ENGLAND legend Michael Owen has predicted Manchester City to finish FOURTH in the Premier League this season.
The new campaign gets underway next weekend, with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool looking to stop Pep Guardiola and his players from winning a fifth consecutive title.
Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to be among the teams challenging near the top of the table.
But ex-England striker Owen predicts a huge shake-up in the Champions League qualification spots, with City dropping THREE places.
The 44-year-old has also backed Arsenal to win the league for the first time in 21 years.
Speaking to Casino Hawks, he said: “Arsenal and Manchester City will go in virtually everybody’s top four predictions and I think Liverpool will probably be in there as well despite there being some questions over how well Arne Slot will fit in.
“I had a thought about Newcastle but Aston Villa are solid and look to be still improving.
“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 gonna be really 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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Should Man City actually come fourth, it would be the lowest finish Guardiola has ever had in his managerial career.
The Spaniard has only ever finished outside the top two once – in his first season with the Cityzens.
Man City finished third in the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 season, behind Chelsea and Tottenham.
But Guardiola has since led the club to six Premier League titles, a Champions League title, five FA Cup wins and four League Cup wins.
