Manchester City have peaked under Pep Guardiola and will not be improving under their Catalan coach, claims Dietmar Hamann, with Liverpool still considered to be favourites for the Premier League title.
A former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has made the desired impact at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola was appointed to deliver major silverware, and has done just that by collecting two English top-flight crowns, three League Cups and the FA Cup.
Champions League glory has proved elusive, leading to questions of plans in Manchester beyond next summer, but continental glory will be chased down again in 2020-21.
Hamann is not convinced that City can scale the heights required to compete on multiple fronts, with their best days under Guardiola now behind them – with the 49-year-old renowned for moving on after spending a few years in any given post.
“I can’t see past Liverpool for the title,” former Reds and Blues midfielder Hamann told talkSPORT.
“Even though it was different after the restart, they were still 18 points ahead of City at the end of the season.
“The thing with Guardiola is he stays at clubs usually for no more than three years.
“I remember in Munich the players said after three years they were exhausted because he demands so much from them.
“I think a Guardiola team peaks after two or three years, maximum. He’s been at City for four years now, so I can’t see them improving this year as much as they have in the last few years.
“So I don’t think they should be a match for Liverpool, nor should they be anywhere near the top of the market in the Champions League.”
City are yet to get their 2020-21 Premier League campaign underway, with a delayed start being made on the back of a run to the Champions League quarter-finals last season.
They will, however, get out of the blocks on Monday when taking in a trip to Wolves and will be eager to put down early markers to fellow title hopefuls – with the games set to come thick and fast for the Blues across four competitions.