Former Arsenal and England midfielder Paul Merson is backing Manchester City to retain their Premier League title this forthcoming season - but has warned that they may regret allowing Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to leave the club.
City, who will get their pre-season schedule under way on Thursday, facing Club America in Houston, secured their second consecutive title in dramatic fashion last term, beating Aston Villa 3-2 on the final day of the season.
The two sides are already being tipped to battle it out in pursuit of the title once again this forthcoming season, with both clubs having added big-name strikers to their ranks. City have signed Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund while Liverpool have invested heavily in Uruguayan ace Darwin Nunez.
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However, both clubs have lost big sources of goals, with City saying farewell to Sterling and Jesus while Liverpool have allowed Sadio Mane to join Bayern Munich. Between them, the trio scored 37 Premier League goals last term.
But despite City losing key figures in Sterling, who has joined Chelsea, and Jesus, who has made the switch to Arsenal, Merson believes Guardiola's side will still have enough to hold off the expected pressure Liverpool will produce.
"I think Manchester City will win the Premier League," Merson told Sportskeeda. "But I have to say it's not as much of a foregone conclusion as others make it out to be.
"Erling Haaland's arrival is obviously a massive boost for Pep Guardiola, but it's not the end of it with Liverpool still very much in the running. With the departures of Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, Manchester City have lost at least 30 Premier League goals between the pair and that could turn out to be a huge problem for them.
"The only worry for Liverpool, on the other hand, is that they've lost an unbelievable player in Sadio Mane, who scored big goals for them over the years. They'll have to rely on Darwin Nunez to settle as quickly as Luis Diaz did, which is obviously a long shot because the Colombian took to English football like a duck to water.
"If Jurgen Klopp can get Nunez firing immediately, it'll be tight once again. But if that doesn't happen, I think Manchester City should win the Premier League."
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