This is the season for Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester City

After a tough time at Chelsea three years ago, Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne resurfaced his career at Werder Bremen and VfL Wolfsburg, where his performances at the latter club earned him a move back to the Premier League with Manchester City.

Now, Kevin De Bruyne is very much a resident player for Manchester City since joining the club at the beginning of the 2015/16 Premier League season, and is likely to play an integral role this campaign under Pep Guardiola.

In the past two seasons, Manchester City have finished 4th and 3rd respectively.

What makes Kevin De Bruyne such a top player and undoubtedly key to Manchester City is his playing style - he has it all

De Bruyne has all the ability at his feet

Kevin De Bruyne's intelligent, expert passing ability is something which comes as part of his wide range of qualities. Stats show last season De Bruyne completed 50 passes per match, with 24 of those being goalscoring opportunities created for his teammates.

In possession, he is very easy on the eye, and seamlessly controls the tempo of the match in hand. His playing style makes life easier for players in his side.

The emphasis for the opposition is more often than not focused on Sergio Aguero or David Silva for instance, whereas De Bruyne goes under the radar somewhat. Despite this, with what he can offer going forward, he is certainly a player teams are wary of.

De Bruyne is always looking for an opening and occupies superb vision. Last season, he managed 18 assists from 36 appearances, as well as completing 31 through balls and 83 accurate long balls.

De Bruyne isn't rigid in his usually occupied attacking midfield role, as he likes to drift out-wide to use the wings and put dangerous balls into the penalty area for Sergio Aguero or Gabriel Jesus to pounce on. Last season, De Bruyne put 275 crosses into the box.

He isn't afraid to shoot either, with 86 shots on goal last season. In addition, De Bruyne is a team player who isn't self-absorbed in himself, he also likes to help defensively.

In the 2016/17 campaign, he made 50 tackles with 70% of those being successful. He made a further 24 interceptions, 207 recoveries, and 25 blocked shots.

Kevin De Bruyne's unique skill set and playing style means he is different when compared to the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard. No one can really compete with what De Bruyne offers in an all-round sense.

With Manchester City going for the title, De Bruyne's influence could become even more evident, and is a good shout to be top of the assist charts come the end of the campaign.

Manchester City have recruited very well - are they title favourites?

Pep Guardiola has thoroughly strengthened his squad this summer

Moving onto Manchester City, well, they have arguably been the best recruiters this summer in competition to their top four rivals. The Citizens have spent an estimated £220million in new additions.

Summer signings so far include goalkeeper Ederson (Benfica), left-back Benjamin Mendy (Monaco), two right-backs Danilo (Real Madrid) & Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), as well as right-midfielder Bernardo Silva (Monaco).

All of these signings show the intent Pep Guardiola has this season for the club to win the title. He has had a full season to adjust to the Premier League, and a full summer/ pre-season to get the squad how he wants it. His proven winning pedigree from his time at Bayern Munich and Barcelona will show through this season.

However, there is a flip side to Guardiola investing this heavily, and that's the level of expectation that comes with it.

The club's owners will be anticipating a 1st place finish, and considering Guardiola has spent in excess of £400million on new players since taking over, it's easy to see why the club's hierarchy will be expecting success from the 2017/18 campaign.

Guardiola has admitted himself had he performed like he did last season at former clubs Barcelona or Bayern Munich, he would not have remained as head coach. This is an important campaign for Pep to keep his stake up.

It isn't just Premier League success required either, the club's owners will be expecting Manchester City to challenge and do well in all competitions they are involved in; this being what comes with managing one of England's biggest clubs.

Signs look promising, though, from Manchester City's first match of the season, a 0-2 away win at Brighton & Hove Albion. Whilst the goals came late on, Guardiola's men were dominant for the vast majority, and looked smooth operators on the field. New signing Kyle Walker received praise on his debut, while forward Sergio Aguero also impressed.

Likely to be hot on City's tail is Manchester United, who have been well equipped and built to do well this season by manager Jose Mourinho. Mourinho has also invested in his squad this summer, notably bringing in striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton. They defeated West Ham 4-0 in their first match of the season at Old Trafford.

When you take into account both managers and their proven success at former clubs, the two Manchester clubs are looking the most likely to be in a two horse race for the Premier League title.

It could be a close call, but Manchester City might just have the edge. Thanks to Guardiola's investment over the summer, they now have excellent strength-in-depth and a variety of different options in personnel. It looks as though their system will be the most efficient throughout the season, and are the most probable candidates for winning this season's title.