The Premier League season is up and running with Manchester City expected to challenge Liverpool and Arsenal at the top of the table
Tijjani Reijnders of Manchester City celebrates a goal during the friendly match between Palermo
and City
Manchester City kick off their Premier League season tonight
So here we go again.
Manchester City kick off their Premier League campaign at Wolves this evening as the hunter rather than the hunted. Pep Guardiola's side faded to third last season after claiming four titles on the spin and there remains an element of the unknown heading into 2025/26.
Will City be back to their best? Will the frailties of last season remain? How will the new signings fit in?
We won't get the answers to those questions at Molineux tonight but we will get an indicator as to how the Blues are shaping up. Guardiola is not expecting a rapid start to the campaign, but then he said that last year and City won their first four league matches and didn't lose until late October.
The wheels came off after that but that's now consigned to the past as City look to the future. We asked our Etihad experts Simon Bajkowski and Alex James some of the key questions ahead on the big topics of the new campaign. Let us know what you think in the comments, and bookmark the page for some gentle gloating come May if our writers are way off!
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How optimistic are you for the new season?
SB: I think City will be much better than last season, I'm just not sure it will always be apparent. The squad is considerably better now and if they are better with injuries then that is automatically an improvement. Those scars from the last year run deep though and it will take time for the muscle memory of being blitzed in midfield is faded out of the existence of City matches. With so many new players signed in the calendar year, there will be some teething problems. City always plan to peak in the spring though so as long as they can stay in contention in the early months of the season their confidence will grow as much as their rhythm does.
AJ: August is the month of optimism isn't it? City are the hunters now, not the hunted. They have all the ingredients for a successful season: proven quality, one of the game's greatest managers, new signings and the fire and determination to right the wrongs of last term. Liverpool and Arsenal might be more fancied domestically but City have a stronger squad now than they did last term and there's no reason why they can't challenge for the title and go deep in Europe.
Who will be City's most important player?
SB: A boring answer but Rodri. He is tied to the whole team in the sense that he is their most important player. As Phil Foden said last week, there's a psychological plus or negative that is felt by the whole team depending on whether Rodri is in the team and fully fit or isn't. The whole narrative around City is can they still be as good as they once were, and that is also the case with Rodri. City have to be careful with him after such a serious injury but if he is anything like his best when they hit the New Year the whole team will feed off that.
AJ: The boring answer is Rodri, so in the interests of excitement I will say Foden. He was simply unstoppable in 2023-24 and his form feels like a microcosm of City themselves. Neither were at their best last term but City are a much better side when Foden is fit and firing, there is an opportunity for him to play in the number 10 role, and there's nothing better than seeing a homegrown player leading from the front.
Which of the new signings will have the biggest impact?
SB: Going off pre-season, it's hard to look past Reijnders. In January it was Omar Marmoush - the most experienced of the buys - and Reijnders has carried that mantle effortlessly since his switch from AC Milan. The Dutch international glides across the pitch and ghosts into the box before firing in shots, which are all qualities City missed last season. Ait-Nouri will change the dynamics in defence and Cherki has the potential to have a great first season, but the safest bet is Reijnders.
AJ: I think Ait-Nouri will have the biggest impact simply because he is a natural left back and his arrival not only solves that position but also strengthens the team elsewhere. Josko Gvardiol was one of the most coveted centre backs in world football when he arrived at City and can now enjoy a season playing in his best position. With Ruben Dias alongside him and potentially John Stones to come back into form and the defence, the backline suddenly looks more balanced. But there's a case to be made for any of the four and Cherki is the player who excites me most.
Where will City finish in the Premier League?
SB: A tough one. I'll go second based on the fact I think they will be better than last season but am not fully convinced they will be consistent enough to win the league. Liverpool and Arsenal have both spent heavily and especially if Liverpool get Alexander Isak they will take some stopping. Early tests in September at home to United and away to Arsenal should give us a sense of just what this City team are capable of though.
AJ: Always difficult to answer until after the transfer window closes and given Liverpool and Arsenal have spent big and finished ahead of City last season, those two have to be considered the leading title contenders. But I think City can win the Premier League this term. They'll be hurt by last season and while the top two have splashed the cash, there are still question marks over how they will adapt to the subsequent changes while both will also be desperate to make a mark on the Champions League.
SB: I'll say quarter-finals for the Champions League. Even against Palermo, it wasn't evident that they have cut out the leakiness in defence and that really costs you in Europe - it has cost better City teams than this one in that competition. The FA Cup seems to come at the perfect time for them though so I'd back them to reach Wembley again and in the Carabao Cup they will either go all the way or be out in the first round.
AJ: I'm tipping City to thrive domestically but that might come at a cost in Europe, where the likes of PSG and Barcelona look a level above while English clubs will also be strong. Regardless, City will be better than last term and I don't expect to see them in the play-off round again. A lot depends on the draw but I can see them being undone in the last four. As for the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup? I think one of those will reside in the trophy cabinet come 2026.
The 115 charges case has still not been resolved. How much longer can this go on?
SB: Obviously it is, but it also isn't really. Resolution doesn't really exist in the sense that there will be appeals but also in the sense that everyone has already made their minds up anyway. Nobody is going to listen to the evidence of three experts when they can believe what they've thought from the start or what Jamie Carragher brings up every week on television. The only satisfaction from a resolution from 115 is that we will finally see the evidence and be able to make arguments based on that, rather than the last two years where chancers have run with anything that has popped into their head.
AJ: It feels like it can't go on any longer but in the words of a Mick McCarty meme 'it can'. You can understand why it is taking so long to release the final decision given the seismic impact this will have on City, the Premier League and football. Obviously the sooner the case is resolved the better, the longer the wait the more speculation, 'expert' opinion and social media 'banter'. I've had my fill of all three.