Man City season preview: Dominant midfield key to regaining the title

Last Season

Last season finished on a low for Manchester City as former manager Roberto Mancini left under a cloud, and the club had some unfair bad press for their season. City didn’t hit the heights of the previous title winning season, but they maintained a steady consistency. Man United ran away with the league and City found themselves playing catch up. This, added to the dismal Champions League performance, meant it was an uphill struggle for Mancini. City played some great football last season but couldn’t cope with the pressure of defending the title.

Off-season report

Manchester City spent wisely this summer and with new manager Manuel Pellegrini, the future looks to be bright for the boys in blue. Jesus Navas, Alvaro Negredo, Steven Jovetic and Fernandinho are major coups for City and with a very strong squad already available to Pellegrini, it could be a very exciting season at the Etihad Stadium. City scored plenty of goals in pre-season and have been consistent even with a rotation system; having a strong attacking squad and slimming the squad down was essential to City and now they will look move forward with purpose and learn from their mistakes.

Season objectives

Pellegrini will need a trophy in any form and a domestic trophy will be high priority. The Premier League is something which the board would love to have back but they will settle for a domestic cup and a strong Champions League campaign. The following season will be a push for the Premier League and Champions League but as this is a new era for City, the foundations have to be built properly for the club to progress.

Manager

Manuel Pellegrini was always a name strongly linked with the City job, especially after his tremendous Champions League run with previous club Malaga. Pellegrini has never won a major trophy in Europe, but he has always left the club he was coaching in a better position than he found it. Pellegrini has been coaching in Spain since 2004 when he took over as manager of Villarreal; he then took over Real Madrid in 2009 and finally went to Malaga in 2010. All these teams had a very good Champions League run under him and Man City are desperate for the trophy, so it looks like they might have found their man to bring it to Manchester.

Strengths

Man City like to play in an attack-minded fashion and can easily score heavily if given the space. The key parts of this attacking flow are the link men in midfield. The attacking players take care of themselves, but the quality of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho should ensure that City don’t suffer the same one dimensionalism as last season. Yaya’s power and drive and Fernandinho’s passing and invention combined with both of their work rates make them a formidable force.

Weaknesses

The main worry for Man City last season was the lack of back up when fixtures and injuries piled up, especially in defence. City have a wonderful core of Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic and Clichy, but when Kompany was injured for two months in January, City missed their captain and went on a poor run of form. Beyond the high class starters the backups aren’t necessarily the most reliable over extended periods.

Key Player

David Silva is a player who can turn games for City and has done so since he arrived from Valencia in 2010. His elegant and smooth way of passing and moving is something which most players can only dream of; the best part of his game is his first touch. His killer passes in and around the box are something to behold as not only are they heavily disguised, they also allow the player receiving the pass to either smash home or have the time to assess other options in the box. Silva could be the difference between ‘nearly men’ and winners.

It’s a big season for…

Edin Dzeko. Now that Carlos Tevez has left for Juventus and Mario Balotelli has moved to AC Milan, Dzeko has the opportunity to grab hold of a first team spot. Negredo is a fantastic talent but having Premier League experience gives Dzeko the edge for a starting place. If Dzeko can find scoring form early and show the natural finishing abilities which we are used to, he could hit 25 goals this season. If not, this may be his last season in Manchester.

Emerging star

John Guidetti will be looking to break into the first team and have a fair go in the first team. Domestic cups will be Guidetti’s stage to shine. An impressive loan spell at Feyenoord seemed to set him on a path to the first team. If he can impress in the cups when City will be rotating, he might work his way up the pecking order. Especially if Dzeko doesn’t hit his stride.

Prediction

City will finish the season with silverware and domestic trophies are the way to go for Pellegrini. The Premier League and Champions League are on the radar but they will be happy with a decent push in both competitions. Pellegrini will need time to adjust to the league and bring a new way of playing to the Etihad.

City will be gunning for a trophy this season as the money which the owners have pumped into the club will need to be rewarded. Expect to see Man City in either the semi-Finals or final of the FA Cup and League Cup; these competitions will be high priority for City as they should be more achievable pieces of silverware than trying to win the Champions League. City will do well in the Champions League and should expect to get through to the last 16 this time. The players that City have should all be looking at World Cup places next summer and the business end of the season will likely see City play some excellent football. This will be the players’ last chance to give their national team manager a selection headache, and that will be when City can gain a trophy.