Roy Keane tips another close title race - believes star signing to make the difference

Roy Keane has given his Premier League title predictions ahead of the new Premier League season.

The Sky Sports pundit has tipped Liverpool and Manchester City to run it close once again, claiming both are streets ahead of their current rivals.

All the top sides have recruited well with the likes of Erling Haaland, Raheem Sterling, Darwin Nunez and Gabriel Jesus all making moves this summer.

The Reds also secured Mohamed Salah's new contract deal, Calvin Ramsey and Fabio Carvalho on top of that.

Despite the sale of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, a mix of new young talent and a strong spine will see Liverpool be a dominant force once again.

But the domination of Manchester City may prove once again to be too tough to break.

Repeat Title Race?

Speaking on SkyBet, he claims Liverpool face a harder task this season with City signing Haaland, something he believes will fire City to new heights:

"Brilliant players, they’ve obviously improved with an unbelievable striker [Haaland] and they’ve got one of the greatest managers ever in Pep [Guardiola]."

Liverpool and Manchester City finished 18 and 19 points ahead of third-placed Chelsea last season and will be hoping the signing of Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly will help close that gap.

The former Manchester United captain spoke about the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal who he believes aren't good enough to chase Liverpool or City:

"I don’t think they will close the gap.

"I think they will be a bit better. They have quality and the recruitment, but you can’t look beyond Liverpool and Man City."

United Improvements?

Since the 2017/18 season, only one team has finished second other than City and Liverpool; Manchester United have a new boss in Erik ten Hag who is tasked with turning United back into a serious team capable of challenging for major honours.

It will be easier said than done given the fact that Liverpool recorded an aggregate score of 9-0 against the Red Devils last season.

Keane believes there will be improvements but not enough to truly compete with Liverpool or City:

"The manager no doubt will be given money to spend, how he recruits, four or five experienced players have left the club, which I think is a good thing.

"But I still don’t see United competing with Liverpool and Manchester City, not just yet."

Liverpool face off against Fulham in their first game of the season on August 6th and face Manchester United in their first six games.