Former Liverpool winger John Barnes believes Manchester City have dropped their performance levels this season, and he thinks it will lead to the Reds finishing top of the table.

The ex-England star has seen a few chinks in City’s armour at the start of the campaign, and he feels that Pep Guardiola’s side will drop more points than they have done in the last two seasons:

“This year, I just feel Manchester City will drop more points, I don’t think they’re going to be as dominant as they were.”

In contrast, Barnes is backing Liverpool to keep their level from last campaign, and he is tipping them to lift the Premier League title:

“I think we’re going to be as consistent and closer to what we did last year. Not to say we’re going to beat [97 points], but I think Manchester City have already shown they will drop points.”

“They’ve won it twice in a row, the Champions League is very important so maybe they’re thinking about that. I don’t think Liverpool will get 97 points necessarily, but I still think we’ll win the league.”

It is is not surprising to see a former Reds player backing his team to become champions. The Citizens showed against Crystal Palace yesterday, though, that they are still a force to be reckoned with and they will be waiting for Liverpool to slip up.

With the season only nine games old, there is still a long way to go, with many more twists and turns before the final day in May.