City finished third in the Premier League last season, but Richards believes it is “possible” they can win the title this season.
“The title is possible, definitely,” said the England international in The Manchester Evening News. “I do believe we’re title challengers.
“United are obviously a very good team and there’s Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs. I do believe on our day we can beat anyone so why can’t we win the title?
“I don’t think there’s an extra pressure. People look at our team and our squad and know that we’re challengers.
“That can only be good for the club that people are starting to take us seriously. I wouldn’t say there is added pressure. We’re relishing it.”
Manchester City suffered a 3-2 defeat to rivals Manchester United in last week’s Community Shield, but Richards is confident that his side can bounce back against Swansea.
“We’ll look to improve in the first game against Swansea,” explained the 23-year-old. “It’s not going to be easy.
“They’re going to be up for it so it’s going to be a good game.
“We know of their threat but we don’t want to focus on them, we want to focus on us. We’ll go into it all guns blazing.”
