Paul Merson has told Sportskeeda that he is backing Manchester City to pip the likes of Liverpool to the Premier League title next season.
The TV pundit stated that the forthcoming battle for the Premier League title will be the ‘tightest one in recent memory’, with Man City defending their crown.
Whilst Liverpool ended the 2020/21 season in third place, it was one to forget because of the injury problems that caused havoc on their entire team.
In the end, they couldn’t really mount a title charge and instead were worried about missing out on European football.
But with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez back in the side, they will feel like new signings and Liverpool will be a different animal.
Despite that, Merson thinks it will be Pep Guardiola and Co. lifting another title in 2021/22, as Liverpool fans won’t like his prediction.
“I strongly believe this could be one of the tightest ones in recent memory,” said Merson.
“Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea can all win the title – that’s a four-way battle for the Premier League crown and I don’t expect any of them to run away with it by a margin of double-digit points.
“Some might say Manchester City winning the Premier League title isn’t exactly a bold prediction, but as I said earlier, four teams could win it and it’s almost impossible to predict the outcome at this point in time.
“There’s a big gulf of class between the top four sides in the Premier League and the rest, so the title race could boil down to who wins the mini-league between Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.
“We could witness one of the closest title races in ages, but I expect Manchester City to come out on top this season.”
Of course, Chelsea and Manchester United, and perhaps a surprise package, will have something to say in this jam-packed title race.
But will it all result in a team walking away with it and the hype being bigger than the competition itself?
Chelsea were hoping to challenge for the title last season, but ended up sacking Frank Lampard instead.
Whilst those at Old Trafford has a similar dream, but instead, they threw jabs that didn’t really hurt the opposition.
And, in the end, it was a walk in the park for Manchester City. But it will also be interesting to see the effect of returning fans come August.
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