Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that his team will face competition from seven clubs during their race to retain this season’s Barclays Premier League title.
If you recall that City were crowned Champions last season on the final day after their stunning two goals come back against Aston Villa to record 3-2 win.
Going into the final game of the season, Manchester City were jointly on same point with second placed Liverpool who went ahead to thrashed Wolverhampton 3-1 at Anfield.
Speaking ahead of City's Premier League game against Fulham, Guardiola believes Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool will challenge City for the title.
"In the past, the same manager and same squad were able to make 17 victories in a row, 18 victories in a row many times," he said. "In these last few years, many times they have done it, why could they not do it again?
"Nobody knows what will happen after the World Cup, in the transfer window and how players will come back."
A victory for the Citizens on Saturday will see them move top of League for at least 24 hours, ahead of Arsenal who are travelling to Chelsea on Sunday.
Although 51-year-old Guardiola admitted that Arsenal are favourite at the moment.
The Gunners are currently top with two points ahead of second place City.
Guardiola added, "The first candidate right now is Arsenal. Why? They are top of the league. The gap to the rest is close."
The Spanish boss also believes that Newcastle can keep their winning momentum until the end of the season.
Guardiola says that Magpies who are currently in fourth position have the advantage because they are not playing in Europe.
"They have an incredible physicality, the rhythm they play and they play one game a week," he added.
"They are not playing in Europe and when this happens it’s a big advantage for deciding moments in terms of energy. They have incredible energy - imagine having one long week."
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