Manchester City are in an unusual position heading into the new season as they are not widespread favourites to win the Premier League title.
Having lost their four-year hold on the Premier League last season to Liverpool, City have spent over £300m on reinforcements this year and are eyeing a return to title contention.
However, Liverpool have also strengthened significantly and look in an ominous position to retain their Premier League title for the first time in the club’s history.
Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have all arrived at Anfield to put Arne Slot’s side as bookmakers’ favourites to win the 2025/26 title.
Hugo Ekitike celebrates his goal during Crystal Palace v Liverpool in the 2025 FA Community Shield
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images
As well as the bookies, pundits are placing Liverpool as favourites to win the league, while also casting doubt over City’s ability to overtake the defending champions.
Micah Richards admits ‘worry’ for Man City’s title chances
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Micah Richards pointed to Rodri’s current injury concerns at Manchester City, which could see the influential midfielder eased in slowly for the first few weeks of the season.
Pep Guardiola says Rodri won’t be ‘really really fit’ until September at the earliest, placing more responsibility on the likes of new signing Tijjani Reijnders and long-standing midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.
“I think if Rodri was fit, I would say it’d be a race to the end. I just think losing Rodri is massive,” Richards told Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.
“I just think that protection on the transition that we constantly talk about – Rodri was the master at that.
“And if Rodri was fit, I would probably say Man City win the league for me. The balance of the whole team is better when Rodri’s in there. Yeah, I think Arsenal, Chelsea, and City will all be playing for second place.”
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer can’t see enough Man City improvement
Alan Shearer, who has backed Liverpool to retain their title, said that he expects Manchester City to improve on their third-placed finish last season, where Guardiola’s men only confirmed a Champions League spot on the final day of the campaign.
Rodri reacts at full-time following the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 match between Manchester City and Al-Hilal.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
He replied to Richards, saying: “I mean, by the ridiculously high standards, Man City, last season was really poor, but they’ll be better, but I’m not sure they’ll have enough.”
Gary Lineker then agreed with Shearer and Richards, as the unanimous concern for City’s midfield suggests they may not have solved their problem of coping without Rodri.
Guardiola will hope the combination of Reijnders, Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez and Mateo Kovacic will have enough versatility to cover any Rodri absences, while John Stones and Manuel Akanji can also push into midfield if they remain fit.