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After playing out an underwhelming Premier League season in which they finished 18 points behind champions Liverpool, Manchester City will hope to get the eternal monkey off their collective backs when they resume their UEFA Champions League campaign this weekend.
City host Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium, having won the first leg 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. With inspirational Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos suspended, City are sure to fancy their chances of keeping their lead intact, and going through to the rest of the tournament in Lisbon.
Should they beat Real, City will face either Juventus or Lyon in the quarterfinal of the competition. Beyond that, either Barcelona or Bayern Munich could be waiting for City, if they make it to the semifinal.
In this piece, we will examine why City are actually favourites to win the UEFA Champions League this season.
#1 Kevin De Bruyne
There is little doubt that Kevin De Bruyne has been the best player in the Premier League since the restart, and even over the course of the whole 2019-20 season.
The Belgian midfielder is the fulcrum of this Manchester City side, the engine that drives the whole team. De Bruyne has played on another level since the restart of the Premier League after the COVID-19 lockdown.
De Bruyne has kept the City attack ticking, with 5 goals and 4 assists in 9 league games since the restart. Even at the Bernabeu in the first leg, De Bruyne was at the heart of a sensational City performance, after Guardiola started with Sergio Aguero on the bench.
With Gabriel Jesus coming off the left flank, and the Belgian deployed in a role similar to that of a false nine, he created the room for Jesus and Raheem Sterling to make runs from out-to-in, and then found them with his passing range.
Real are without Ramos for this game, so those runs from wide areas will become an even bigger threat, with Los Blancos missing their defensive leader. There is no one in world football better than De Bruyne at picking off gaps left in the defence.
With Juventus, a potential quarterfinal opponent for City, not having a great defensive record this season either, this might be set up perfectly for the Belgian to carry his side deep into the final stages of the Champions League.
#2 The new format of the UEFA Champions League
The pandemic has meant that UEFA have had to re-jig the format of the Champions League, with the quarterfinal and semifinal being played as a single fixture at a neutral venue.
Now, that means that City could use the format to their advantage, especially with the attacking prowess that they have. They were by far the most prolific team in the Premier League since the restart, and indeed over the course of the season, scoring 102 goals.
In a game of two legs, it sometimes becomes a chess clash between the two manages and Guardiola has sometimes been a tad guilty of making some questionable decisions in European knockout games.
For example, last year, he dropped De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first leg of the quarterfinal against Spurs. Their inability to score an away goal on that day came back to haunt them in the second leg, which was an epic at the Etihad.
However, this time around, City's style and personnel are perfectly suited to the format, with Guardiola having the full license to go for the kill, with the attacking talent that he has got at his disposal.
#3 An abundance of goal-scorers
Raheem Sterling didn't have a goal in the calendar year of 2020 until COVID-19 put a temporary end to football in March. However, he has been back among the goals, and in phenomenal form since the restart, taking him to 20 goals in the Premier League season.
In the absence of Sergio Aguero, it is going to be important for Guardiola and City that the Argentine's absence isn't felt, and on the evidence of the recent past, it doesn't look like it will be.
Riyad Mahrez has popped up with timely contributions, Gabriel Jesus is enjoying a prolonged stay in the first team, and City's midfield is packed with quality and players that bring a goal-scoring threat.
Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Phil Foden have all had their share of minutes since the restart, and each of them has had a phenomenal impact on the way City have played.
Of course, over and above these players, City have the magnificent De Bruyne as well, just fresh off a record-breaking Premier League campaign. The Belgian matched Thierry Henry's record for most assists in a single Premier League season.
#4 The return of Aymeric Laporte
It is no secret that the 18-point gap to Liverpool in the Premier League was largely down to City not being able to keep clean sheets and preventing silly goals being conceded. Fernandinho has filled in admirably at centre-back, but NIcolas Otamendi and John Stones have both had seasons to forget.
In that sense, it is a phenomenal boost for City to have Laporte back in the side, as the leader of the defence. Personnel wise, City aren't short at the back, but form wise, there are still concerns over Benjamin Mendy and even Ederson's tendency to make the odd error.
Both Laporte and Eric Garcia formed a formidable partnership at the back for City since the Premier League restart. Even so, they were picked apart by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the FA Cup semifinal that City lost 2-0 to Arsenal.
However, Guardiola will be pleased that he can go into big European clashes without having to name Stones or Otamendi in his starting XI. Now, that is not even a question of the ability that the duo possess, but more on the lines of their confidence being woefully short after a rough season.
#5 The desperation to conquer the final frontier
City under Guardiola have been a machine - a machine that wins domestic trophies at their own whim. However, it is no secret that Guardiola was brought to the Etihad Stadium to deliver them the holy grail - the Champions League.
For both Guardiola and City, it has become a sort of obsession. The Spaniard hasn't won this tournament since 2011, and inexplicably has some doubters asking if he can ever win it without Lionel Messi.
City, on the other hand, want this trophy to complete a clean sweep of every big trophy that was available to win, since the big Abu Dhabi takeover of the club, more than a decade ago.
It is an obsession that, by all accounts, runs through the club, and the mentality that it brings could haul City over the line. What might also work in City's favour is that their obsession, coupled with the absence of the fans' natural anxiety, could be a dangerous combination for all their opponents.
