Title challengers or relegation rivals? A lot will be riding on the outcome of Manchester City's appeal against their 114 charges. Regardless, this will be one of Town's toughest challenges this season.
Pep Guardiola has gone but his replacement, Enzo Maresca, has City top of the league with a perfect six wins from six, scoring 16 goals and conceding just five.
Last weekend's victory against Liverpool and the derby delight against rivals Manchester United were both statement wins. Even without Pep this Man City side isn't going anywhere based on footballing results.
They've been the dominant side in all of their games so far in terms of xG, apart from Sunderland where they still managed to score five goals from some clinical finishing.
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Donnarumma is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The Italy number one, a Champions League winner with PSG in 2024/25, has already prevented 2.27 goals this season, according to Sofascore. He was brought in by City for exactly that reason with Ederson's star waning before his move to Fenerbahçe, sacrificing on-the-ball ability for world-class shot-stopping.
Gerónimo Rulli returned to Manchester City for the second time having signed for them in 2016 without making an appearance before he was shifted on to Real Sociedad. He'll fill in the second-choice keeper slot with Marcus Bettinelli third choice.
Defence
A centre-back pairing of Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi has been ever-present so far. There was a brief experiment with Guehi playing in midfield which failed, but the pair are now back in central defence to form a solid base.
At right-back, Abdukodir Khusanov has made way for Matheus Nunes, who was a Guardiola favourite and started 32 games last season.
Joško Gvardiol has started five of the first six games at left-back but was replaced by Nico O'Reilly for the match against Liverpool. He still managed to come off the bench and nab his second assist of the season with a cheeky flick to Rayan Cherki and plays the role very aggressively which can be seen from his 70 touches in the final third.
It was a switch for O'Reilly who had largely played in midfield under Maresca up until then.
Rico Lewis and Rayan Aït-Nouri show the amount of depth City have in their defence with limited minutes so far this season. Aït-Nouri does have three assists from a start against Norwich in the League Cup and a sub appearance against Porto in the Champions League.
Twenty-year-old Brazilian centre-back Vitor Reis is the final option in that backline and despite limited minutes for City he started for Brazil in the international break and is one of their biggest prospects.
Midfield
This is the area where City have spent the most money this season in an expensive overhaul. Elliot Anderson had a stunning season with Nottingham Forest last season and followed that up by playing a crucial role in England's World Cup run. He's already standing out in a number of metrics this season. He has 12 ball wins (fifth in the league) has made 40 progressive passes (first in the League) and 14 progressive carries, making him the lynchpin of this side.
Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly both partnered him in midfield before City splashed out on Enzo Fernandez on deadline day. The Argentinian is still just 25 but notched up 31 goals and 30 assists in 170 games for Chelsea as he immediately took to life in the Premier League. He's already managed a goal and an assist a piece for his new club.
As you can see from the most common starting XI graphic earlier, Anderson is so good that Fernandez is given license to push in to the frontline to support City's attacking players with the hope of drawing attention away from Cherki.
The Frenchman, who spent a large chunk of the World Cup on the bench, already has five goals and two assists so far this season, whilst also generating more carry threat than any other player in the league. Even in tight spaces, he has incredible close control and footwork that allows him to weasel his way past defenders. The best bet of stopping him is by making sure he doesn't get the ball in the first place.
Mateo Kovacic is the lone surviving midfielder providing depth in the squad and he's joined by 19-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi, one of Morocco's stand-out World Cup performers, who City picked up from Lille for a cool £80 million.
Cherki's main competition is from Phil Foden, who will be serving the last game of the suspension he picked up in the Manchester derby so won't be available for this one.
Forwards
Antoine Semenyo was already the real deal before he signed from Bournemouth midway through last season, but big moves don't always work out. It's safe to say, however ,that the Ghanaian's attributes have translated perfectly to playing for one of the big boys. He has two goals and three assists already this season and sits in a league of his own as a 'double threat' creator, standing out with his ability to both pass and dribble the ball into dangerous places.
On the other side, Iliman Ndiaye's star wasn't quite at the same level as Semenyo's before his move but he brings exactly the sort of attributes that City want from their wingers and it would not surprise me if he is also able to take his game to another level in Sky Blue.
Then you have Jeremy Doku to throw back into the mix. The Belgian is on his way back from injury but that didn't stop him from stepping off the bench to score an absolute belter against Liverpool.
The final two players in the winger category are summer signing from Palmeiras, Allan, who hasn't seen much playing time but still managed a goal and an assist against Norwich, and Ryan McAidoo, who is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nico O'Reilly, Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden and become the latest to break through the City academy into first-team football.
If that wasn't enough talent, then we've not even mentioned the best number nine in the world. Erling Haaland will need no introduction - 118 goals in 138 Premier League appearances. He's already up to six so far this season in the league. If Town can keep him quiet, then the defence will have had a very good day indeed.
Prediction
If Town win this one, it will be one of the best results in my lifetime if not the best result. Coventry kept it down to a creditable 1-0 defeat early in the season so they can be defended against.
Sunderland scored three and should have scored more, so there are also vulnerabilities there if Town opt for the no fear game plan. However, due to the difference in the level of quality between the two squads I just can't see anything other than a defeat. I think this could be a 3-0 reverse.
Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments| # Blogs by ad_wilkin
Blogs 300 bloggers
Title challengers or relegation rivals? A lot will be riding on the outcome of Manchester City's appeal against their 114 charges. Regardless, this will be one of Town's toughest challenges this season.I was tempted to write this one all about Abdoul Ouattara, who was excellent, scored a cracker and had a flipping brilliant celebration to match.Fulham took a risk with the appointment of Alvaro Arbeloa following the departure of Marco Silva over the summer. Silva had hit all of the targets set out for him and kept Fulham in the top flight for three Premier League seasons without them ever really being in danger of relegation, but it felt like a harmonious parting of ways for both parties when the time came.|