Michael Owen makes top four prediction ahead of Arne Slot's first Liverpool season

Michael Owen has predicted how Arne Slot's first season at Liverpool will pan out - and he expects the Dutchman will come up against some of Jurgen Klopp's familiar foes.

It's hard to pin down the expectations on Slot . Fans are certainly not expecting a new Klopp, but nor will the club's standards drop dramatically, and the new coach will at least be hoping to challenge for the top honors.

In the Premier League , however, Owen predicts that Slot will fall short. He sees Manchester City winning the title for a record-extending fifth season in a row, with Arsenal once again in contention.

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"Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool but I don’t think there is a standout for fourth," Owen assessed, speaking to Prime Casino . "I don’t fancy Manchester United, Chelsea might be back to square one with a new manager, it might be Tottenham or even Aston Villa again."

As far as Owen sees it, the big problem is Pep Guardiola. He limited the amount of silverware Klopp could bring to Anfield , and the Slot's reign will be beset by the same issue — at least for now.

"It’s impossible to say if Pep would have won less with Sir Alex Ferguson around, obviously it would’ve given him more competition than he has at the moment, but Manchester City have taken the game to a new level," Owen admitted. "Probably the big question is how many titles Liverpool would have won over the last few years if Pep Guardiola wasn't City manager.

"To win only one title with that great team, that just shows you how good Manchester City have been. Let's just say one or two less if Fergie was in charge at Manchester United, I'm sure.

"But it won't be long until Pep Guardiola leaves and that might change things in the Premier League once he leaves because he's so b****y good, it's hard to win anything with him in charge at the moment."

Liverpool.com says: Guardiola and Manchester City have certainly been an irritant over the years for Liverpool. If the Catalan does not renew, there will be an exciting reset period in the Premier League, at which point Slot will have been settled in for a year.

For his debut season, however, all the familiar challenges are still there. Owen's right that it will be hard to take home the title, but staying in that pack of three alongside Manchester City and Arsenal is a minimum requirement.