How do you top a near perfect season after years and years of constant excellence? That will be the question on Pep Guardiola’s and much of the Manchester City fanbase’s mind as they head into yet another Premier League season as defending champions, and hoping to win an unprecedented 4th Premier League title in a row.
Who’s in charge?
The domestic football specialist, Pep Guardiola has only ever been pipped to a league title three times in his top flight management career, with his sides only finishing below 2nd place on just one occasion.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that with Guardiola at the helm, Man City head into the upcoming Premier League campaign as favourites once again. To further cement his legacy, Guardiola will surely be looking to go for another of the major records available to him, whether that be surpassing his famous Centurions side in terms of points and goals, or even going for his rival Jose Mourinho’s esteemed defensive record set by that legendary 2004/05 Chelsea side.
Whatever success Guardiola looks to achieve, he will have to do it without so many players integral to his team: with no Mahrez in attack or Gundogan in midfield, with other big names expected to go as well, this is perhaps the most ‘thin’ Manchester City side we’ve seen in years, and it’ll be fascinating to see how Guardiola approaches this.
The In's and Out's
In’s
- Josko Gvardiol (€90m from RB Leipzig)
- Mateo Kovacic (€29m from Chelsea)
- Joao Cancelo (Returning from Bayern Munich)
- James McAtee (Promoted to Senior Squad)
Out’s
- Riyard Mahrez (€35m to Al-Ahli)
- Yangel Herrera (€5m to Girona)
- Ilkay Gundogan (Free transfer)
- Benjamin Mendy (Free transfer)
- Nahuel Bustos (Transfer to CA Talleres)
- Josh Wilson-Esbrand (Loaned to Stade Reims)
- Issa Kabore (Loaned to Luton)
Welcome, Josko! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/h5twzhVNy1
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 5, 2023
Manchester City’s Standout Player
In a team brimming with star power and world class talent, one man seems truly integral to Man City’s success: Rodri.
Having scored the winning goal in the Champions League final, and establishing a reputation as one of the toughest, most formidable defensive midfielders in the world today, he remains City’s most consistently excellent player.
Without the free flowing versatility offered by Gundogan anymore, Rodri will be relied upon to once again be the heart of Manchester City’s midfield and defence, as well as increase his creative output if City are looking to reign supreme like they have in recent years.
Will it be a successful or unsuccessful season for Manchester City?
Like we mentioned in the intro, is the barometer for success at Manchester City now so high that anything less than a convincing league title win actually be a disappointment for the Cityzens?
Many of their fans and pundits alike will be quick to point out that losing crucial squad players, as well as integrating the likes of Gvardiol and Kovacic into the team will also take time, so a slow start to the season could be expected from Guardiola’s team.
However, this is Manchester City we’re talking about: the once Centurions and the reigning treble winners of Europe, as well as the current favourites to win the Premier League this season. Expect to see Haaland find himself on an exorbitant amount of score sheets again, De Bruyne to look as creative as ever, and City to keep a tight grasp of silverware again this season.
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