Can Pep Guardiola’s squad secure a fifth consecutive Premier League title? Our Manchester City 2024-25 season preview explores whether anyone can stop them.
Is Pep Guardiola’s tenure nearing its conclusion, or is his passion for the game as strong as ever? It’s difficult to determine where we stand.
After a thrilling title race with Arsenal last season and a painful penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League, Manchester City will be anything but short on motivation, formidable rivals, or competition for trophies. However, as Guardiola embarks on his ninth season in Manchester, it’s worth noting that this is longer than his combined stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich (8 seasons).
Last season, after leading City to an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title, Guardiola hinted that his time at the club might be drawing to a close. Yet, during their pre-season tour in the United States, he appeared to downplay that notion in the short term, stating, “If you love what you do, why should I stop? I like it, so let’s go.”
When is Manchester City’s first Premier League match?
Manchester City play Chelsea away in their opening fixture on Sunday, 18th August from 9 pm onwards.
With the 53-year-old’s contract set to expire next summer, his future will remain a hot topic throughout the season, no matter how well things are going on the pitch. But for Guardiola, the goal will be to keep that speculation as mere background noise in yet another dominant campaign.
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1. Can Savinho Supercharge City’s Flank Play?
Building on the acquisition of Jérémy Doku last summer, Manchester City’s signing of Savinho has significantly reshaped their wide options. Although the Brazilian winger cites Riyad Mahrez as a key influence, the prospect of him teaming up with Doku on the wings brings back memories of Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling during the title-winning campaigns of 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Sané and Sterling, aged 21 and 22 respectively at the start of that first season, combined for 54 goal involvements in 65 games during the 2017-18 Premier League campaign. Their success was rooted in one-on-one prowess and quickness, consistently breaking through defensive lines with dribbles and off-ball runs. Over those two seasons, City led the Premier League in successful pull-backs from wide areas, tallying 44 in total.
Savinho shares a similar directness and poses a one-on-one nightmare for defenders. His ability to beat opponents, both with the ball at his feet and when running onto it at high speed, makes him a highly valuable asset in today’s game. Last season, his 104 successful take-ons were the most in La Liga. Notably, the last player to achieve 100+ take-ons in a single season while aged 21 or under was Lionel Messi in 2008-09.
Naturally, Guardiola will want to maintain a degree of control over his dynamic winger. Learning to choose his moments wisely will be part of his development, but the 20-year-old has already demonstrated considerable reliability in that area at Girona. Bringing him to the Etihad at such an early stage may well be an acknowledgment of this—a player who won’t require extensive coaching to fit into the role they envision for him.
In even better news for City, Savinho’s remarkable season at Girona was spent primarily on the left wing—a position he admits isn’t his favorite. At the Etihad, he should see more time on his preferred right flank, where cutting in onto his strong left foot could create even more opportunities to take matters into his own hands.
It’s a significant step for a young player, but he’s an exciting talent for Guardiola to work with.
2. Can Manchester City Cope Without Rodri?
Rodri has been instrumental in Manchester City’s success, contributing to two Premier League titles, a Champions League victory, and a European Championship win over the past two seasons. At 28, he’s at the peak of his powers and widely regarded as the best defensive midfielder in the world.
However, competing at the highest levels of club and international football season after season has taken a toll on him.
Over the last two seasons, Rodri has started 102 matches for City, accumulating 8,803 minutes—substantially more than any other outfield player at the club. Including his appearances for Spain, he’s started 124 matches and played over 10,000 minutes of football during this period.
An added concern is that City’s rare defeats often coincide with Rodri’s absence. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, City have lost just six of the 102 matches in which Rodri has started. By contrast, they’ve suffered the same number of defeats in just 18 games without him.
Take, for example, their last defeat without Rodri—a loss to Aston Villa last season. City managed just two shots while conceding 22, marking the largest negative shot margin in the 558 top-flight league games Pep Guardiola has overseen. It wasn’t simply an off day; it was a total system failure.
