to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

There have been several reasons for this. Man City rested on their laurels last summer and failed to revamp their squad, several of their key stars are getting older, while a season-ending injury to Rodri was a crucial moment in the season for the Premier League giants.

Paul Merson believes Man City will secure Champions League qualification this week with a win over Southampton; however, when it comes to winning the Premier League next season, the former Arsenal star is not so positive.

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Paul Merson can’t see Man City winning the Premier League next season

Man City travel to Southampton on Saturday with Gary Neville expecting Guardiola’s men to beat the Saints by a narrow scoreline.

Erling Haaland could potentially start for Man City, which Merson might have factored in when predicting the Manchester club to win the contest 3-0.

“This is the perfect game for Manchester City at this stage of the season,” the former Arsenal star wrote for Sportskeeda. “I can see them cruising to a win here. City have started to win football matches again, however, they haven’t been amazingly great or anything.

“They are definitely nowhere near the team we’ve seen in the past. But considering how this season has played out, I believe simply winning games is all that matters to them now.”

In addition to this, Merson stated that it wouldn’t surprise him if Man City finish second this season; however, ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, the Sky Sports pundit does not expect the Manchester club to win the Premier League.

“I’m expecting them to secure Champions League qualification with a win this weekend,” Merson said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished second at the end of the season either.

“These results are still covering over the cracks for City at the moment. So even if they finish second this season, they won’t win the league next year.”

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What Liverpool expect from Man City next season

Having won the Premier League with relative ease this season, Liverpool expect Man City to bounce back during the 25/26 campaign as Guardiola is set to revamp his squad this summer.

Rodri will return to full fitness for the Manchester club over the coming weeks, while Man City are looking to bring in four or five players ahead of the new season kicking off in August, with both set to have a big impact.

Having signed two centre-backs, a holding midfielder and a versatile forward in January, City are looking to strengthen in other areas, with a goalkeeper, a full-back and creative midfielders among the targets.

It remains to be seen if that will help Man City back to the top of the Premier League, but what is certain is that Guardiola’s men will not be as bad as they were at times this season.