Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side are sweeping all before them at the moment and have scored 15 goals in their last 3 matches in all competitions. City followed up the 5-0 demolition of Liverpool with a 4-0 win away at Feyernoord and then wrapped up a superb week for the club with a huge 6-0 win away at Watford. The 6-0 defeat was Marco Silva’s first loss in the Premier League as Watford manager and his exciting side simply had no answer to Manchester City’s attacking prowess.
Manchester City’s odds to win the title have come down to Evens now with Ladbrokes after starting the season at 15/8 (Ladbrokes), and the question is; can anyone stop Manchester City? Guardiola spent over £200m this summer, mainly on defensive reinforcements and his City side now comfortably have the strongest squad in the Premier League. In Kyle Walker, Danilo and Benjamin Mendy, he has brought in three solid defenders who are also excellent going forward and those three represent a huge upgrade on Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna.
It is in attack where City are at their strongest though and even though Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus are not linking like a classic striking duo, they are amongst the best goal scorers around and have already found the net 11 times in 6 games between them this season. The real quality is behind them though with Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva providing the ammunition.
In De Bruyne, City have arguably the best midfield player in the country. The Belgian maestro has kicked on even further this season and is a solid bet to pick up the PFA Player of the Year Award at the end of the campaign.
Can They Keep It Up?
At the moment there doesn’t seem to be a glaring weakness in the City squad; if one of their two strikers gets injured they can just shift the formation and bring in Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling. If De Bruyne gets injured they can move David Silva or Bernardo Silva and in defence they have enough quality reinforcements to cope with an injury to captain Vincent Kompany. It is hard to see how injuries can stop this City team and therefore, you have to fancy that Guardiola’s side will win the title this season unless another team goes on a superb run of form.
Who Can Stop Them?
City rivals, Manchester United look the most likely to challenge Guardiola’s side, but they have slipped back to 10/3 in the betting following a disappointing 2-2 draw with Stoke City last time out. Jose Mourinho has a superb record of winning titles in his second season with previous clubs though and the Red Devils cannot be ruled out. A big injury to Paul Pogba has certainly set them back and the club record signing is facing 12 weeks on the injury table. Romelu Lukaku has started the season superbly in attack though with 6 goals in 6 games and if he can keep his form up then they will have a chance.
Beyond that it is tough to see anyone else having enough quality to challenge; Chelsea have an excellent first team, but their squad is too small. Liverpool aren’t good enough defensively to challenge and Arsenal look all over the shop this season and they will have a tough task on their hands to even get in the top 4. Last season’s runners up, Tottenham Hotspur have their own problems to contend with too. Spurs continue to struggle at home following a move to Wembley Stadium and they have already dropped points at home to Chelsea, Burnley and Swansea City this season after going the whole of last season unbeaten at White Hart Lane.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it appears the only thing that can stop Manchester City from winning the title is their city neighbours, Manchester United. Pep Guardiola has a large squad capable of dealing with injury problems and his old rival Jose Mourinho appears to have the only team with the qualities to challenge them for the title.