After winning a famous treble last term, Manchester City are the team to beat in the Premier League this season.
However, after back-to-back league defeats at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal, City’s rivals might well feel like they have a shot at the English crown this season.
City Gives Rivals Hope
Winning all of their first six league games of the campaign, there were ominous signs Pep Guardiola’s side could run away with the title again this season. A football bet still has City at 5/1 to win the Premier League and FA Cup this term but their form before October’s international break has shown some weaknesses. City will still be popular with Premier League bets to win the title for a fourth year running and the Manchester outfit are favourites at 8/11 to do just that.
However, a defeat on the road at Wolves at the end of September came as a shock, before City went on to suffer a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Injuries at the start of the campaign have certainly not helped City’s cause, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and John Stones all having spells out on the sidelines. Guardiola is blessed with options in all positions across the field but injuries to key players at the early stage of the season have hindered their progress.
Big questions were asked on whether this side could go again after what was an incredible campaign to win the treble last term. There are signs that retaining the Premier League this season might be Guardiola’s toughest assignment at the Etihad Stadium to date.
North London Poses A Threat
Arsenal ran City close in the title race last season and Mikel Arteta’s side looks to be ready for another crack at the trophy this term. A home win against the Cityzens in October will have done confidence in the Arsenal camp no harm at all, as they remained unbeaten after the first eight games of the Premier League campaign. The big question will be towards the back end of the season and whether the Gunners can cope with the pressure, or potentially fall away once again.
After those first eight games of the season, North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur were the only other side left unbeaten in the top flight. Manager Ange Postecoglou has impressed in this early stage of the season following his move from Scottish giants Celtic over the summer.
Adjusting quickly to life south of the border, Postecoglou has had an immediate impact at Spurs, despite the loss of star striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich over the summer transfer window. Tottenham have gone on strong runs in the league in the past but getting over the line has often been the problem of the Lilywhites. They will be looking to change that this time around.
With Liverpool also impressing in the opening months of the campaign, there looks to be multiple challengers that will have ambitions of Premier League glory this season. City have a job on their hands and it remains to be seen if they are still hungry for the fight.
