Manchester City strolled towards the Premier League title under Pep Guardiola this season and are considered overwhelming favourites to repeat the success again next year.
City will finish the campaign with two trophies to their name but saw their Champions League dream end in dramatic fashion as Liverpool dumped them out of the competition at the quarter-final stage in a 5-1 aggregate defeat.
And Kevin Kilbane feels that City can expect to face their sternest challenge for the Premier League title from the men in the red half of Merseyside.
“Yes [they can compete], because of what they’ve achieved against City this season, they’ve been the better side on three of the four occasions they’ve faced them this season,” Kilbane told OTB AM.
“But we’re at that stage where there’s full of hope for the next season and if you’re a Liverpool fan you’re thinking this is going to be our season.
“We need to look back two or three seasons when Brendan Rodgers had come off the back of his brilliant season and they weren’t able to replicate that. But it does seem a bit different to me now.
“They’ve got players in that squad who are able to go and seriously compete, but it’s the level that they play at. Can they produce it for 38 Premier League games, 16 Champions League games, cup games? It might have to be that they drop having a go at one competition.
“Look at what has happened to City this season – I think it has caught up with them by simply going for every competition. I don’t think you can do it. Yes, Manchester City have the depth within the squad to compete but I don’t think they can go and seriously have a crack at all four competitions.
“The priority has to be the Premier League and Champions League. They are in a serious position to challenge because of the players they’ve got, the way they’re playing and the atmosphere that is generating around Anfield is unbelievable – and that’s been generated every single week.
“Liverpool’s atmosphere at the start of games is blowing people away and I think that’s the key to it. Blowing away the sides who are sitting deep quite early on in matches and putting them to bed.”
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Written by James Hopper
