Former Premier League champion Patrice Evra believes his former club Manchester United can "surprise people" but still considers Manchester City and Liverpool as favourites for the title.
Evra won five Premier League titles with United, the first in 2006-07 and the last in 2012-13. The club haven't won another since 2013, though, with Manchester City claiming top spot in four of the last five seasons.
Pep Guardiola's champions currently sit second in the table, with Arsenal clinging onto top spot thanks to their victory at Brentford on Sunday, However, Evra still sees two clear favourites in the race for the prize.
"It's a crazy Premier League, there have been a lot of surprises," Evra told Betfair. The favourites were Liverpool and City, but anything can happen. More games are coming and I always say you know more around December, but now we've got the World Cup. So, everything is weird.
"I think City and Liverpool are still the favourites, but you have so many others too including Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Although, it's really weird with Chelsea at the moment.
"United can surprise people now if they keep fighting like the way they have been doing, they can be there," he added. After losing their first two games, Evra's former club have won four in a row to climb back into the upper reaches of the table.
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Last season's title race went right down to the wire, with Manchester City pipping Liverpool to the title by a single point. The gap between last season's top two is considerably wider this season, though, in part due to Jurgen Klopp's side dropping points against unfancied opponents, and the gap at the very top remains small..
"Every team is tough, playing against Crystal Palace you're going to struggle, playing against Newcastle you're going to struggle, every game is going to be tough," Evra continued. "I don't think we will see a massive points difference, like the winner of the league won't be 20 points or 10 points in front, like in previous years.
"It's going to be tough and it's difficult to say who's going to win the league. I keep saying what I said at the start of the season, Liverpool and City are the favourites."
Both of last season's top two face tough tests upon returning from the international break, with City taking on United in the Manchester derby and Liverpool hosting high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion in the Seagulls' first game under new manager Roberto De Zerbi. However, others - perhaps including Evra - will have an eye on October 16, when City and Liverpool are due to meet at Anfield.
