GARY NEVILLE’S prediction about Manchester City winning the Premier League last month could well prove to be eerily accurate.
Manchester City are the frontrunners entering the final stretch after shock defeats for Arsenal and Liverpool over the weekend.
Neville said on Sky Sports following City’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United in the derby on March 3 that Liverpool and Arsenal would need to defeat Pep Guardiola’s team to compete for the title.
And just a week later City went to Anfield and came away with a 1-1 draw.
Then on March 31, Arsenal came to the Etihad Stadium and the title clash ended in a goalless draw.
After being unable to defeat City, both Liverpool and Arsenal are now under immense pressure as they navigate the competitive title race.
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Guardiola’s team thrashed Luton 5-1, while Liverpool suffered a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace and Arsenal was defeated 2-0 by Aston Villa, dealing significant blows to their hopes of winning the title.
The win left City ahead by two points in the table with six matches remaining and feeling confident about securing their fourth consecutive title.
A video surfaced on Sunday night showing former Manchester United defender Neville correctly predicting this outcome after City’s title competitors suffered defeats.
Neville said: “I genuinely think Liverpool and Arsenal have to think they can beat Manchester City.
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“They have to think this way to create this monumental shift in belief that City have they’re going to win the league, it’s their time of year, they’re experienced, they’ve won three on the bounce.
“I always think when we lost titles, whether it be with Chelsea and [Carlo] Ancelotti, or [Sylvain] Wiltord at Old Trafford, or [Marc] Overmars scoring at Old Trafford.
“The team that went on to win it came to Old Trafford and won.
“They didn’t just come to Old Trafford and draw and get a point and did OK, they came and shocked us.
‘”I think that is what Liverpool and Arsenal have to do to take the belief away from this Pep Guardiola team because they’ll think it’s ominous at this moment in time.”
The expected outcome did not occur, and now City appears to be the frontrunner for another win due to their extensive title-winning experience in recent years.
Guardiola’s team will face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley next weekend, while Arsenal and Liverpool will be playing away matches against Wolves and Fulham in the league.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
