Pep Guardiola Admits There Are 5 Teams in This Season's Premier League Title Race
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that he believes there are five teams competing for the Premier League title this season.
City and Liverpool are both on 23 points at the top of the table going into this weekend's fixtures, whilst London trio Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal form the chasing pack with all three teams having 21 points. City, Chelsea and Liverpool also remain unbeaten so far this season.
Speaking ahead of City's trip to Wembley to face Spurs on Monday night, Guardiola has suggested that any of these five teams could feasibly lift the title at the end of the season.
"I don't have doubt about that. There are just two points difference between four, five or six teams. They're all so strong," Guardiola said, as reported by FourFourTwo.
"You see the line-up – the first 11, 12, 13 players from Tottenham for the last five or six years, Tottenham are always up there. Obviously they cannot invest in players because of their incredible stadium that cost a lot of money.
"They're a top side. I've said that from my first year here. They were my first defeat here and I realised how strong they are. Last season we did really well in both games, but they've got a good manager and good players."
One omission from the list of potential title challengers are city rivals Manchester United, who have endured a difficult start to the campaign after finishing runners up last season. United currently sit in tenth place - nine points behind league leaders City.
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City romped home to the title last season with 100 points - 19 more than their closest challengers United. However the chasing pack have made strides to improve this season; Chelsea and Arsenal both had changes of management, whilst Liverpool invested heavily in key positions in the summer.
Although Tottenham didn't make any summer signings, they kept hold of all of their key players who had been instrumental in their rise under Pochettino over the last few seasons. If all teams can sustain their early season form, then it could make for the closest title race in years.