In a title race where every dropped point could have significant repercussions, Rodri’s availability will be crucial. While managing his workload is important, the absence of a direct replacement—and no indication of one arriving this summer—will make it difficult for Guardiola to keep him off the field.
3. Will Álvarez Be Replaced from Within or Outside the Club?
Julián Álvarez was one of only four Manchester City players to make over 100 appearances in the past two seasons. However, with just 62 of those being starts, it was clear that this limited game time was an issue for him. It’s the challenge of managing a squad full of world-class talent: every player wants to be a key figure and participate in every major match.
This may be the club’s reasoning when it comes to ‘replacing’ the Argentinean, who is on the verge of joining Atlético Madrid. Instead of signing someone new, they might opt to reposition existing players within the squad rather than bring in someone who is good enough to play for Manchester City but willing to play a supporting role to Erling Haaland. Álvarez fit the first criterion but, over time, proved unsatisfied with the second.
Guardiola has already secured titles without a traditional striker, so adapting from within isn’t likely to cause him much concern. With Savinho’s arrival—who is expected to play exclusively out wide—it’s easy to envision Bernardo Silva transitioning back to a more central role rather than starting from the wing.
Manchester City have strong depth in their wide positions for the 2024-25 season, with Jérémy Doku and Jack Grealish on the left and Savinho and Oscar Bobb on the right. If Guardiola believes this quartet can handle the majority of wing minutes, Bernardo Silva might return to his highly versatile role this term.
4. Are City’s Young Prospects Ready to Shine?
During Manchester City’s pre-season, six players started every match, with four of them aged 21 or under. James McAtee, Oscar Bobb, Rico Lewis, and Nico O’Reilly all featured in the tour’s four games, alongside Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish. Notably, the only summer signing so far is 20-year-old Savinho.
With just one new external recruit, it appears that next season’s squad will be significantly bolstered by these emerging talents. Guardiola seems enthusiastic about this prospect.
“Sometimes he’s a bit shy, but when he plays without fear, he shows incredible potential,” Guardiola said of Bobb during the pre-season tour. Regarding McAtee, he added: “He’s a player I hold in very high regard.”
Bobb was directly involved in five goals over the pre-season, scoring twice and providing three assists. He also led City players in chances created (10) and successful take-ons (10), demonstrating an energy that likely caught his manager’s attention. With Savinho and the Norwegian forward, the future of City’s right-wing position appears promising.
While Rico Lewis accumulated roughly 18 full games worth of experience last season and appears to be on the rise, Guardiola has no doubts about McAtee’s capabilities following his loan spell at Sheffield United. In fact, Guardiola believes that last season’s challenges have added a new dimension to the 21-year-old’s game. “Playing in the Premier League with a team battling relegation (Sheffield United) gives you something special… I’m particularly eager to see Macca,” he remarked before the pre-season tour.
What Guardiola observed during the tour—and later in the Community Shield—has likely only heightened his interest.
5. Can We Expect More from Gvardiol?
Josko Gvardiol was a significant investment, but his debut season as a 21/22-year-old defender under Pep Guardiola was quite impressive.
The Croatian, who joined from RB Leipzig where he predominantly played as a left-sided center back, adapted to a more traditional left-back role in Manchester. It’s entirely possible that Gvardiol will continue in this position and maintain a high level of performance. There’s no immediate need for a change. However, given the typical evolution of Man City signings under Guardiola, the 22-year-old seems to have only scratched the surface of his potential.
“His focus is football. He wants to be better and better, and when that happens you have something special,” Guardiola commented towards the end of last season.
Despite not being a natural full-back, Gvardiol’s performances last season highlighted his vibrant talent. While he’s likely destined to become a center-back in the long run, his role as a left-back allowed him to showcase and discover aspects of his game that might otherwise have remained hidden.
His five goals in seven games between April and May don’t necessarily indicate that he’s a prolific scorer but rather that he’s an exceptionally skilled footballer, not just a positional specialist.
As the season progresses, with the inevitable injuries, suspensions, and various challenges, expect Guardiola to further explore the limits of Gvardiol’s abilities. When new innovations emerge, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Croatian play a central role in them.
