Man City 2017/18 season preview: Will Pep Guardiola bring trophies to the Etihad?

After a trophyless season, will Pep Guardiola bring silverware to the Etihad? Read our 2017/18 preview with expert views from Charlie Nicholas.

Finishing position: 3rd (+1)

Total points: 78 (+12)
Key stat: City began brilliantly then became painfully inconsistent, with Pep Guardiola winning his first six Premier League games and 10 consecutively in all competitions before losing six league games in a season for the first time as a manager. He also suffered his heaviest defeat as a boss when his team lost 4-0 at Everton in January and recorded his first finish outside the top two.

Major ins: Bernardo Silva (Monaco, £43m), Ederson (Benfica, £34.7m), Kyle Walker (Tottenham, £50m), Danilo (Real Madrid, £26.9m), Benjamin Mendy (Monaco, £49.2m).

Major outs: Nolito (Sevilla, £7.9m) , Aleksander Kolarov (Roma, £4.5m), Willy Caballero (released), Pablo Zabaleta (released), Joe Hart (West Ham, loan)
CHARLIE NICHOLAS’ VIEW

Is this crunch time for Guardiola – can he afford another trophyless season?

NICHOLAS: I see trophies on the horizon for them this season. Guardiola is strong enough to have said I cannot tell you how much it will take to rebuild this team. He’ll have acknowledged they should have done better last season but the challenges were clear.

I’ve been a gigantic fan of this man for a long time, predominantly for the style of play, but also because he’s tremendously demanding which, with the salaries flying around, is the least a modern coach should ask for.

After how great he made Barca, it’s quite fascinating that Man City’s players haven’t looked like they want it.

The hardest positions to play are full-backs in his teams because you’ve got to squeeze defensively but also bomb forward. These acquisitions should make this team 10-20% stronger

I can feel and sense that the demand from Guardiola that tells the players that if they don’t want to be here and producing the goods then you will be replaced.

The highest demand will come from himself and that will be to win either the Premier League or Champions League. If he doesn’t win either I think he’d hold his hands up, admit he’s failed and walk away.
Which of their players are you most excited about watching?

NICHOLAS: I’m really excited to see Kompany get through the season. If he can stay fit then he’s their MVP and will lead them to the title.

But I’m always a forward-thinking player and Gabriel Jesus is the one player who has so much potential. His movement is clever and he looks a top finisher, while he’s taken on board the Guardiola vision.

It’s a necessity having a leader at the back and I can see Jesus getting 25+ goals. Pep’s team will make bundles of chances against weak teams and he should flourish.

What are the challenges facing the manager this season?
NICHOLAS: Keeping Kompany fit and getting his goalkeeper to deliver. There’s still a bit of business to sort out as well, maybe with Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure going. Sergio Aguero has stayed so but I still think it is possible that he could leave if they get Alexis Sanchez, maybe even in some sort of exchange deal. I think they might well still spend another £100m.

What are their strengths?

NICHOLAS: There’s plenty there but because of the pace and power their full-backs have teams are going to get squeezed from every angle.

Teams will sit in and defend deep and the full-backs very rarely hit the byline. Toure was struggling to penetrate and Silva was struggling a bit, but I think this team will just create so many chances, and once they get on a roll, with a pretty decent start, I can see them bulldozing teams.

What are their weaknesses?

NICHOLAS: The biggest one for me would be, having an all-out attack and being suspect to counter-attacks, also exposing them to the goalkeeper situation.
They will get the ball down and pass, pass, pass but there was a point last season when Pep was happy for Willy Caballero to go long as, having been the master of the press, teams started doing that to his side.

They don’t have the tall forwards to go long so they’ll always takes risks and they’ll need their goalkeeper to get them out of trouble on plenty of occasions.

Where will they finish this season and why?

NICHOLAS: Champions. They’ve got goalscorers, drive and different options. He’s finally got players who fit his criteria and that should concern other sides.Euro Soccer Bonus

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