Manchester City are a club on the rise. They have announced a record revenue of £391.8 million and a profit of £20 million in the last fiscal year. They are now financially capable of funding their own success, without having to dip into Sheikh Mansour’s billions.
Another huge positive for City is the fact that the millions that they’ve invested in their youth and infrastructure is finally paying dividends. To add to this they have also given their precocious youngsters and current superstars, the opportunity to work with the man who built the greatest team of all time. This feels like a match made in heaven, that will yield a multitude of trophies.
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On that note, here are five reasons why City are title favourites this season:
#1 Strength in Numbers
One of City’s greatest strengths in the title race is the depth of their squad. They have many talented players and seasoned internationals, who are waited to be called upon. This not only gives them cover for injury, but it also gives Guardiola a litany of options that can change a game.
They usually have the likes of Nolito, Sane, Navas, Gundogan, Iheanacho, Zabaleta and Clichy on the bench, all of whom have performed consistently at a high level. A recent remarkable incident was when Pep decided to start Yaya Toure, out of the blue, and the Ivorian scored both goals in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
No other team in the league can afford to keep a two-time champion of Toure’s quality in the reserves. City’s bench strength is going to give them a malleability and endurance that will ensure that they can compete on multiple fronts.
#2 The Trusty Spine
Despite attempts to move on from some of them in the last couple of years, the spine of the title-winning Manchester City teams, remains largely intact. Silva and Aguero, in particular, are very much in prime condition and they are still two of the best players in the league.
Yaya Toure has also found himself back in the mix, after taking care of his issues with Pep. Despite being 33 years of age, Toure is in good shape and he still has a few good years left in him.
There are several other remnants of those title-winning teams in the squad, such as Zabaleta, Kolarov, Clichy and Fernandinho. You can rest assured that their ruthless winning mentality, which helped elevate City as a football club, will run through the entire squad.
Even though a few of them have lost their starting positions to younger players, this band of thieves can still be re-united for one last heist.
#3 Kevin De Bruyne’s form
Chelsea’s loss has been City’s gain here. Kevin De Bruyne became City’s record signing for a reported £ 55 Million after impressing for Wolfsburg. The Belgian international has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League when fit.
His tremendous performances have drawn numerous groans from the supporters of his former club, Chelsea, who squandered him. His development as a player is also a huge indictment of Mourinho’s eye for talent and it is becoming a black mark on his CV.
Since returning to the Premiership, De Bruyne has repeatedly troubled defenders, with his pinpoint crossing, passing and hawk-like eye for goal. He has already notched seven assists in ten starts this season. The Belgian has already put in a few memorable performances this season, the most notable one being the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, where he dominated the game. He scored the opener and set up City’s second in what turned out to be a 2-1 win for his side.
#4 The impending arrival of Gabriel Jesus
One of the problems that has hamstrung City’s title challenges for the last couple of seasons has been their lack of depth up front - they have been overly reliant on Sergio Aguero. Despite being incredibly potent, the Argentine has been struck down by injuries that have forced him to miss a string of games.
Fortunately, this is not something City need to worry about this season, because of the impending arrival of Brazilian Wunderkind Gabriel Jesus. The 19-year-old is one of the most exciting young talents in world football and he has been on fire this season for both club and country. His 21 goals in 40 appearances for Palmeiras fired them to a League victory this season and he has also scored four times in his six appearances for the Brazilian National team in World Cup Qualifying.
The prospect of Pep Guardiola getting his hands on a youngster of this talent is mouthwatering.
#5 The Pep Factor – Viva La Revolución
Perhaps the biggest advantage City will have this season, is that they will be led by the architect of the best team in the history of club football. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the impact that Pep has had on European football in his relatively short time as a manager.
He has spawned the most significant tactical revolution that football has seen in the last 30 years. His work at the Camp Nou was the ultimate culmination of the ideas of Johan Cruyff and several South American managers such as Marcelo Bielsa. The result of this was a legendary team whose success and flair will be remembered forever.
That team also happened to feature the greatest player ever. There are many concepts and elements from those Barcelona teams, regarding control and pressing that many teams have adopted today.
Even though there are some skeptics, who claim that he hasn’t had the same level of success since he left Barcelona, it is important to note that his systems have still kept evolving and progressing.
It is also important to note that Joachim Lowe borrowed heavily from Pep’s Bayern blueprint, to win the 2014 World Cup. The reason he was able to do this was because Germany had essentially the same spine as the champions league winning Bayern team of 2013. He has also shown several tactical innovations at City, which have given them more control and possession.
