Manchester City have spent £200 million on new players this summer, but will it guarantee success in England and Europe?
Pep Guardiola’s arrival in England was greeted with excitement a year ago and the initial signs were that Manchester City would take all the stopping in the Premier League title race, while they could also go close in the Champions League.
However, the wheels came off City’s title challenge in a fairly short space of time, with a goalkeeper and the defence being badly exposed away from home. Similarly, Guardiola’s team were leaky in Europe and it was little surprise when Monaco came back to knock them out of the Champions League.
Nevertheless, City are title favourites again this season, with bet365 offering 2.75 that the big-spending north-west club finish top of the Premier League standings and there have been a succession of new faces as we approach the 2017/18 campaign.
Bernardo Silva, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Douglas Luiz, Danilo and Benjamin Mendy have all arrived at the Etihad Stadium since the 2016/17 season ended, with Pep Guardiola being given unlimited funds to add extra quality to a squad that was already brimming with international players.
Walker and Danilo actually both operate in a right-back capacity, while Mendy will operate at left-back and we might also expect Ederson to replace Claudio Bravo between the sticks, meaning the defence has a new look and feel about it.
After a potless first season in English football, it is almost unimaginable that Guardiola won’t win silverware this time around, although there is stiff competition for the league title that includes Manchester United, champions Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.
Indeed, Paddy Power have 1.91 that City fail to win silverware again and they are hardly a good thing in the Champions League considering there are four other English clubs along with champions Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Juventus.
You can get odds of 501.00 that Manchester City land all four available pieces of silverware this season, while the domestic treble can be backed at 71.00 although Guardiola is likely to field weakened teams for the FA Cup and League Cup as he looks to make a big impact in Europe.
Rotation is sure to play a major part within the City ranks and there aren’t many guaranteed names on the team-sheet, with Sergio Aguero among the players that found himself dropped last season.
Gabriel Jesus should continue to make an impact, although the attacking midfield options include Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Raheem Sterling.
The bookies aren’t convinced that City should be among the favourites to win the Champions League despite a big money splurge, with the English club hovering around the 13.00 mark to win in Europe and perhaps Guardiola will start to realise that money can’t buy you success.
