With history on their side, Man City are title favourites

Manchester City are eight factors behind within the Premier League title race, however Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions are nonetheless convincing favourites to elevate the trophy for the fifth time in six years. Why? Because they have been there and achieved it, and even with Arsenal setting the tempo on the high and Manchester United starting to breathe down their necks, they are anticipated to do it once more.

Guardiola would not just like the suggestion that City are nonetheless favourites and has, often, discovered himself speaking up Arsenal’s probabilities. Speaking at a information convention on Wednesday forward of Thursday’s recreation at Chelsea, he mentioned there won’t be something they will do to catch Mikel Arteta’s aspect.

“We have to reduce the gap by playing good and winning games,” he mentioned. “They could do more than 100 points if they keep this average and [if that happens] we will not catch them. We have to be almost perfect and hope they drop points.”

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“Perfect” appears like a giant ask, however Guardiola — and Arteta, for that matter — will probably be effectively conscious that City have achieved it earlier than. When the enterprise finish of the season begins in January and the video games come thick and quick, they’ve traditionally put their foot down and rapidly motored towards silverware.

Last season, City performed 18 league video games between Jan. 1 and the final weekend on May 22. They misplaced simply as soon as. The 12 months earlier than, they started 2021 with 18 straight wins in all competitions. Two years earlier, throughout the 2018-19 season, they performed 31 video games throughout the second half of the marketing campaign and received 29. On every event it was sufficient to win the title.

Guardiola, although, is refusing to get forward of himself. “I said when we were able to do it, these big runs, we never thought about it,” he mentioned Wednesday. “We just thought of the next game. Every game is difficult. We focus on the next game and see what we have to do.”

City’s now customary new 12 months cost will probably be powerful this time after the fixture record threw up a difficult run of video games.

After going through Chelsea at Stamford Bridge within the league Thursday, they face the identical opposition on the Etihad within the FA Cup third spherical on Sunday (11:30 a.m. ET, stream reside on ESPN+). They’ve additionally acquired Manchester United at Old Trafford on Jan. 14, Tottenham Hotspur at residence on Jan. 19, Tottenham away on Feb. 5 after which Arsenal on the Emirates on Feb. 15. It’s a run that would come to outline City’s season, and all earlier than the Champions League restarts with a visit to RB Leipzig on Feb. 22 within the spherical of 16.

“It’s good,” Guardiola mentioned. “Listen, you play all the teams. We try to improve and get better. We go there to win all the games. A lot will happen and many things will happen for all clubs and teams [during the next six weeks]. We’ll see.”

Even with a squad packed filled with title expertise, Guardiola nonetheless has points to resolve. City have taken only one level from their previous two Premier League residence video games, and talking after the 1-1 draw with Everton on New Year’s Eve, the 51-year-old supervisor recommended a few of his gamers had been affected by a post-World Cup hangover. Phil Foden, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker — all normally regulars — have but to start out a recreation because the restart.

“It is difficult to choose for me because always top players are not playing,” Guardiola mentioned. “Mainly lately, perhaps as I am older, I look at the body language in the training sessions and everything. You cannot play good when the body language is not correct. Sometimes I pick them for the body language, for how happy they look and how they are there. This is one of my main decisions when I choose the lineup.

“With the skills, I know how good they are, and they know what we want to do. But the body language depends on them, and sometimes they are not good.”

One optimistic for Guardiola, nonetheless, is that Erling Haaland has picked up the place he left off. In three video games because the World Cup, the Norway worldwide has scored 4 objectives to take his tally for the season to 21 within the league and 27 in all competitions. Two extra in opposition to Chelsea on Thursday and Haaland may have already reached the mark that noticed Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-Min share final season’s Golden Boot — simply in 21 fewer video games.

Arteta has acquired Arsenal followers believing whereas Erik ten Hag has introduced some optimism again to Old Trafford. Newcastle United, in the meantime, have misplaced solely as soon as all season and have the very best defensive report within the league.

Despite all that, although, City are nonetheless favourites to win the title once more. History is on their aspect. Oh, and Haaland.