Paul Merson has revealed his Premier League title and Golden Boot prediction for the new season.
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Manchester City will attempt to win a fourth successive league title next term after reeling in long-time leaders Arsenal last season.
The Gunners enjoyed their best campaign for some time – sitting top for 248 days – but an end-of-season wobble meant they finished five points behind treble-winning Man City.
Manchester United finished third in Erik ten Hag’s first season at Old Trafford while Newcastle United secured a surprising fourth-place finish to qualify for the Champions League.
Liverpool narrowly missed out on Europe’s top club competition after finishing fifth, while Chelsea – frequent challengers for the title in recent years – slipped into the bottom-half of the Premier League.
Assessing next season’s title contenders, Merson told Sportskeeda: ‘I can’t look past Manchester City for the Premier League title. With Ilkay Gundogan gone and Kyle Walker on his way out, it might be difficult for them this season.
‘Arsenal could give them a run for their money, but City’s bench is very strong and Declan Rice will need to get used to the way Arsenal play.
‘They move the ball around a lot faster than he’s used to at West Ham and England. Arsenal could get close, but I don’t see Liverpool mounting a challenge at the moment.
‘A lot depends on whether Manchester United can get Harry Kane. If they do, they’re massive challengers for the Premier League title. If they don’t, they’ll still be fighting for a place in the top four.
‘I don’t think Chelsea will get into the top four – there’s too much work to be done at the moment.
‘They’ve got a big squad without a midfield, and they’ve got rid of Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount. Their squad is very unbalanced.
‘At the moment, the only thing that could deny Manchester City the Premier League title is their own complacency. They’ve got the best squad and should be able to defend their crown.’
Former Arsenal and England winger Merson also backed Tottenham striker Harry Kane to win the Golden Boot ahead of Manchester City sensation Erling Haaland.
In his first season in England, Haaland scored 36 goals in 35 Premier League games to obliterate the Golden Boot race and help Man City clinch a historic treble.
But Merson expects Kane to ‘outscore his rivals’ next season, presuming he stays at Spurs amid substantial interest from Bayern Munich.
‘I’m going to go with Harry Kane for the Premier League Golden Boot next season,’ Merson added.
‘Erling Haaland stopped scoring goals towards the end of last season, didn’t he? I’m not sure if teams have snuffed him out.
‘Harry Kane’s record has been incredible. He got to 30 goals last season without scoring four goals a game. What he’s done is phenomenal in my opinion and if he does go to Man United, I don’t see how he doesn’t win the Golden Boot.
‘It’s going to be difficult for Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku to win the Golden Boot, because we’re not sure who’s going to play at Chelsea.
‘The big advantage that the likes of Haaland, Kane, and Mohamed Salah have is that they know they’re going to be playing every game.
‘The likes of Darwin Nunez and Alexander Isak won’t be playing every game either. Julian Alvarez is also a great player, but he’d have to get a hat-trick in every game he plays to get close. He’s a starter in almost every other team in Europe.
‘Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli couldn’t have played any better than they did last season, and they didn’t get close to Kane and Haaland.
‘You’ve got a lot of forwards getting to 15 goals in the Premier League, but that’s not going to win you the Golden Boot.
‘You’ve got to play almost every game in the Premier League to win the Golden Boot and Kane will probably have that opportunity. I’m backing him to outscore his rivals in the Premier League next season.’
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