Former Manchester City and Liverpool winger Steve McManaman believes Pep Guardiola's side will be crowned Premier League champions this season, despite admitting the title race is back on.
Guardiola's side looked to be running away with the title a little over a month ago when the Blues were 12 points clear of their closest challengers, but dropping points against Southampton and a shock defeat to Tottenham last week has allowed Jurgen Klopp's men to close the gap.
Liverpool are on a six-match winning streak in the Premier League after they thrashed a sorry Leeds United side 6-0 at Anfield last time out to go within three points of leaders City.
Guardiola's men are due to host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in April, and McManaman believes Klopp's side have to stay within touching distance of City until said meeting.
He told Horseracing.net : “I’d still say that Manchester City are the favourites. They’re ahead in the table and they’ve got a home fixture against Liverpool too.
“Neutrals don’t want to see a team be 20 points clear at the top of the table and it’s great that we’re now talking about the title race being back on. Everybody is giddy about it after Tottenham’s victory at the weekend.”
“A few years ago when there was a close race between the two sides, both teams kept winning game after game and that just highlights the quality of these two sides. As fans we want to be talking about a really exciting Premier League title race this season.”
City will have the chance to widen the gap between themselves and Jurgen Klopp’s side when they face Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
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