Patrick Vieira disagrees with Gary Neville after issuing fresh Man City title prediction

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Patrick Vieira has disagreed with Gary Neville after the Sky Sports pundit claimed that Pep Guardiola wouldn't have seen Manchester City as a title-winning team earlier this season.

A win on Sunday for City has put them in a strong position to claim a fifth title in six years under the Catalan. It has owed to some impressive form in 2026, coupled with Arsenal suffering a late season collapse.

Guardiola's side were miles off the pace last term but invested in new personnel in a bid to make themselves a dominant force once more. They remain inconsistent and, in January, drew three and lost one to leave Arsenal with a comfortable cushion.

However they've since flicked a switch, winning the Carabao Cup, and hitting form at the right time. Vieira believes that, even when they weren't firing on all cylinders, Guardiola will have thought he could still win the Premier League .

He said on Sky Sports : “Just to disagree a little bit with Gary [Neville], I don’t believe that a manager like Pep in December will say ‘OK, if we qualify for the Champions League , I will be happy with it’. I don’t think he is that type of manager.

“I think he will challenge and he is where he was hoping the team would be. I think he brought in some quality players in December and players are growing up, building up this belief and confidence. In the back of his head, he is where he wanted to be and they will be there at the end of the season.

“Winning the game today gives them that belief and momentum. I think now it will be Arsenal that has to chase them because I don’t see them dropping points.”

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City's 2-1 win over Arsenal means that they can go top on Wednesday night when they head to Burnley . They would jump above Arsenal on goal difference, which would then leave the two teams needing to be perfect for the remainder of the campaign.

Neville has claimed that key signings, as well as the emergence of certain players, has made City a different outfit to the one they were earlier this season.

He said: "(Abdukodir) Khusanov hadn't emerged, (Marc) Guehi was at the club, (Antoine) Semenyo wasn't at the club and (Nico) O'Reilly wasn't at this level. All of a sudden these four of five players - Khusanov, Guehi, Semenyo, O'Reilly and (Rayan) Cherki - have just stepped up a massive level in the last four to six weeks."

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