Before the season started I said City but I never anticipated they would play the season without a striker. I think their defence is a solid weapon but I’m yet to be convinced that’s going to hold firm all season, it’s still John Stones afterall. Personally their attack looks much more blunt than previous seasons which I think will mean they draw too many games
I think Liverpool were always due to return to some normal form after 2/3 seasons of exceptional form and that combined with the injuries have meant they are now beatable. I do think they are still probably the team most likely as they have shown they can go on long unbeaten streaks and grind out wins.
Utd are dark horses. I predicted before the season began that we would finish in second place because I truly believe Ole is building a special team here. We have an incredibly young squad which still faces some inconsistencies in performances and lacks the top level experience but it’s clear that our mentality is getting stronger each game. I thought this season might be too soon for us, but now I’m not too sure. If Bruno and our key players stay fit, combined with some well timed return to form for Martial, Greenwood and Pogba at differing sections of the season, we will be hard to stop. We also proved last season that when under pressure we can sustain a streak to achieve our target (top 4 last season).
Overall, the pessimist in me is saying, we aren’t ready and it’s only a matter of time before Liverpool find some top form again while cities defence could end up being the difference maker. The rest is telling me Utd can really continue to surprise people and actually go and win this, but I don’t like saying that out loud too much!