Manchester City start their tenth season under Pep Guardiola at Wolves on Saturday evening as they look to wrench the Premier League title from Liverpool’s grasp and bring the trophy to the right part of the M62.
The Blues had a disappointing season last time around, finishing 13 points behind the champions and ending the season without a major honour for the first time since the 2016/17 season. Guardiola will be hoping that his new signings will help put that statistic right, starting next week against
the Black Country side.
Considering Liverpool’s incredible form last season, most of the pundits will undoubtedly back them to retain the title, but the Blues, along with Arsenal, will not go down without a fight and Guardiola will expect nothing but 100% from City next season.
New Faces
The Blues were quite active in the first summer transfer window and pretty much completed their business within a few days of each other. First to arrive at the Etihad Stadium was Algerian defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, who joined in a £31m deal ironically from Wolves and he could well be facing his old club on his City debut.
Another Rayan, this time Cherki, arrived the following day in a £41m move from Lyon to shore up City’s right wing options and he was joined by Chelsea keeper Marcus Bettinelli, who arrived on a free transfer.
A day later, Tijani Reijnders swapped Milan for Manchester to become City’s fourth signing of the summer at a cost of £46m. Another centre midfielder, Sverre Nypan arrived from Rosenborg, with the Blues splashing out £12.5m for Erling Haaland’s compatriot, before James Trafford rejoined City from Burnley at a cost of £31m.
They join defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reiss, Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush, who all joined the club in January.
These are the players, along with City’s existing stars that Guardiola has put his faith in to bring silverware back to the Etihad Stadium.
Defence Ready To Defend?
It’s fair to say that City’s defence didn’t really live up to it’s name last season. The Blues were caught out time and again at the back and couldn’t stop conceding.
City kept just 18 clean sheets in all competitions last season and conceded the first goal on too many occasions. New boys Ipswich took a shock lead in the first home game of the season and Brentford scored while some in the crowd were still finishing their pre-match pints.
The Blues conceded 44 goals last season, the most in any Guardiola season and the highest conceded since they leaked 45 goals in the 2009/10 campaign.
Ait-Nouri will likely fill in at left-back, allowing Josko Gvardiol to move into a centre-back or left wing position. The Blues have a selection of centre-backs available, with Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake all potential partners in the middle, leaving Rico Lewis and Khusanov to challenge for the right-back position.
After last season, Guardiola will be looking for the perfect combination at the back and get the Blues on course for a strong defence once again.
Midfield Life Post KDB
The shadow of Kevin de Bruyne will loom over the Etihad for a while, just like the one Sergio Aguero left behind when he eventually left the club. But the Blues have plenty of strength in the middle of the park to enable them to get over the loss.
While Rodri, Nico or Mateo Kovacic can slot into the defensive midfield slot, City have an abundance of options who can be the creative heart of the City engine room. Ilkay Gundogan is looking to get back to his best with an impressive display against Palermo, while Matheus Nunes or Bernardo Silva can support.
But it’s the signing of Reijnders that has got the City fans excited. The Dutch star excelled against Palermo and showed the qualities that persuaded City to part with £47m to sign him. Whilst a different style of player to KDB, Reijnders could be the one that everything goes through.
City also have an embarrassment of riches on the wings, with Phil Foden, Savinho and Jeremy Doku facing the challenge from Cherki, Claudio Echeverri, Nico O’Reilly, James McAtee and the fit again Oscar Bobb to give City plenty of options on the wings.
Marmoush To Take Centre Stage?
All the attention in recent years has been focused on the record-breaking exploits of Erling Haaland and he will once again lead the line next season.
But the signing of Omar Marmoush has been an inspired one from Guardiola. A £59m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in January, Marmoush has already endeared himself to the Faithful.
The Egyptian striker hit eight goals in 16 appearances, including a hat-trick against Newcastle United and claimed the Goal of the Season for his spectacular strike at home to Bournemouth.
While Haaland will likely grab all the attention again but that will leave Marmoush to get on with things quietly and become the perfect lethal strike partner for the big Norwegian.
Where Will the Blues Finish? And Will They Win Anything?
City face their biggest challenge to try to recover the Premier League title. Not only that, but they vastly underperformed in the Champions League. The Blues have proved it is possible to win the lot in the same season but to do it again is even more of a challenge.
Liverpool have strengthened well, so have Arsenal and they face a huge fight over the next ten months. Can they win it? Absolutely. They have strength in depth once again and have the game changers waiting in the wings. Will they win the Premier League? I think they will. It won’t be a cruise as it has been in some years, but a one-point difference is all that’s needed come May.
City will also be eager to perform well in the Champions League. the new format proved to be something of an issue for some reason, but hopefully, the Blues have put those issues behind them and will be ready to compete once more.
