Manchester City: 2013-14 Season Preview

It was a disappointing campaign for Manchester City last season, at least in terms of what their owner expects of them. Sheikh Mansour clearly means business after sacking Mancini for not clearing a tough Champions League group stage and losing the league title to neighbors, Manchester United.

What’s new this season?

While new star players is what everyone expect from City at the start of the new season, this time, they have a new coach and a Premier league virgin, Manuel Pellegrini. Having managed Real Madrid and recently Malaga, Pellegrini brings his experience and tactical astuteness to the Premier league.

Summer transfers this time were decisive and quick. Having lost Balotelli to Milan and Tevez to Juventus, strikers were obvious buys and in came Negredo and Jovetic as direct replacements. While Negredo is a typical No.9 and a proven goal scorer, Jovetic can play anywhere in the front line or in the hole behind the striker.

Last season, City often lacked width on the pitch and Pellegrini was quick to address the issue by including Jesus Navas to the list of players purchased this season. The biggest transfer though was of the 29 year old Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk. Although arguably overpriced at a reported 34 million pounds, his partnership with Yaya Toure will be something most football fans will be interested to observe.

Squad Composition

Manchester City has arguably the best squad on paper this season (until now). Defensively, City look solid with a settled back four in front of Joe Hart, although an additional center back would do no harm (especially with Natastic injured). Fernandinho’s inclusion means additional cover to the back four and more solidity. It also means that Javi Garcia, Gareth Barry, James Milner and Jack Rodwell will get lesser game time. The midfield duo of Fernandinho and Yaya Toure can cause serious problems to their opponents this season.

City often lacked that extra bit of creativity to unlock teams that sit back and look for a draw. With Aguero injured and Silva not in his prime form, City drew matches that should have been won for a club that aspires for trophies. The inclusion of Jovetic and Jesus Navas could completely change this.

Navas is quick, direct and has always looked deadly when brought on from the bench for the Spain national team. Players of the quality of David Silva cannot stay out of form for too long. With a fully fit Sergio Aguero and a strong forward in Negredo, City might find goals much easier to come by this season.

Edin Dzeko, who has been tremendous for City in the pre season, is a quality player and will press for his place in the team. That said, Samir Nasri, Scott Sinclair might find themselves on the bench for most parts of the season yet again.

What can we expect from Manchester City this season?

While City were defensively solid last season, they played some dull football at times. With an exceeding number of attacking options and combinations, they are all set to play exciting football this season. Players like Navas and Negredo bring more directness to their approach, although it will be interesting to see how the Pellegrini uses his players.

His biggest job would be to keep all the ‘star’ players happy and win trophies for the club. The owner might want his club to do much better than not clearing group stages of the Champions League. With Pellegrini and quality players with Champions League experience, there is every chance that they pose a serious threat to the big clubs.

While predicting league position before the campaign starts is a pointless exercise, City have enough quality and depth to beat any team and are serious contenders for the league title this season.

Most Crucial Player: Sergio Aguero

Player to watch out for: Jovetic