Josko Gvardiol has insisted the lack of noise around a potential Manchester City title challenge this season is acting as motivation for Pep Guardiola's squad in an exclusive interview with ESPN.
Arsenal and Liverpool were the preseason favourites to be crowned champions after impressive summer transfer windows at both the Emirates and Anfield.
City, meanwhile, are battling back after a disastrous campaign last year.
Guardiola's team have quietly climbed to second place in the table and Gvardiol believes it's a good thing if they are going under the radar.
"It motivates you," he said.
"When you see that no one talks about you and they're all talking about Arsenal and Liverpool -- which is normal. They are good teams. We will see."
City, champions four years in a row between 2021 and 2024, started the season with two defeats from their first three league games.
Gvardiol says he could sense the team being written off following the poor results against Tottenham and Brighton.
But the 23-year-old believes a run of nine games unbeaten in all competitions is a good reminder of how good they are.
"I would say at the beginning of the season you could feel it [being underestimated]," said the Croatia defender.
"It was just about Liverpool and Arsenal. After the run we've had, everyone is getting aware again that we are still here.
"There are lots of games to play and I think it's going to be an interesting season."
City head to Aston Villa on Sunday looking to extend their unbeaten run to 10.
They haven't won at Villa Park since 2021 and have lost on their last two visits.
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"We have good momentum, but not consistency for 90 minutes," said Guardiola at his news conference on Friday.
"We are starting to understand opponents and what we want to do, especially without the ball and to attack more fluently.
"Our mentality and our body language is in the right spot and it will make us stable. [We need to] play better during 95 minutes, we play good but we need to play better. Not because we don't run but we have to really try."