2022/23 Season Preview: Manchester City

The 2022/23 Premier League campaign is right around the corner as Champions Manchester City look to retain their League title after clinching it ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool last time around.

The Citizens lifted the league title for a sixth time since its transition in 1992 and of course will be hoping to replicate that feat with an additional few pieces of silverware to sit alongside the main prize this year.

But with a whole host of big money signings across the division, will City be able to retain the title, or it could it be heading to a different part of England come May 2023?

Surprise Player of the Year:

For a surprise package of the year, I have decided to go with Jack Grealish. A huge money signing from Aston Villa just over a year ago, Grealish many would argue, has taken a bit of time to adjust to not being the star man that he was under Dean Smith at Aston Villa.

 

But, he’s certainly shown glimpses of the talent he possesses and the reasons behind Manchester City spending £100 million making Grealish the most expensive Premier League player and breaking the British record transfer fee

Grealish managed three goals last campaign, whilst also making three assists. Playing in a wider role than he was used to at Villa, I think this year could be the season that Grealish’s figured improve drastically upon last year’s statistics which didn’t exactly satisfy the £100 million price tag.

But nevertheless, Grealish is a hugely talented player and when he does feature under Pep as well as for his country, he is always a player who’s in and around any creativity that occurs whether it’s winning set-pieces in dangerous areas or a turn of pace to get to the by-line and magic a chance up from nothing.

Big Money Signing:

It was rumoured for what felt like a decade and took what felt like an age to be announced, but Erling Haaland was finally announced as a Manchester City player.

His career in blue didn’t get off to the dream start with an unexpected miss in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool, but Haaland has a clear confidence and swagger about his ability to score goals and that miss won’t be playing on his mind for very long.

 

Haaland had a quite unbelievable record whilst playing in the yellow and black of Borussia Dortmund. 86 goals and 23 assists in just 89 games, is a record that not many players could dream of competing against. Yes, it’s arguable that the Premier League is commonly seen as more competitive than other leagues in Europe, but this man score goals.

With the move proving to be some very shrewd business from City, buying one of the best strikers currently in the world, already on the international stage at the age of just 22 for an initial fee of just £51 million, in today’s market is a brilliant deal.

The deal is expected to rise with add-ons and other fees but should Haaland continue the form he showed in Germany, that fee can rise as much as it likes as far as City fans will be concerned.

The Pivotal Run:

In a 38-game season, it could be argued every game is as of the highest importance, but I’ve looked at where I think City can either make or break their season.

Off the back of the world cup break, City face some tough games from the beginning of January and into the start of February. With a trip away to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, City follow it up with a derby away day against Manchester United, followed by a home game against Wolves and then a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in early February.

 

Those four games, especially coming back off a tough grind that is the World Cup which is set to be played in gruelling conditions, could be really tough for City. With a squad full on talented internationals that are likely to go far in the World Cup, questions will be asked of the City group with those tough four consecutive games.

To compare to their early likely title challengers Liverpool, in those four game weekends, the Reds face Brentford (A), Brighton (A), Chelsea (H) and Wolves (A). Whilst all those games wouldn’t be considered ‘easy fixtures’, it’s clear who’s run is slightly more difficult coming off the back of the international tournament.

The Remainder of the Window:

With a few more weeks of the transfer window left to play out, City still seem to be in the market for a left-footed left back.

The club were heavily linked with Brighton’s Marc Cucurella but that move seemingly isn’t going to happen after City failed to meet Brighton’s price demands and now Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign the Spaniard in what will be a record received fee for the Seagulls.

So if not Cucurella, where do City go? They’ve sold Oleksandr  Zinchenko to Arsenal in a deal worth £30 million and have left themselves slightly short in their defensive department. Whilst other players like Joao Cancelo can feature and perform there, I’m sure that’s not the ideal scenario within the City hierarchy’s thoughts and will be looking to bring someone in before the window slam shuts.

With their season kicking off with a trip to the capital as part of the Super Sunday line-up, West Ham United will be the first team to host City this season as they begin their title defence.

 

With a few more fixtures that will be ‘expected wins’ in the following weeks, a win against David Moyes’ side will be a great boost to Guardiola’s men who face two of the promoted sides within their first five games of the season.

But with that pivotal run mentioned early, City will need to make a good positive start to their defence of the Premier League with Liverpool already claiming one piece of silverware and will be eager for even more, as well as the other top sides in England’s top division.

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