Totally Buzzed is previewing every single Premier League team ahead of the 2021/2022 campaign and now it is the turn of Manchester City.
How last season went:
Despite the disappointment of failing to beat Chelsea in the Champions League final in order to finally add that trophy to the cabinet, it was another successful campaign for Pep Guardiola’s side. After all, Man City set several records on their way to winning another Premier League title. Guardiola’s team broke the record for the most consecutive wins by a top-flight English team in all competitions (21 wins), racked up the most consecutive league wins by a top-flight team from the start of a calendar year (13 victories), and even managed to equal a club record by going 28 games unbeaten. Also, the Cityzens added another EFL Cup to their cabinet by beating Tottenham last season and went quite far in The FA Cup as they reached the semi-finals of the tournament, but they just couldn’t find a way past Chelsea.
Manchester City’s Premier League Stats – 2020/21:
*According to the PremierLeague.com*
Manchester City Player Stats – 2020/21:
Top Scorer Across All Competitions: Ilkay Gündogan – 17 goals in 46 appearances (0.45 goals per game, 199 minutes per goal)
Top Scorer – Premier League Only: Gündogan – 13 goals in 28 matches (156 minutes per goal)
Most Assists Across All Competitions: Kevin De Bruyne – 18 assists in 40 outings (1.3 chances created per match)
Most Assists – Premier League Only: De Bruyne -12 assists in 25 games
Most Tackles Per Game (On Average) – Premier League Only: Joao Cancelo (2.4 per game)
Most Minutes Played Across Premier League Fixtures – Top 3:
- Ederson – 3240 minutes 2.Ruben Dias – 2845 minutes 3.Rodri – 2749 minutes
1st five league fixtures:
Tottenham (A): Man City defeated Tottenham twice last season, as they beat them 3-0 in the league when the pair clashed at Etihad Stadium in February and Guardiola’s side also vanquished Spurs in the EFL Cup final 1-0 at Wembley in April thanks to an Aymeric Laporte goal. However, Spurs did achieve the win when hosting Man City in the league at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in November as they cruised to a 2-0 victory.
Norwich City (H): Norwich memorably defeated Man City 3-2 at Carrow Road during the 2019-20 season, the last time the Canaries were in the Premier League, however, Guardiola’s side did get revenge before the campaign ended as they thrashed Daniel Farke’s side 5-0 when hosting them at the Etihad.
Arsenal (H): Arsenal suffered three defeats at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s side last season, losing both league outings as well as being knocked out of the Cabarao Cup courtesy of them.
Leicester City (A): Man City and Leicester City each picked up a win against each other last season. When the two sides clashed at the Etihad, Leicester recorded a 5-2 win and it’s worth noting three of the Foxes’ goals came as a result of penalties. As for the game at the King Power Stadium in April, Manchester City defeated Brendan Rodgers’ side 2-0, thanks to goals from Benjamin Mendy and Gabriel Jesus.
Southampton (H): The Cityzens comfortably did the double over Southampton in the league last season, beating them 1-0 at St Mary’s in December before smashing them 5-2 at the Etihad in March.
Manchester City Fan Perspective: Jacob (@Amazing_Menace on Twitter)
Best Player: Easy answer: Kevin De Bruyne. He is our de facto talisman within the team and provided he’s fit, healthy, and confident he will do big things for us because he is unequivocally one of the best midfielders/players in the world right now.
Promising youngster: Most promising young player has to be Phil Foden. I think for those that watched him last season, he showed how talented a player he is – his technical ability, work rate, vision, and goal threat are all traits required to be a top forward in this era of football. He can be absolutely crucial for this team, and at such a young age I think given the resources at the club, the players around him, and the coach he has, there is a high chance he can kick on and position himself not just as a key player for the squad, but one of the better players in the league.
The player who is likely to surprise people (underrated/less known): I would have to say our most underrated player is Rodri – I think a lot of what he is good at will not show up on any football pundit’s stat sheet and his overall game isn’t particularly flashy in a way that’d catch the average fan’s attention. But having had the opportunity to watch him, I think with his build and height he could become a ball winner extraordinaire – if he could become more tactically and positionally astute (to circumvent his lack of speed), more courageous in the tackle, and increase his passing range – he could hand us better control of games and allow us to be more adventurous going forward because we could trust him to clean up any loose possession in the middle of the pitch.
Thoughts on the manager: Pep is already one of the better managers the game of football has ever seen. I can’t really have too much bad to say about him. I think his ability to improve players, adapt them to fluid tactics and positions is second to none; I think the only thing he is guilty of is his own mind – he has a tendency to overthink at times, I think about the CL Final in May and FA Cup semi-final last season where he overcomplicates things and doesn’t set out how he usually would. That’d be my only slight against him I think. Overall I think he’s done a spectacular job so far – he’s driven this club forward on and off the pitch; we’re consistently challenging for trophies every year, and that’s mainly down to him and how he manages the team. He’ll be here as long as he continues in the same vein.
Worried About/Weakness: We are in desperate need of a new striker. Last season we somehow managed to finagle a strikerless system of players that could win a domestic double, but there were times where a distinct lack of finishing ability within the side shined through. We create a lot of chances a better finisher would have stuck away.
Dream Transfer: For me, it has to be Erling Haaland. A player built to become one of the pre-eminent forwards of our time; I think if nothing stood in the way of us getting him we should. He already has talent and skill in abundance – to have him coached by Pep and surrounded by world-class players, in a league where he could bully opposition defenders it’s just too nice to think about.
Realistic Transfer: Though Spurs are a nightmare to deal with, I think a deal for Harry Kane could get done – I think we’ve seen over the last few years how great a finisher Harry Kane is, and with people like KDB, Raheem Sterling, etc. setting him up with chances galore, he could be the one to tip the balance for us. We got to a CL Final without a recognised striker and he might be the one to win it for us.
Player I fear leaving: I am concerned about the potential of Bernardo Silva leaving. There has been some talk of his discontent at the club for one reason or another; he’s another player that does things for us that won’t get talked about or seen on a highlight reel, he is quietly crucial as a piece of the puzzle – to see him leave would be awful.
League expectation: 1st.
League Prediction: 1st. We did win the title. It’d be strange to say anything else I think.
Biggest Rival This Season/Love It If We Beat them: The old enemy – Manchester United. Especially now that they’ve bought Jadon Sancho, they’ll be feeling good about themselves. It’d be good to remind them of what the status quo is. Manchester is blue, not red.