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Former England defender Joleon Lescott has dismissed Liverpool's chances of clinching the Premier League title this season, instead backing Manchester City to take the crown.
The 42 year old is confident that his former club will rebound from a disappointing Premier League and Champions League campaign under Pep Guardiola's leadership, suggesting they have gained from the mental respite provided by last season. Guardiola has been busy in the transfer market, securing the services of players such as James Trafford, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, and Sverre Nypan.
Manchester City achieved an unparalleled four consecutive Premier League titles between 2021 and 2024, but failed to maintain their momentum, ending the 2025 season without any silverware. Despite Liverpool's impressive transfer activity, Lescott still views Manchester City as the team to beat this season.
Speaking at the launch of the new Topps Premier League 2025-26 trading card collection, the former defender said: "Regardless of how last season panned out, they are definitely going to be one of the favourites. It's Pep Guardiola, it's Man City with some of the world's best players.", reports the Mirror.
"It would be foolish to not see them as favorites in every competition they enter. That doesn't mean they're going to win everything, but they're definitely one of the favorites."
City concluded the campaign 13 points adrift of champions Liverpool in third position last term, but Lescott attributed their decline to exhaustion following their historic achievements.
"It was obviously an unprecedented season for them last year, but they've achieved something no one in the history of English football has achieved so it's always going to take its toll," he explained.
"It did that last year. Not only a physical toll, but a mental toll to stay focussed for that long and to have to win games for that period of time. When they recognised that they weren't going to win the title, whether it was subconsciously or not, they were able to switch off a little bit.
"Physically the demand was still there but hopefully they've had a break mentally, not to have to go out there and concentrate points wise, hopefully that now means they'll come back ready to go."
Lescott was speaking at the new Topps Premier League 2026 trading card launch in London, which features players from all 20 clubs in the league in their 2025/26 kits at the Fanatics flagship store on Thursday.
He was joined by other legends such as Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand to celebrate the new stand-alone range that features legends and current stars, with an extensive parallel programme and more autographs than ever before.
The showcase of Premier League talent among the collectibles also gave Lescott reason to be excited about his former club as he enthused over City's signing of 21 year old Cherki. "He's very exciting, for the Premier League as well. He plays with a lot of flair, a lot of quality. I'm anticipating a good start for him and a good season," he said.
"But again, we can't get carried away and make judgements too soon, whether it's good or bad, there needs to be a bedding-in period."
Despite the buzz, Lescott also warned about setting high expectations for the young player who transferred from Lyon this summer.
"It's a big change for him, coming from the French league, it's going to be a different demand, physically, mentally, and also a tension. I think we only see foreign players in different leagues when they do well.
"Now we see him in the tough times and the scrutiny comes when you're not doing so well. So it's how they manage those periods and understand that people are going to be watching every game, every moment."
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