He Manchester City has a great year ahead.
Before last season, no club had ever won four consecutive English league titles. City did it in May by finishing two points clear of Arsenal, but now the chance of a fifth successive title lies before Pep Guardiola and his team of serial champions.
Then there’s the goal of returning to the top of Europe after last season’s Champions League quarter-final exit and going all the way in the FA Cup and EFL Cup again. One thing no English club has yet achieved is four titles in a single season – and probably for good reason.
But this could also be a seismic year in other ways.
Guardiola is yet to decide on his future and, with a contract expiring in June, it is not out of the question that this will be his ninth and final season at the Etihad Stadium. But he is also not ruling out staying: he has already been at City for far longer than he has held any previous position.
City have won all four major competitions eight times in the past five seasons, including a never-before-seen dominance in the Premier League. It will be extremely difficult to top the 2022/23 treble, but technically it is achievable.
Season |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
EFL Cup |
---|---|---|---|
2023/24 |
Winners |
IS |
Third round |
2022/23 |
Winners |
Winners |
Quarter finals |
2021/22 |
Winners |
SF |
Fourth round |
2020/21 |
Winners |
SF |
Winners |
2019/20 |
2nd |
SF |
Winners |
None of City’s players from last season have changed shirt numbers for this season. New arrival Savinho has worn the number 26, while numbers 19 and 21 are vacant following summer departures. Joao Cancelo has also returned from a loan spell at Barcelona to take up the number 7 shirt, although the full-back’s future remains uncertain.
Dorsals |
Players |
---|---|
2 |
Kyle Walker |
3 |
Ruben Dias |
4 |
Kalvin Phillips |
5 |
John Stones |
6 |
Nathan Ake |
7 |
Joao Cancelo |
8 |
Mateo Kovacic |
9 |
Erling Haaland |
10 |
Jack Grealish |
11 |
Jeremy Doku |
16 |
Rodri |
17 |
Kevin De Bruyne |
18 |
Stefan Ortega |
20 |
Bernardo Silva |
24 |
Gvardiol |
25 |
Akanji |
26 |
Savinho |
27 |
Matheus Nunes |
31 |
Ederson |
32 |
Perrone |
33 |
Scott Carson |
47 |
Phil Foden |
52 |
Oscar Bobb |
75 |
Nico O’Reilly |
78 |
Issa Kaboré |
82 |
Rico Lewis |
87 |
James McAtee |
97 |
Wilson-Esbrand |
*Numbers subject to change before the end of the transfer window.
Signed
Player |
Coming from |
Price |
---|---|---|
Savinho |
Troyes |
25 million euros |
They leave
Player |
It’s going to |
Price |
---|---|---|
Julian Alvarez |
Atletico Madrid |
75 million euros |
Tommy Doyle |
Wolves |
5 million euros |
Harwood-Bellis |
Southampton |
23 million euros |
Dario Sarmiento |
Tiger |
1.3 million euros |
Lewis Fiorini |
Stockport Country |
1 million euros |
Sergio Gomez |
Royal Society |
9 million euros |
Liam Delap |
Ipswich Town |
17.9 million euros |
Yan Couto |
Borussia Dortmund |
Assignment |
Alex Robertson |
Cardiff City |
1 million euros |
Micah Hamilton |
Middlesbrough |
4.1 million euros |
Ben Knight |
Real Murcia |
Cost 0 |
Starter Kit
Away kit
Third kit
With 90 goals in 99 appearances since his arrival in 2022, Erling Haaland will score his 100th goal for City in the opening weeks of this season. It is a remarkable return and the Norwegian seems to have no intention of slowing down. Even despite having to deal with an injury layoff in the 2023/24 season, he has scored 27 goals in the Premier League alone (38 in all competitions), which is not far from a goal per game.
It doesn’t even matter that he’s not very clinical. If Haaland is fit, he’ll get chance after chance after chance, and he’ll keep scoring at an astonishing rate.
City can also look to Phil Foden who took his goalscoring ability to new levels in the 2023/24 season, scoring 27 goals in all competitions. If he matches that figure, it would be a clear sign that he is a world-class player.
But Guardiola will need other players to step up this season to replace the 19 goals scored by Julian Alvarez. He is expected to turn to youngsters such as Oscar Bobb and James McAtee, rather than asking for a direct replacement in the transfer market, while the onus is on Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku, who had six Premier League goals between them last season, to contribute more.
City are the team to beat and that will not change despite several non-sporting factors weighing on them. This team knows how to win in a way that Arsenal still doesn’t know how to do.
Until someone actually finishes ahead of them, it’s hard to believe anyone will make it.
Manchester City Premier League 2024/25 Prediction – 1st
#Manchester #City #predictions #Premier #League #results #top #scorer #season #preview