Aston Villa became the latest team to hand Manchester City a defeat on Saturday afternoon, as Morgan Rogers scored and assisted in a commanding 2-0 victory. For Pep Guardiola’s side, the slump deepens – with just one win in their last 12 games across all competitions and six losses in their last eight Premier League outings, dropping them to sixth in the table.
While City’s fanbase and the reigning four-peat champions struggle to grasp this sudden downturn after a decade of unprecedented dominance, Michael Owen saw it coming. The former Liverpool and Manchester United striker predicted City’s struggles over the summer to a chorus of doubt.
Back in August, Owen’s comments were widely dismissed. Yet, while he may not be a time-traveller, his warning now seems as prescient as ever as Guardiola and Co's search for answers continues to yield very little.
Michael Owen's Grave Predictions For Man City Are Coming True
The former Premier League talisman saw City's downfall before anyone else
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola rubs his head
Back on August 16th, ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season, Owen predicted that Aston Villa would finish above reigning champions Man City. “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," he said, as per Football365.
"I’m going to go for Arsenal first, Liverpool second, Aston Villa third and Manchester City fourth. 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," he added. "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."
Of course, since then, Guardiola has signed a contract extension. However, it remains to be seen whether that agreement will remain, as the Catalan icon looks like a shell of his excited former self on the touchline. While he is thought to be the one to lead them out of the tunnel and back into the light, upcoming matches against Everton and Leicester City will be seen as must-win opportunities.