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Sanju Samson makes Premier League 2026-27 top four, winner prediction and backs Manchester City to win 9th PL title originally appeared on Cricket News .
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Sanju Samson has backed Manchester City to win a ninth Premier League title.
He named City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool as his top four.
The India batter picked Erling Haaland among his Golden Boot contenders.
Sanju Samson makes Premier League 2026-27 top four and backs Manchester City to win 9th PL title
Indian cricketers being handed a Premier League microphone usually produces something worth hearing, and Sanju Samson did not disappoint on Star Sports' season kick-off show. The India wicketkeeper-batter ran through a rapid-fire set of predictions, and his title call went against the grain.
The 2026-27 campaign begins with Arsenal defending the crown for the first time since 2004, having ended a 22-year drought last season under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners also opened with a statement, thrashing Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at Cardiff.
City, meanwhile, enters a new era following Pep Guardiola's departure, and that Community Shield defeat represented a difficult start to life after the Spaniard. None of that deterred Samson, who still fancies the Etihad club to reclaim top spot.
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Sanju Samson backs Manchester City for a ninth Premier League title
Asked for his top four predictions for the season, Samson placed City at the head of his list, followed by the defending champions and two of the league's other traditional heavyweights. "Man City, Arsenal, United, and of course Liverpool," Samson said .
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The pick would deliver City a ninth Premier League title, having already won the competition eight times, including six in seven seasons between 2018 and 2024. It also represents a bold call given Arsenal's dominant end to last season, when they finished seven points clear of Guardiola's side.
His inclusion of Manchester United is equally notable, with Michael Carrick heading into his first full season in charge at Old Trafford. Samson's own allegiance appears to lie elsewhere, though, judging by his final answer of the segment.
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Why Samson's City pick is braver than it looks
Backing City feels almost contrarian in the current climate, with The Athletic installing Arsenal as clear favourites at around 44 per cent and City trailing on 20 per cent. A 3-0 Community Shield hammering, coming in the first competitive fixture of the post-Guardiola era, has done little to inspire confidence in the Etihad project.
Yet there is a logic to it that Samson may be tapping into. City have proven more than any club that a strong core and a settled winning culture can survive upheaval, and only one team has successfully defended a Premier League title since 2010, which happened to be City themselves.
If anything, City has done the impossible of winning the Prem four times in a row between 2021 and 2024. Meanwhile, Arsenal have never retained the top-flight crown since 1935, and if history counts for anything in this league, Samson's pick may be shrewder than the odds suggest.
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