Is now the time to back Man City to win PL?
Published on 25 Sep 2019 | Last updated on 01 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Photo by Tembela Bohle / CC0 1.0
CAPTION: Liverpool have taken the early lead in the Premier League.
Manchester City came into the 2019-2020 Premier League season as the favorites to win the title yet again, as they aimed to claim their third straight domestic league crown. But the start of the season has seen title challengers Liverpool take the driver’s seat in the title race, which has created some interesting questions around City’s candidacy. Namely, with the team falling behind, is now the best time to back City to win the Premier League?
City’s slow start, Liverpool’s strong start
In the current state of the Premier League, there is a two team race for the title each year. That race is between Manchester City and Liverpool, both of whom have proven their dominance time and time again. Both teams possess attacking players capable of bludgeoning even the most defensively sound clubs into submission, with goals coming seemingly at will for the two titans of English football.
However, Manchester City are experiencing some issues at the back that have prompted a slow start from the two-time defending champions. The departure of captain and club legend Vincent Kompany, combined with an injury to fellow centre-back Aymeric Laporte, have left City relatively short-handed at the most important defensive position. That deficiency led to one of the most shocking results in the history of the Premier League, as Norwich City was able to score a 3-2 win over a club previously thought to be invincible.
Liverpool, meanwhile, came out of the gates on fire to start this season. With members of the squad stating that last year’s title defeat at the hands of City helped them become stronger, the Reds dominated every team in front of them in the early portion of the campaign. As a result, Jurgen Klopp’s side opened up a five point lead over City in the title race after the first six weeks of the season.
There are, of course, many matches remaining to decide the fate of the Premier League title. And five points isn’t even enough to cover the two matches that City and Liverpool will play against each other over the course of this season. But for City, this is hardly the start that Pep Guardiola and company could have envisioned for the team after two straight titles.
CAPTION: The length of the ball helped City beat Liverpool in the 2018-2019 season on a goal line clearance.
Is it time to back City?
It is a question that seems counter-intuitive, given what has taken place on the field in the early stages of the Premier League season. But the fact that Manchester City has fallen behind Liverpool in the title race could make this a good time to back the defending champions to get back to the top of the mountain in the league.
While Manchester City were favorites to win the Premier League heading into the season, the latest Premier League odds have them as underdogs for the first time in a long time after their shock loss at Norwich. That could allow bettors to back them at a more profitable price than they have been offered at in previous points of their run of dominance atop the league.
Given that both teams will have plenty of matches coming up, both in the league and in the three other cup competitions that they are involved in, there will always be the possibility of dropped points due to squad rotation and upsets. As a result, a lead in the table is never safe and backing the team that isn’t at the top at a given moment isn’t a terrible idea as long as there is value there to be had. Manchester City, with their billion Euro squad, are unlikely to sit down and give up any time soon.
With the Premier League bending to the will of Manchester City in recent seasons, it only makes sense to back them at a time where they appear vulnerable. Because if we know one thing about the Pep Guardiola era at the club, it is that they never stay vulnerable for very long.
