Who are City’s main title rivals after Super Sunday?

Manchester City returned to the top of the table on Saturday as they swept past Southampton by four goals as our impressive run continued.

However, it was short and sweet as Arsenal returned to the number one spot as they beat Liverpool in a Super Sunday thriller.

The game is likely to have been watched closely from a City fan’s perspective as it represents two teams that potentially threaten Pep Guardiola and co from winning this season’s title, making it the fifth title from six.

Arsenal is the team to beat this year, only losing one, while Liverpool has been the team that has consistently threatened and pushed City onto new levels in the quest for dominance. Their levels have been way off this year, however a consistent run of victories may bring them back into the mix.

So, who is the main threat to City’s title quest this year?

Many things were not expected of Mikel Arteta’s team this year with a Champions League qualification target being the main priority. That has eclipsed that expectation so far amassing 24 points from nine games.

The additions of the City old boys, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, have benefitted the quality of the North London team turning them into the “mentality monsters” that we have seen of Liverpool and City in yesteryear.

Whether you can say those signings have been the main catalyst for change is an unknown, but their influence is significant, along with William Saliba returning from various loan spells.

Sunday’s victory was evidence of their new cutting edge and ability to see out the three points or to come back to claim the maximum. The defeats to Brighton, Newcastle and Southampton are a long-way from the Gunners’ memories.

The Gunners are there on points but will we see them occupying the top spot come February or March when the race is truly on? That is when we can say they are true title contenders.

For Liverpool, they are currently 13 points off City but they proved they could close that gap on us from last season. Sunday’s upcoming fixture is a massive game, and it could determine whether Liverpool is simply having a blip or is declining.

Mohammed Salah looks like a man way off the pace, Trent Alexander-Arnold is making basic mistakes and their heavy metal football and pressing intensity is a long way short of Jurgen Klopp’s standard.

Who knows what is going on at Anfield, whether it is a lack of confidence following the Champions League defeat and final-day drama that have affected them mentality or fitness issues that have seen many of them go down with multiple injuries.

Making enough excuses for Liverpool as Klopp is a strange position but I genuinely still feel they are streets above our other competition in Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United should they hit the ground running.

Liverpool led their opponents by 23 points when Gundogan secured the title, however there are now 14 points in difference. Not a cut of nine points but a switch of 37 points in those five months.

All I can say is that I’m looking forward to when the rearranged fixture gets finalised with City heading to Emirates first.