Fresh Faces Offer Manchester City Hope of a Revival

Manchester City exceeded expectations by hammering Newcastle in their last Premier League match and it offers them hope for the remainder of the season. 

Pep Guardiola’s side still faces a battle to make it into the top four but their lavish January spending spree means that it might be time to back City. 

Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Key Additions in Defence, Midfield and Attack

Manchester City came into the season as title favourites. Having won the league for the past four seasons, most expected Pep Guardiola’s behemoth to beat the competition once again but it hasn’t panned out that way. The club’s decision to sign just one player in the summer transfer window has come back to bite them. City have looked to make amends in the January window and their squad looks deeper heading into the final months of the season. 

Rodri’s absence has been a major factor in Manchester City’s downturn. The midfielder is the currency holder of the Ballon d’Or and he is instrumental in Pep’s team. His wide range of passing and ability to break up play in front of the defence makes him a huge asset. The Citizens boast a win 74.1% win percentage with him in the team in the Premier League. That drops to below 60% without him and the whole defence suffers. City’s new blood could go some way towards filling the void left by Rodri. 

City looked to shore things up at the back in the window. Abdukodir Khusanov, a physically imposing defender, recovered from his nightmare debut against Chelsea and looked comfortable in the 4-0 win against Newcastle. However, it was Nico Gonzalez’s display that caught the eye. Guardiola likened the player to Rodri in the post-match press conference and Nico’s presence in the middle of the park should prove to be a huge boost for City.  He made three tackles and an interception in the win over Newcastle. Gonzalez also wins an average of 2.49 aerial duels per 90 minutes. His ability to mop up both in the air and on the ground in front of the defence has made City less vulnerable to the counter-attack.

Pep also bolstered his attack in the transfer window. Erling Haaland has continued to score an exceptional number of goals but Phil Foden hasn’t delivered the same numbers as he did last season and Kevin De Bruyne isn’t the player he once was. This led City to splash out on Omar Marmoush. He scored 15 and assisted nine goals in 15 Bundesliga appearances this season before making the move. Marmoush ranks in the top 1% for shot-creating actions for forwards playing in Europe’s top five leagues in the past 12 months. He is also an exceptional dribbler of the ball. Omar netted a hat-trick in the win over Newcastle and he looks set to ease the burden on Erling Haaland. 

With City’s reinforcements seemingly settled in, they could return to the form we’ve come to expect from them, starting with the clash against Liverpool this weekend. 

Can City Stop the League Leaders?

Against Liverpool, Manchester City are underdogs at the Etihad for the first time since November 2016, when they faced Barcelona in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge. However, they boast a strong record against the Reds. They are yet to suffer a home league defeat against Liverpool with Pep at the helm, winning four and drawing four. During that impressive run, they are scoring an average of 2.5 goals and conceding just 0.88 in this fixture. Therefore, backing the home side to secure at least a point looks a good bet here. 

Now that City have crashed out of the Champions League, the FA Cup represents their only chance of securing silverware this season. The likes of Liverpool and Arsenal have already been eliminated so Pep Guardiola will fancy his team’s chances of lifting the trophy in May. The legendary boss has failed to win silverware in just one of his 15 seasons across three clubs. 

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