Highlights
- Michael Owen predicts Manchester City will plummet down the Premier League table.
- Pep Guardiola’s City have won the last four Premier League titles, but Owen thinks they could drop as low as fourth.
- As well as a bold predicted top four, Owen has also named three teams to go down.
Michael Owen has made a surprising Premier League title race prediction, suggesting that Manchester City could slip down as far as fourth in the 2024-25 table.
Under Pep Guardiola, the Citizens have won the last four league titles, with many fans around the globe predicting the upcoming campaign could tell a similar tale. But the former Liverpool and Manchester United striker has gone against the wave of general opinion to argue against City’s run as domestic runaways continuing.
Despite losing World Cup winner Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid just over a week before the new season commences, City still boast an extremely talented squad, stacked with the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and Kevin De Bruyne. But that hasn’t stopped Owen from questioning their longevity, as he predicted Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa to finish above them.
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Owen Predicts Man City To Slump
Tips Pep Guardiola’s champions to slide down to fourth
With a financial charges investigation hanging over them, Owen cannot see a situation where Man City can continue on the same blazing trail they have done over the last eight years under Guardiola. Instead, predictions of their downfall are ominous. Talking to Casino Hawks, he said:
“The title is Manchester City’s to lose, but I think they could slip up this year. They have really put their foot down when they have needed to and went on an incredible run last year, but at some point they’re going to fall short.
“When other challengers get stronger and wiser, it’ll get tougher for them and I wouldn’t rule out that being this season. They’ve also got the investigation hanging over them and Pep Guardiola is not going to be there forever. This could be his last season.
“In terms of the order, my thought process is if City are not gonna win it, they could actually drop away a little bit. It’s almost like if City are not going to really be in the race after 10 games then their priority could go elsewhere – I think there could be a big surprise this season.
“I’m going to go for Arsenal first, Liverpool second, Aston Villa third and Manchester City fourth.”
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Man City’s Champions League Chances
Owen expects Guardiola’s side could become European champions again
If Owen’s prediction turns true, then Guardiola will suffer the lowest league finish of his managerial career. Apart from 2016-17 when City finished third, a Guardiola team has never finished outside the top two in their domestic league.
Rest assured, though, if they fail to add to their domestic glory, then the pundit feels that a second Champions League triumph in three years is a matter of inevitability. “They’ll probably end up winning the Champions League if they do fall away in the league,” the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner said. “With Manchester City and their champion mindset, when it starts to get out of reach it will be quite hard to play for second and having other things on the table might take precedence. I think it will be all or nothing.”
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Owen’s Relegation Prediction
All three promoted sides are tipped to go straight back down
Elsewhere in the interview, Owen predicted that Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton face immediate relegation following their success in the Championship last season. Meanwhile, if any of the promoted sides surprise him and have a good season, then it will most likely be Nottingham Forest who fall below the dotted line.
“I can see the three promoted teams struggling in the Premier League as a trend going forwards,” the 44-year-old said. “The three that came up went down last season and if it wasn’t for the points deductions suffered by Everton and Nottingham Forest, it would’ve been even more convincing.
“They made a fight of it and everybody really enjoyed watching Luton play for example, but if Forest didn’t have points taken off then it would’ve been done earlier.”
“I think it is a trend. If you look at the Premier League 25 years ago and the teams that are coming into it, more survived then than they do now.
When you look at the relegation battle this season, you have to look at Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton. Nottingham Forest might be the team which drops if one of the promoted sides has a good season, but it’s an uphill battle from the start and I think the gap is getting bigger.”
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