Will a Manchester club return to the top of the Premier League in 2021?
Between Manchester United’s 13 league titles and the four that Manchester City have picked up, the city has won more Premier League silverware than any other region. In fact, Manchester has come out on top in almost two-thirds of all seasons.
Manchester has dominated the Premier League ever since it was founded in 1992.
Between Manchester United’s 13 league titles and the four that Manchester City have picked up, the city has won more Premier League silverware than any other region. In fact, Manchester has come out on top in almost two-thirds of all seasons.
Sir Alex Ferguson once quipped that he was proud he’d “knocked Liverpool off their perch”, referring to the fact that the Red Devils, under his leadership ended the Kopite domination of English football.
But in 2020, Liverpool finally ended its 30-year drought, winning the Premier League for the first time.
While it’s too soon to say for certain which club will come out on top next season, many bookmakers have Liverpool and Manchester City as the favourites to win. Now, as you may already know, betting on football is incredibly popular, with some studies showing as many as three-quarters of all fans bet on the beautiful game at least sometimes. Many that do, often take advantage of free bet promotions to help get more value from their wagers. And with the start of the new season just days away, we’ll likely see more generous offers from bookmakers. Perhaps even some nice odds on both clubs to finish above Liverpool?
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While Liverpool and Manchester City are the favourites, Manchester United are close behind. And with 38 games ahead of them, United certainly can’t be written off at this stage.
Can Manchester Beat Liverpool?
The rivalry between the two cities is centuries old, stemming back to the time of the industrial revolution when the Manchester Ship Canal was opened, devaluing Liverpool’s importance as a port city.
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This rivalry is most often seen in football, and Liverpool’s victory in 2020 came as a disappointment to many United and City fans. That means that knocking Liverpool back off their perch once more is important to football fans right across the city.
Doing it is going to be difficult though. Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have been dominant over the last season. The club went a whole year without a league loss, and for a while looked like they may go the entire season without losing a game. Beating this form is going to be difficult.
Resurgent United?
This dominant performance came at a time when United were suffering their worst form for a long time. After his retirement, the club hasn’t managed to replicate its success under Ferguson.
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They’ve begun to turn it around in recent months though, winning a lot more of their games in recent weeks and months. After Bruno Fernandes joined the team in the new year, United haven’t lost a league game.
They may still have a little further to go though before they get back to their title-winning ways.
Another Title for City?
Of the two Manchester clubs, City have been the stars of late. The team had been hoping to win a third consecutive title in 2020, but they were outclassed by Liverpool’s dominance. With its ban from the Champions League and eventually-successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport hanging over it, City underperformed.
With that pressure now gone, Pep Guardiola is free to focus on winning again. The club’s owners would really like a Champions League trophy, as City are yet to win any European silverware.
If they’re forced to prioritise, they’ll likely put their resources into becoming Champions of Europe, but there’s no reason they couldn’t do both.
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Can Liverpool Pull it Off?
As for Liverpool, the club has managed to retain the majority of its squad, with Klopp looking to make a few additions during the transfer window. It seems likely, therefore, that the reds will be able to keep up their consistent dominance going into next season.
The club and its players are riding high off their victory in 2019 and this wave of positivity will give them an edge going into the new season. This is by no means a guarantee of another title though.
One of the Manchester clubs certainly can beat Liverpool next season, but it won’t be easy for either of them.
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Manchester City auctioning off exclusive ‘artefacts’ from Pep Guardiola’s office
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to auction off a limited number of used and/or signed items previously owned by legendary football manager Pep Guardiola himself.
The iconic Catalan head coach may have now left the club, but it’s fair to say that supporters are still grieving the bittersweet goodbye – and if you’re one of them, then this might be a good way of clinging on to him and the memories.
Teaming up with MatchWornShirt, an authentic collectables company that deals in memorabilia used by the sporting stars themselves, fans will soon be able to own a ‘piece of Pep’ if they so wish as part of this very special merchandise dump.
So, if you’re a collector of signed or match-worn merch, here’s a taster of what’s up for grabs:
Several items from @PepTeam's office are up for auction 🤝
Yes, should they be willing to put in the winning bid, Blues can genuinely own some of Guardiola‘s office knick-nacks, a tactics board and notes scribed on by the man himself, as well as his actual chair and even his whistle.
Does that count as kissing him? That’s not for us to say…
There is more standard fare, of course, such as worn training kits, photo frames, programmes and other printed media – almost all of which are signed by the 55-year-old.
On the other hand, if you’re so inclined to go for the super rare stuff, you can even buy his desk lamp and go-to coffee cups; whatever floats your boat.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss left Etihad Stadium this summer after 10 years as a Cityzen – with the club even releasing a dedicated ‘Decade Collection’ in his honour – and it now looks as though he could be set for his next job.
