Image source, Reuters
Manchester City have now been the BBC pundits’ pre-season favourites in seven of the eight seasons since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2016, but they have never been backed to this extent before - 96% (25/26) think they will be champions again this time. The previous highest was 88% (21/24) in 2018-19.
Micah Richards: Their squad is still better than everyone else’s. They won’t win the Treble again, but they will win the Premier League.
Danny Gabbidon: They’ve not just got the best squad, they’ve got the best manager in Pep Guardiola and have the best striker on the planet in Erling Haaland.
Jermaine Beckford: The way they play makes it so hard to stop them, and how do you stop Haaland? He scored 52 goals in 54 games for City last season, and you can be sure his numbers will be incredible this season too.
Chris Sutton: The other top clubs have done some very good work in this transfer window but you can’t look past City for the title. Guardiola evolves something every year - some tweak to his tactics will emerge and another player always seems to step in and become key.
Chris Waddle: The only thing that could stop City or let them down is complacency or fatigue, and I just don’t see either happening under Guardiola because they have got the experience and they have got the squad. It’s theirs to lose.
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