How do you better a season like that? Manchester City’s record-breaking 100 point haul set the Premier League alight in 2018 so where on earth do they go from here?
The Sky Blue faithful will say ’more of the same please,’ but the head coach and team have set their sights on bigger things to come. Pep Guardiola knows that his City team isn’t unstoppable, but a comfortable 2-0 win in the Community Shield over Chelsea sent out a disconcerting message to their rivals.
Key Strengths
Well, we can start pretty much anywhere I guess. From the keeper Ederson—who has such an impressive start to Premier League life—right through the backbone of the team to the spearhead of Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.
Players settle in quickly at the Etihad and seem to become part of set-up seamlessly as Pep’s philosophy surrounds the place. Ederson, after his £35m switch from Benfica, and attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva are two cases in point.
Following his move from Monaco last summer, Silva featured 52 times in all competitions, scoring nine goals and establishing himself as an important cog in the City machine. After a good World Cup, he’ll be ready to go again.
Then you can look at players who are part of the furniture in Manchester, such as the influential David Silva who looked as good in his eighth season with the Sky Blues as he did in his very first. And then there’s Brazilian Fernandinho who has held the midfield together for five seasons already…that’s before you even start to look at the elder statesmen like Aguero and Vincent Kompany.
The way City dismantled Chelsea with relative ease in the season’s curtain-raiser shows that Guardiola’s men are determined to continually raise the bar. And if Kevin De Bruyne can recapture his form of the first half of last season particularly, then they could well be unstoppable in the Premier League.
Major Weaknesses and Concerns
If I was a City fan, my major concern would be Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s men have had the better of the Champions in 2018, winning in the league and destroying them over two legs in the Champion League.
Liverpool, like City, are capable of beating any team in the world but not as consistently. But if the 2018/19 league season is a close-run affair, then the tussles between the two most attacking sides in the country could become psychologically testing for the Sky Blues. Either way, those clashes are ones that SBOBET Premier League fans simply can’t afford to miss.
And one or two of the bigger names at the Etihad aren’t getting any younger. Pep has already released Yaya Toure and now needs more cover for Fernandinho. And then there’s Vincent Kompany, such a classy defender, but he’s 32 years old and dogged by injury.
City haven’t been the same team without him; but if John Stones can rule out the occasional howler, then he could step into the captain’s shoes. The young centre-back’s form in Russia was encouraging and looked the part in the Community shield, playing with great assurance and skill.
Key Players to Watch
Leroy Sane was a force to be reckoned with last season but, having been left out of Germany’s World Cup squad, the 22-year-old flying winger could be set to terrorize defences throughout the league. Our Premier League 2018 updates are sure to feature Sane, and this could be his biggest season yet. His pace and quick feet are a joy to watch.
And watch out for exciting young midfielder Phil Foden. The young Stockport born lad set up Aguero for his opening goal against Chelsea and, at 18, looks a real prospect. Pep may decide to loan him out, but I expect him to feature at some stage this year as the boss rates him very highly.
Fearless Forecast
City are second favourites to win the Champions League at 6.60, only behind Juventus whose chances are massively boosted by the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.
And our Premier League 2018 odds have them nailed on as clear favourites at 1.66 to win the title for the second successive campaign.
With two big prizes to go for, one to hang on to and the other there to be taken, this promises to be another epic season for Manchester City. I’m confident Pep will become only the sixth manager to retain England’s top title since 1950. But I think the Champions League will just elude them.
So it’s Premier League 2019 winners and Champions League runners-up for me.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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