Man City Premier League preview: Guardiola eyes another title
The Cityzens had to mount a fairly big comeback last year to take the league title away from Arsenal - who at one time held an eight-point lead over Pep Guardiola's side.
As has been seen countless times with City over the last few years, they rose to the level required and dominated the league for the last five months of the season by winning 17 of their 22 Premier League matches in 2023.
Couple a third consecutive league trophy with winning the FA Cup and Champions League - and Guardiola's team enjoyed a more successful campaign than many would have imagined.
A genius switch in system enabled their incredible run of form, with the champions opting to deploy four central defenders and allow more of a free-role for John Stones that most opponents failed to deal with.
Of course, 36 league goals from Erling Haaland also helped.
A decent window (so far)
The previously mentioned decision to play with four central defenders had a major impact on City's success and will likely be the platform from which they mount another title challenge in the 2023/24 season.
The signing of Josko Gvardiol - widely regarded as the best upcoming defensive talent in Europe - will only help them progress further and is an upgrade on current defenders Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji.
Where City have perhaps fallen short during the summer window is with their outgoings.
Treble-winning captain Ilkay Gundogan opted to leave for Barcelona after his contract expired, elite winger Riyad Mahrez took up an offer to join the Saudi Pro League and other stars of the City side have been heavily linked with moves away.
The likes of Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte have all shown signs of wanting to move onto new challenges in their career although, at the time of writing, none of them have left just yet.
City's most important task is to keep hold of these players - particularly Walker and Silva - who are almost irreplaceable talents.
Replacing Gundogan with Mateo Kovacic could prove to be a shrewd bit of business, but the next step is for an attacker to come in and fill the void left by Mahrez.
Michael Olise and Lucas Paqueta have both been mentioned, but any serious activity is yet to come to light.
The importance of youth
City's hunt for a fourth-straight league title will be impacted by the heavy schedule that comes with competing in all four competitions throughout the campaign (EFL Cup, FA Cup and Champions League).
With that comes the need for rotation during games - something Guardiola is now infamous for - and plenty of players will need to be used across the season.
A common misconception with the champions is their depth in numbers, compared to their depth in quality.
They actually ended up with the smallest squad in the league last time out with just 22 senior (albeit very high quality) players after January, which has been boosted this season by a number of returning loans and breakout youth prospects.
They have replaced outgoings with a couple of new additions, but many of the spots in the side will be filled by younger players.
Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis, James McAtee and Oscar Bobb all featured a lot throughout pre-season and are names that fans should keep an eye on across the new campaign - with plenty of opportunities to impress across all competitions.
How likely is a 'four-in-a-row'?
No team has ever won the Premier League four years on the bounce - very few have ever won three-in-a-row.
City are in as good a place as any side have been to finally reach four consecutive Premier League wins, possessing numerous world class players and a world class manager.
That being said, Guardiola's side have been rocked by the departure of a couple of key players and are arguably in a worse position compared to the start of the summer.
While that will be a factor, there are a number of talented players at the club who can pick up the load left by those departing and it would be naive to suggest they will struggle after losing just two players - particularly with the additions to the side over the summer and the potential of further signings.
The biggest threat to a fourth-straight title isn't within City, but rather those chasing them.
Both Arsenal and Manchester United have strengthened significantly during the transfer window and will be looking to close the gap between themselves and the top of the table - not to mention a possible resurgence from the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea.
They also have another full season of experience under their belt and as both possess relatively young sides, the only way is surely up for both clubs.
Despite all this, there still seems to be that unshakable feeling that City are just too good, and that is testament to how they have performed since appointing Guardiola in 2016.
While last season wasn't 'easy', it's certainly going to be a lot harder for the champions this time around.
