A recent survey carried out by BBC Sport has shown an unquestionable belief amongst football experts that Manchester City is huge favourites to land their third Premier League trophy next season. No less than 40 people were asked including tv and radio presenters, former footballers and journalists, in which they had to pick out the teams they believe will finish first, second, third and fourth next season. As the results came in, a huge majority were in favour of Pep Guardiola steering his team to glory.
One of the men who strongly believes that City will come out on top is former Everton player Leon Osman.
The former England international recently said Man City was a force with the team they had in place already and on top of that their buys have strengthened their defence.
City looking to put last season behind them
When Pep Guardiola was announced as manager last summer, there was a huge belief around the Etihad Stadium that Man City was finally going to be able to compete with Europe's elite. They started off strong, taking maximum points from their first six league games and it seemed their manager was not phased about the competitiveness of the Premier League. However, as the season got in full swing, tough fixtures were heading their way and they ultimately struggled to pick up points against a harder opposition.
This led to the wheels falling off and from then onwards, they struggled to catch leaders Chelsea who went on to win the title comfortably.
Spend big or go home
With a disappointing season behind them, Pep Guardiola wasted no time in strengthening his squad. He brought in no less than five big new signings including 3 defenders, which combined to a price of over £200 million, a British club transfer record.
One signing in particular that stood out was that of Tottenham right back Kyle Walker. The 27-year-old England international impressed last season as he helped Spurs reach a successive second placed finish. It is no wonder why Guardiola wanted to secure the defender's signature, however, it took £53 million for the London club to agree to part ways with Walker.
Ultimately making him the most expensive defender in history. That was not going to stop the Spaniard from further adding to his backline though as barely a week later, the Manchester club forked out almost as much for highly-rated Monaco defender Benjamin Mendy.
This was seen as a statement by Man City that not only could they compete financially with the likes of PSG, who last week paid £198 million for Brazilian forward Neymar, but Guardiola is looking to build a ruthless attacking side like he had with his very successful spell at Barcelona.