5 reasons why Manchester United can still win the Premier League

#2 City could still slip up

Man City have relied on some late goals to win games this season

After such a perfect beginning to the season – destroying almost every side they’ve come up against, winning 17 of 18 games, and scoring a phenomenal 56 league goals alone – people are already talking about Guardiola’s Man City as being one of the all-time great Premier League sides. The only problem? We’re only just past the halfway mark in the season and the team haven’t actually won anything yet. It may seem academic that the league is theirs for the taking, but perhaps it’s not worth crowning them just yet.

Last season, for instance, City were perfect for their first six games and observers were ready to crown them the new champions then. That was until they came up against Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, who defeated them 2-0 using a high-press tactic, and from there Guardiola’s side appeared to struggle. Despite a hot finish to the season – winning their last four games – they picked up a further five defeats and finished 3rd. Granted, Pep has strengthened the squad hugely this season, but even so – it isn’t over yet.

And to be honest, City haven’t quite been sweeping the board each and every week. They’ve been smashing teams at points, sure, but on other occasions, they’ve faced some close games and have only scraped through to steal the points. Their wins over Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham saw them score late goals – past the 80th minute - to seal the victory, and their equaliser in their lone draw against Everton also came late on.

Some would argue that those narrow wins are the mark of champions, but if their opponents could prevent those late goals, then City could still go on a lean patch – which could allow United to sneak past them and take the glory.