Manchester City will be coming into the season with a lot of expectation after triumphing last campaign. There were doubts over Manuel Pellegrini, who has failed to win major trophies in the past, but he managed to win two in his first season in charge at the Etihad Stadium, including the Premier League for only the second time in the club’s history. Now those doubts over the Chilean have subsided, he will be keen to add further trophies to his CV and he could not be at a better club to achieve that as Manchester City are a club with a huge potential, due to the money available to them.
The main problem facing Manchester City and Pellegrini is the rising expectations, which could mean an average season may not be good enough to keep him in his job. Carlo Ancelotti struggled in his second season at Chelsea after winning the league in his first and he lost his job in the following summer, Pellegrini will have to be wary of a similar situation, although the Manchester City owners are more forgiving. A lot of Manchester City fans will want the club to progress further in the Champions League this season and the board will see that as the next trophy that needs to be won. It’s not an easy task as Roman Abramovich will testify after it took him just under 10 years to see Chelsea lift it.
The champions will be seen as one of the favourites for the league title once again, but they will know from experience that it is far harder to retain the title than it is to win it. They were very poor in the 2012-13 season as Manchester United ran away with the league. Many blamed City’s poor transfer business and that they failed to add quality to their already star studded squad. The board will know they can’t make the same mistake again, especially if they are to compete on all four fronts.
Strengths/Weaknesses
It is unquestionable that Manchester City have a very strong squad, which will always be a useful thing to have when it comes to a long season and it’s something only few clubs possess. They have the opportunity to rotate the squad to deal with playing in four competitions, without decreasing the quality too much. It is the Manchester City attack which is the most impressive part of the squad. Sergio Aguero is one of the most talented players in the league, maybe the most talented, but injuries hindered him last season, while Edin Dzeko showed himself to be very reliable during the run in last season. Both Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic can also provide goals when called upon. Perhaps the most dangerous attacking player is Yaya Toure, who can be devastating when he unleashes his powerful surging runs into the final third.
Their Achilles heel last season proved to be their defence, as Martin Demichelis proved to be a figure to mock for a lot of opposition fans, and that could be an issue again this campaign. They have Vincent Kompany who is a superb centre half, however he lacks a solid partner. Joleon Lescott has left and Matija Nastasic hasn’t impressed Pellegrini over the last year. They are in talks to sign Eliaquim Mangala, who could prove to be a superb addition, but it’s yet to be completed, leaving the manager with a hole in his defence. He could opt to use Micah Richards centrally which could be a very shrewd move, but the City trainee has faded away in recent seasons due to injuries.
Transfer Business
They have signed yet another Arsenal player in the form of Bacary Sagna, who will be expected to provide real competition for Pablo Zabaleta. He has plenty of experience and will prove to be a shrewd signing on a free. Pellegrini has also added Willy Caballero and Fernando to add more depth to his squad. Caballero joins from the manager’s old side Malaga, therefore he will already have a working relationship with the goalkeeper, who should be a more serious threat to Joe Hart than Costel Pantilimon was. Their big signing to date is Fernando, who cost around £12m from Porto. He is a defensive midfielder, who could form a good partnership with Fernandinho, giving Yaya Toure more attacking freedom.
Meanwhile, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott and Costel Pantilimon have all exited Manchester City this summer, but all have remained in the Premier League. Barry has opted to make his successful loan move to Everton permanent, despite lots of other interest from other Premier League sides. He proved to be vital for Roberto Martinez last season and he will be hoping for a similar impact this season. Lescott has moved to West Brom to get regular first team football, while Pantilimon has moved to Sunderland.
Who is coming through?
There is a lot of talent in the academy at Manchester City, but like at Chelsea, it will become increasingly harder for them to breakthrough as there will always be talented players joining the club for big fees. Marcos Lopes managed to play for the first team on a few occasions last season and impressed, so he could be a player who makes further progress this year, although he will be doing so out on loan. Jose Angel Pozo, Jason Denayer, Emyr Huws and Kerim Rekik are all players whom the club have high hopes for.
Manager
Manuel Pellegrini is a man who has already proven a lot of the doubters wrong leading Manchester City to one of the most successful seasons in their history. He won two trophies and managed to get the club through the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history. The Chilean has also revamped the club’s training routines, including training at the stadium once a week as a plan to create confidence within the squad. He will need to build on his successes this year, but he has a great platform to build a dynasty at Manchester City.
Key Man
This could be considered controversial, but Edin Dzeko may hold the key for Manchester City this season. Alvaro Negredo and Stevan Jovetic have been inconsistent since joining the club, while they both have had several injury problems. Although Sergio Aguero is the most talented from the forward line, he too is injury prone, which leaves the Bosnian, who was City’s most consistent striker last season. He scored 16 goals last season, while he netted 14 times in the two previous seasons. The striker will always guarantee a lot of goals and if he is a consistent starter this season, he could break the 20 goal barrier. It’s obvious he is well liked by Pellegrini and he could sign a new contract in the coming months. He is 28 now, but his style of play will allow him to play at the top level for a number of years yet.
Verdict
It will be an extremely tough task for Manchester City to retain their title. Arsenal and Chelsea have both been impressive in the transfer window and will be challengers, while City have yet to make the kind of marquee signings that their rivals have. Even Manchester United are expected to bring in one or two big name players before the end of the month, they will be closer to the top under Louis Van Gaal. Obviously City already have a talented squad, but they paid for their poor transfer window two years ago and this year may be a similar story. They will comfortably finish in the top four, but they won’t retain their title, unless they sign one or two big names before the end of this window.
Prediction: 3rd
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