Manchester City reign in jeopardy: Can they still defend the title?

Despite Pep Guardiola’s reputation as one of the greatest club managers in history, his leadership can’t prevent Manchester City from facing difficulties. In the 2024/25 season, they’re struggling to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League (EPL) standings. With the season heading into its last couple of months, will the Cityzens find a way to reclaim their dominance or is their EPL reign at risk?

Find out more about Man City’s chances of winning the 2024/25 Premier League and the hurdles they face along the way right here.

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How much trouble is Manchester City facing right now?

After 24 matches, Manchester City has won 12, lost 7, and drawn 5. Throughout that time, they’ve scored 48 goals and conceded 35. This is a far cry from their performance in each of the last two seasons where they dominate the standings. Man City is now 15 points away from Liverpool, the top team in the current campaign.

There are now 14 fixtures remaining on the EPL, amounting to 42 points left on the table. With 41 points on their side right now, the Blues are less than halfway to the average points won by EPL champions (87.8). That is alarming considering the season is more than halfway done. Man City cannot suffer any more losses or Liverpool will win the title.

Injury crisis in the backline

Amidst the club’s ongoing concerns, there is at least consistency in their offense as the club rarely ends a match without a goal scored. However, they concede more goals than they can compensate for, resulting in frequent loss of ball control, defeats, and draws. The primary reason is the club’s injury crisis in the backline with no suitable replacements.

The biggest loss for the club is Rodri, the Ballon d’Or winner for the Best Player of the World (2024). It’s fair to say he was one of the most important players for the Cityzens. Their performance hasn’t been the same since his cruciate ligament tear injury at the Euro Championship against Arsenal in September 2024.

The club is also missing centre-backs Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké. It leaves Pep Guardiola with few options for squad rotation. The frontline is well-stocked with plenty of strikers and attacking midfielders, but the return of Jérémy Doku could still bolster the club’s wider formations.

Biggest rivals to worry about

Manchester City needs to secure wins with little deviations for draws and no tolerance for losses if they hope to catch up in the EPL. This is a tough task as they face many strong teams who aim to block their path to victory.

Newcastle United

One of the most notable is Newcastle United whom they are facing on February 15th. The team has only conceded 29 goals so far which is impressive compared to Chelsea (31) and Manchester City (35). Manager Eddie Howe’s defensive line will be hard to break for Pep Guardiola’s forward, especially with Man City’s weakened mid-field.

Liverpool

Liverpool poses an even bigger challenge, having conceded only 21 goals so far. However, it’s often a product of a strong offence, giving the opponents minimal ball control which also shuts down their opportunities to win. Man City will face Liverpool on February 24th at the Etihad Stadium but homecourt advantage will have little effect against the best team this season.

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Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest currently sits at 3rd place in the EPL standings boasting 47 points amassed from 24 matches. While Man City commanded a dominating 3-0 victory over them in December 2024, the Tricky Trees are considered the favourites for their 2nd leg head-to-head in March 2025. Given that, their upcoming clash won’t be easy as the Forest’s consistency and resilience make them a formidable threat.

Bournemouth

Man City’s squad is significantly much stronger than Bournemouth so fans are confident they will win their head-to-head in May. However, they need to score goals for points and Bournemouth can be a sleeper threat that will deny them that opportunity. They’ve only conceded 28 goals thus far and won with significant point differences against Nottm Forest (5-0) and Newcastle (1-4).

Tottenham Hotspur

The Spurs are currently in a challenging position, being down in the 14th position so needless to say that Man City fans don’t view them as a head-to-head threat. However, Guardiola cannot afford to concede any more goals. Ange Postecoglou has a dynamic offence that puts them in 4th place for the most goals scored (48), equal to Manchester City’s. This is worth considering a threat, especially with Guardiola’s weakened backline.

What is Pep Guardiola planning to do?

Guardiola is currently in a stressful position as the head coach of the most successful team in the last few seasons. He has spoken to the media about potential plans but there are no concrete solutions to share at the moment.

Man City currently has one of the most costly lineups in the EPL if not all of European football. Save for goalkeeper Scott Carson at €200,000, everyone else’s fee is upwards of €2 million topping at €200,000,000 for Erling Haaland. However, Guardiola determined that a big change would happen and there would be a new squad while he was still in charge.

Guardiola still has 2 years left on his contract with Manchester City. Within that time, he seeks to restructure with big trades and re-establish the club’s identity as an intense contender for the EPL title. This will happen even if the executives decide to let him go in favour of a new head coach to continue his work.

Can Man City still win for the 5th time in a row?

Manchester City still has a strong chance of winning the league title but they’ve lost the momentum and Guardiola’s confidence in the current campaign. Instead, the defending champions have shifted their focus on restructuring the club with a focus on defence.

There is a glimmer of hope with Rodri returning from recovery but he won’t be back in training until March 2025. Other players like Dias, Doku, and Aké are still unclear for status updates but are expected within the following weeks. Guardiola plans to play safe which means they are going to try a more reliable strategy.

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