There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the rest of the season in terms of domestic, European and even international football. However, if you look really closely at jolly old England, something special seems to be emerging.
Manchester City have been heralded as one of the best clubs in the country for the better part of a decade now, and with Pep Guardiola as their manager, they’ve only strengthened that claim. They seem to be firing on all cylinders and even after their 21-game winning streak was snapped by Manchester United, they still look destined to do some incredible things between now and the end of the campaign.
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at their aspirations and see how realistic they are – and if you want to put some money down on it, just head to the betting page for more information.
Premier League
With a 14 point lead over closest rivals Manchester United, we don’t think it’s outrageous to suggest that Manchester City are the champions-elect in the Premier League this season. Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the next few weeks, of course, and it could all go horribly wrong, but that seems unlikely with just eight games to go. The coronation is likely to come in the month of April and even if it doesn’t, City fans won’t be too worried about a United or Leicester comeback.
Prediction: City win the Premier League
Champions League
The quarter-finals and semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League have been drawn with Manchester City knowing their potential route through to the final. They’ll first take on Borussia Dortmund in the quarters with the always-terrifying Erling Haaland, and they’ll then play Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the semis. If they get that far then it’s Liverpool/Real/Porto/Chelsea in the final, but even with all of that being said, we don’t think they should fear anyone at this stage.
Prediction: City lose to Bayern in semi-finals
FA Cup
We now know the semi-final line-up for the FA Cup and Manchester City, ironically enough, have once again been given a tough draw in the form of Chelsea. The big incentive there will be that the winner goes on to face Leicester or Southampton in the final and City will, again, be the favourites in the eyes of most. That’s not to say they can overlook the Blues as they’ve been a real force since Thomas Tuchel took over, and this is the one banana skin that could so easily catch them off guard.
Prediction: City win the FA Cup
League Cup
On April 25th, Manchester City will be able to give themselves the definition of a momentum boost by winning their first trophy of the season. If they want to get over the finish line, though, they need to beat Tottenham Hotspur and Jose Mourinho – and you just know how much he’d love to play the role of spoiler. If Spurs sit deep and try to attack on the counter then City could be in trouble, but if Pep’s men get into the rhythm of things early, we tend to think they’ll be fine.
Prediction: City win the League Cup
