Sunday 29 October 2017 13:28, UK
Are the current Manchester City side the best ever Premier League team? The Sunday Supplement panel discuss and compare them to some of the greats.
Pep Guardiola's side are currently five points clear at the top of the league table and are yet to lose a game in any competition this season with many already earmarking them for the title in May.
But are they shaping into one of the best ever Premier League sides? The Sunday Supplement panel believes they have the potential to do just that, but have a way to go yet with some errors to iron out.
The panel also compare Man City to some of the few sides who could be considered as the great ever Premier League team, and you can have your say in our vote. Read on to see what they said...
Jonathan Northcroft - The Sunday Times' football correspondent: This Man City team has got the potential to be something incredible. They are breaking records already. I think they had the most passes completed in a Premier League game yesterday [against West Brom], they are probably going to beat the goals record and they may beat the points record.
They are a young side and they've got the potential and the manager to get to those heights but, at the moment, we look at the Arsenal Invincibles, the 1998/99 and 2008 Man Utd sides and you've got to throw in Jose Mourinho's first Chelsea side, and they were grown up teams.
We think of the characters in those sides who could win any game and if you pick any of those four teams and put them on the pitch against this Man City side, I would fancy the historic teams rather than Man City because they are still finding that extra side to their game and they are still young and have vulnerabilities.
You've got to somehow stop the supply to Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, stop them getting on the ball in midfield and then you've neutered a lot of the attacking threat. Then you've got to pressure then at the back. Napoli were right on those Man City defenders until the end in the Champions League a few weeks ago, forcing them to make errors and you've got to match them for intensity as well, which Napoli also did.
It's a really hard to produce something to beat this Man City side, but I think they are still beatable in a big game.
Jeremy Cross - The Daily Star's chief sports writer: It's a bit soon to judge. I watched the highlights of the West Brom game and they were amazing, the way they pass and move with such speed. They've got such an attacking arsenal going forward, I just can't see how anyone is going to stop them. Sergio Aguero didn't even play yesterday and they didn't miss him at all so that's a measure of the options they have going forward.
They have no weakness to be honest. They are great to watch but they haven't won anything yet. I would say the 1999 Man Utd team stand alone at the minute but if Man City go on to win the Premier League and again, then maybe you could start saying they are the greatest side we have ever seen.
We want a competitive Premier League. It would be good to see a manager come up with a plan to stop it because it is a real challenge. You don't want to see Man City winning every week really. As great as they are to watch, they are already five points clear and they could be home and hosed by Christmas at this rate.
They are a breath of fresh air. Last year, it was Pep Guardiola's first season and people were quick to write him off - myself included - but he was feeling his way a bit and getting used to the vagaries of the Premier League but he looks like he has it all worked out now. They are a formidable unit.
Ian Ladyman - The Daily Mail's football editor: They are great to watch and it's been great to watch them evolve. Some of the football they play is absolutely thrilling. However, if you're going to win the Premier League or the Champions League and be the best team that we have ever seen, there has to be another side to you. You can't just go out and be the Harlem Globetrotters every Saturday.
There has got to be another side and it will be really interesting to see if Man City have that other side as we get further down the line. I think they will win the Premier League this season, but that's just a few things to throw in there before we get over excited over what is a fantastic footballing team.
The best team I have ever seen is the 1998/99 Man Utd team, simply because of what they won. Also the Man Utd teams of 2007 to late 2009, around that period, when they had some great players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney at his peak but they were also physically impressive and hard. They had a personality and they could be horrible when they wanted to be which all came from the manager.
They were a very good side and I think time will tell if Man City can evolve into that complete unit, but they certainly play some of the best, if not the best football I have seen in the Premier League in many years. They are absolutely spellbinding to watch when they are on it.
Do you agree with the Sunday Supplement panel on their greatest ever Premier League team picks? Have your say in our vote below...
