Pep Guardiola predicts points tally needed to win 2021/22 Premier League title

Pep Guardiola has given his view on how many points Manchester City will need to win the 2021/22 Premier League title.

The Blues claimed the crown last season with 86 points, 12 more than second-place Manchester United. However, in the three years prior to that, the side who claimed top spot earned 99, 98 and 100 points respectively.

Speaking on Friday, Guardiola expects City will need to return to that sort of level if he is to guide them to a fourth Premier League crown under his watch.

“The champions will have to win a lot of games, for sure - 90 [points] or over [will be needed],” he told reporters ahead of this weekend’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Explaining why last season’s tally was considerably lower, Guardiola said: “Last year was with covid, it was a tough year for all the clubs and sometimes the consequences make you drop points. We won the league quite comfortably in the end.”

All eyes on Wolves

In 2020/21, a 15-game winning league run over the winter period gave City an unassailable lead at the summit. Two seasons before that and they won 18 of their last 19 to pip Liverpool to the title, while Guardiola’s first English crown was wrapped up by the new year, after his side put together an 18-match winning streak.

City won all of their last five in the league, but, in recent weeks Guardiola has been keen to shut down any suggestions that his side are on the verge of another extended winning spell.

“With the runs we have done [in the past], when they start I never thought [they would be] the runs we would do. We won the last games in the Premier League, what’s next is Wolves - [they are] close to the top of the league right now.

“After, is Tuesday against Leeds and [I] don’t think more than that. It’s confusing to think about runs, and when you start to think about that you will drop points and drop games. Think about the next one, that is the most important.

“The expectations are always higher when you achieve what we achieve in the last years, so the standards are higher,” he added. “We have to work more and [be] more conscious of what we have to do and everything we can improve.

“Opponents always exist, always can be better, that is not a problem. We try to improve and the players have to have that feeling. Doing the same as the previous seasons will not be enough, and [we need] to improve in the training sessions, work on weaknesses to get better.”