Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson feels Manchester City are champions-elect.

Lawrenson wrote in the Mirror: "What we witnessed from Manchester City at Newcastle was the kind of performance that will win them the title.

"It was a performance that they didn't have in them during the first half of the season. And, most of all, it was a display that illustrated just why the fear factor in Manchester has shifted from Old Trafford to the Etihad.

"Manuel Pellegrini has options that David Moyes can only dream of right now, and he has a group of men for whom the penny has now dropped.

"This Manchester City team is a different animal from the side beaten at Cardiff, Aston Villa and Sunderland - all of whom are now struggling at the foot of the table - early in the season.

"This City team now realise that it doesn't have to be pretty but it has to be effective.

"They've played better this season than they did against Newcastle and lost the game. Now, however, they are ready to put in a shift."