Alan Shearer sticking with Man City title prediction, Costa in form for Chelsea
City face toughest challenge and Costa is back to his best
Coral football ambassador Alan Shearer spoke exclusively to us about receiving his CBE, sticking by his Premier League title prediction of Man City and Chelsea ‘s recent form under Antonio Conte…
Last Thursday I had the honour of visiting Buckingham Palace where Prince William presented me with a CBE for my charity work with The Alan Shearer Foundation and the Prince’s Trust amongst others.

Alan Shearer received a CBE from Buckingham Palace for his charity work this week.
What a fantastic day it was. All Prince William wanted to talk about was football. We chatted about Newcastle’s chances of promotion and he said Mr Bruce is doing a fine job at Aston Villa, to which I told him I’ll pass on your regards.
Anyway, back to the Premier League and I’ve been asked if I am going to change my prediction on who is going to win the title. The answer is no. I am sticking with Man City despite the big test they face over the next month without their star man Aguero and of course Fernandinho.
It really is my pet hate when people change their mind every single week on who will win the title. When I make a prediction at the start of the season, I stick to my guns.
“Hazard and Costa running riot in Premier League”

While Shearer maintains Man City will win the title, he recognises the fine form of Eden Hazard for Chelsea.
That said you can’t fail to be impressed with the way Chelsea are going about their business at this moment in time. They were very impressive against Man City and Hazard and Costa are running riot in the Premier League.
The reason for their success is that they now look a settled side who are full of confidence. They’ve got a system in place that they all seem very comfortable with and every player is working really hard.
There is no doubt about it, not playing in Europe is also a massive help. They have less chance of suffering from injury and fatigue, and the players look fresh and full of energy. As for Conte, well he’s won Man of the Month twice in a row and is doing a magnificent job.
When you consider all those rumours that came out about him earlier in the season, saying he was going to lose his job and so on, and then fast forward to two months later, the difference really is incredible. They are on top of the table and on an incredible winning streak.
“Diego Costa really enjoying his football again”

Alan also notes how well the Blues’ striker Diego Costa is doing.
Diego Costa was the player everyone loved to hate last season but now he looks as if he is really enjoying his football again. He is back to his best, and he is aggressive in the right way.
Yes, he looked frustrated at the start of the season; he was diving, and winding up the opposition again, and he got four yellow cards in his first few games. But ever since Chelsea started winning, he has looked very composed.
He now looks a top centre forward, who is scoring goals. Just look how he bullied the Man City defence last weekend in the second half. His change of attitude is down to the team’s confidence right now. They’re winning, everything is going well, and he is bringing his team mates into the game.