Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has made his predictions for the upcoming Premier League season. He expects both Manchester United and Chelsea to be among the top contenders, alongside Arsenal and Liverpool.
Both Manchester United and Chelsea faced significant challenges last season. The Red Devils slumped to an all-time low eighth position in the Premier League standings. This poor performance led many to anticipate that Erik ten Hag would be sacked before he led his team to victory against Guardiola’s Man City in the FA Cup final.
Chelsea also had a disappointing run, missing out on Champions League qualification by finishing sixth. However, a late-season surge provided fans with some optimism ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Strong competition in 2024/25
Despite this late burst of form, Chelsea parted ways with manager Mauricio Pochettino after missing out on Champions League spots. This move sparked fresh uncertainty at Stamford Bridge as they prepared for another big-spending season. However, Guardiola has praised new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and believes that he can make full use of their 'quality' squad in challenging for top-four positions this season.
As we kick-start into a new footballing year with Chelsea facing off against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, Guardiola identified both teams as part of ‘six or seven teams’ who will challenge for top-four positions this year.
Guardiola also insisted that despite their struggles last season, Manchester United would ‘be there’ when it comes down to securing Champions League spots at the end of this campaign. Their opening match against Fulham saw them struggle initially but eventually secure victory thanks to a late goal from summer signing Joshua Zirkzee - perhaps an early sign of things turning around?
Challenges of the new season
While Guardiola publicly stated that Man City’s first objective is to qualify for the Champions League, it's clear that he has his sights set on a loftier goal. He hopes to guide his team to an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title, further cementing their dominance in English football.
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, said:
‘In the beginning of the season, the first target is going into the top four,’ ‘And the people say, ‘Ah, come on. What?’ No. Top-four. Newcastle – they’re not in European competition – they’re going to play one game a week. And Newcastle, one game a week, this season will be the Newcastle of two seasons ago. And Arsenal it’s not necessary to talk about, Liverpool it’s not necessary to talk about, I know the signings of (Manchester) United and at the end they’re going to take the moment and they will be there.
‘Tottenham, I’m pretty sure of that as well, they invest in the young players, with the manager who knows better. So there are a lot, a lot of teams – Chelsea, again, with the amount of players, the quality, I believe with the manager. All the six or seven teams are there. If you drop a little bit, you will be away. This is the reality I’ve felt from the first season that I arrived here, and after, yeah, we proved ourselves that we can do it. And we’ll try to do it again this season, it’s simple.’
The upcoming Premier League season promises to be an exciting one with Manchester United and Chelsea expected to bounce back from their struggles last season. With new management at Stamford Bridge and a renewed sense of optimism at Old Trafford, both teams will be looking to challenge for top-four positions alongside Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. As always in football though, only time will tell how these predictions pan out.
