Arne Slot sounds Man City warning after 'surprising' season | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot expects Manchester City to be in the mix for next season's Premier League title after a "one-time season".

Slot's Liverpool head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take on a City side fourth in the table, 17 points off the pace set by the Dutchman's in-form Reds.

City's decline has caught many people by surprise, and the eight-time Premier League champions reacted quickly by spending around £170m in the January transfer window on Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis.

It's too late for Pep Guardiola's charges to get back into the mix for a fifth straight Premier League title, with their ambitions now focused on securing a top-four finish after being eliminated from the Champions League.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool's trip to Manchester, Slot admitted that he sees City's drop-off as nothing more than a temporary blip ahead of a return to challenging next season.

"Everybody is surprised that City is not up there because they've been up there for so many years," Slot told Sky Sports. "They have a great manager who has shown that he can be up there every single season. So I don't think anyone would have expected them now to be so many points behind us. I do see they are coming up again.

Omar Marmoush is one of four new signings who rocked up at Manchester City in January / Alex Livesey - Danehouse/GettyImages

"I think last weekend they were very good against Newcastle. They have already brought in three or four new players, so I think everybody knows that this probably is a one-time season that they are not up there.

"Everybody knows that this is a one-time season that they are not up there, and everybody, at least I, expect them to be up there next season again because you can already see them going up. So that is a surprise, but I think they are already much better. They had one or two difficult months.

"They started the season well, I think they are getting there now again. But they dropped too many points in a difficult period of the season, where they had many injuries as well. And then this league is ruthless. If you are not at your best, then every game is hard."

Liverpool could end up winning a Premier League, Carabao Cup and Champions League treble this season if all goes to plan, with a surprise FA Cup fourth round defeat to Championship outfit Plymouth Argyle the only real blemish on Slot's record so far.

It's the only competition City could still win this year – they are into the fifth round after ousting EFL duo Salford City and Leyton Orient in rounds three and four,