Former Liverpool forward El Hadji Diouf has wrote off his old club's title chances.

The Senegalese has taken aim at the Merseyside outfit by claiming they bottled last year's Premier League title race.

“I don't see them doing as well as they did last season," he told FourFourTwo.

"They had the chance to win the league title; they had it in their hands and then let it slip.

“They were seven points ahead around Christmas – how Manchester City got it in the end beats my mind. As they say in England, I think they bottled it.

“If you have only one defeat in a whole season, surely you can't say that you didn't win the league – so it's hard for me to imagine them having such a similar season and coming out as champions.

“Manchester City will be the team to beat once again."