A ball has not even been kicked yet but Paul Dickov has backed Manchester City to win consecutive Premier League titles next season, saying he expects them to be England’s dominant side for the foreseeable future.

City showed their class in a superb 2017-18 season where they cruised to Premier League glory with a margin of 19 points.

It was their second piece of silverware this season after their League Cup success but the manner of how they won the Premier League and City’s strength in depth has got people talking this could be the start of another domination in English football.

Liverpool and Manchester United were powerhouses in the 1990s and 2000s. With the average age of City’s squad at 27.1, ex-striker Dickov believes it’s now City’s time.

“I can see City dominating for three or four years purely because of the age of the squad,” Dickov told Sport360 at the launch of the Manchester City Trophy Tour on Tuesday. “It will be difficult to dominate in Europe because you have Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona. Those clubs have huge history and City are surely getting there. But if you look at the squad they can more than match them.”

He added: “Yet, I think the mentality of the club in Pep Guardiola and the players they will be playing in all fronts. It will be hugely difficult because it’ the Champions League and that’s the one that they want. But to win the Premier League back-to-back is one of the hardest things to do.

“It’s not been done for a very long time which shows how difficult it is. But the age of the squad and the way they performed last season, I think they will only get better.

“If you go through the likes of Ederson (24), John Stones (24) and Benjamin Mendy (23) and Raheem Sterling (23) they are all young. The experience they got from last season and the drive they had to go right to the end even when the Premier League is won will certainly help them.”