His former assistant turned replacement and ex-U23s/Elite Development Squad (EDS), Enzo Maresca, is now in place and making his first impressions on the City squad; safe to say it’ll take some work to leave the same lasting legacy as his mentor.
As for the auction, the club have labelled these exclusive trinkets as “artefacts”, promising that you won’t get many other opportunities, if any, to claim this kind of ‘KeePepsake’.
Meanwhile, in other MCFC news, the City Football Group (CFG) are taking steps to ensure local fans have easier access to matchday tickets with a new postcode lottery, of sorts.
Featured Images — Manchester City Football Club (supplied)
Sport
Manchester United fan groups issue urgent joint letter as thousands could lose season tickets
Danny Jones
Man United fan groups have banded together to issue a joint statement as they look to urgently rectify thousands of loyal supporters having their season tickets taken away by the club.
The backlash to the confusing cancellations has been huge, and Man United themselves are yet to issue an official response or carry out the mass revocation.
More than 5,000 matchgoers are said to have received emails from MUFC informing them that their season tickets are set to be cancelled due to alleged ‘breaches of their ticket-sharing policies’. This comes as part of a wider attempt at cracking down on touts.
Manchester United’s official Supporters Trust (MUST) has joined forces with the other major fan groups to sign an urgent letter demanding not only answers but a halting of the current process and correction of what looks to be countless mistakes when it comes to ticketing decisions.
2/ The recent actions of Manchester United have finally achieved what those efforts could not: a unanimous, historic and unprecedented unification of
— MUST | Manchester United Supporters Trust (@MU_ST) July 21, 2026
The joint plea comes not only from MUST but also from fellow vocal organisations such as The Red Army (TRA), The 1958, and the Manchester United Youth Supporters Club, all of whom represent some of the most passionate and die-hard fans who travel far and wide to see their team week in and week out.
It goes on to detail that all relevant Fans’ Forum representatives, more than 100 different and crucially official supporters clubs, as well as the notable fanzine, United We Stand, have all signed the document.
The full statement goes on to read: “Earlier today, a message was sent to Manchester United emphasising full support for the Fans’ Forum’s recent letter relating to the premature suspension of Season Ticket Holders without required evidence.
“In summary, we have reiterated the demands made by the FF: immediately halt the ongoing suspension process, immediately retract all unproven suspensions, confirm the current number of season tickets; explain its apparent policy of reducing the number of STs, and confirm that all reclaimed STs are reissued to supporters on the waiting list.”
Here’s just a small taste of what fans are reporting online – including claims of local rivals Manchester City carrying out similarly brutal broad-strokes culling of the core match-going base…
Disgraceful how United are treating their most loyal supporters. The club is completely out of touch with the supporters who have been the lifeblood of the club for years. https://t.co/snM7tgVYmy
Can't even take the piss because this is coming to all Premier League clubs at some stage, including us. They don't want the legacy fans, they want the tourists https://t.co/fkg911xr3y
Many are already turning wherever they can for advice and help over the deeply troubling matter, with the consensus seeming to be that the parameters for these new measures have failed to target the right kind of touting, which does remain a problem throughout football at large.
One person claimed that “the club is targeting ‘super-users’ who log into multiple accounts from the same network or device to submit away applications, handle renewals, check ballot results, etc.”
Passing on tickets when you can’t make matches isn’t just inevitable: it’s been part and parcel of the game since forever and is also an effort to ensure that the person taking your place isn’t just any old fan but an active supporter; i.e. there’s meaning behind that word – it’s not just a noun but a verb.
That being said, it isn’t these people who should be punished but those genuinely trying to scam the system and take already expensive tickets out of real fans’ hands.
In perhaps one of the most heartbreaking posts shared on social media, another X user wrote: “Just back from holiday to discover family and friends have had their season tickets suspended.
“I’ve been offline for the past week and had no idea how widely the club had cast its net – or how many innocent Reds have been caught up in this. My uncle is 82 years old. A lifelong Red. Potentially banned because his son (also facing ban) helps him manage an app he struggles to use.” Simply gutting.
While they are still waiting for direct communication from the club on the matter, MUST have promised to share the reaction publicly “in the interests of transparency and fairness”, along with any and all “potential consequences” as a consequence of what they ultimately decide.
For anyone deliberating over just how important these tickets are not only to people who spend their hard-earned money and downtime following their club, just think of howmany rely on going to the game as a crucial social outlet.
It’s more than just watching a bunch of blokes kicking a ball around.
My heart goes out to everyone battling against the club right now. Whatever has gone on, losing your season ticket, or even the threat of it, is the worst. Seen people who have been all around watching this team for decades who are now being told they can’t go anymore. Horrible.
The Manc -
8th September 2020 
