Last season, Manchester City walked away with the three Major trophies of the campaign.

They wrapped up the Premier League, then followed that with an FA Cup win over Manchester United.

Lastly, they defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League Final to join the 1999 Manchester United team as the only treble winners in history.

Pep Guardiola and his team have now set a precedent for the 2023/24 season, but is it one they can match this season?

Or will some of City’s main opponents finally catch up to City’s relentless pursuit of silverware?

In this article, we’ll examine where City stand heading into the new season. Then we will look at the teams most likely, and most capable, of catching them.

What The Bookmakers Say

The bookmakers are always a good marker for how strong a team is heading into the new season. Bet365 Sport have Manchester City as the following odds to land the three big trophies once again.

• Premier League – 8/11 favourites
• FA Cup – 3/1 favourites
• Football League Cup – 7/2 favourites
• UEFA Champions League – 2/1 favourites

It is abundantly clear therefore, that the bookies rate City’s chances of another treble, or even a quadruple, as very good indeed.

In fact, you can get 66/1 with bet365 on Manchester City winning all four trophies next season and they are just 18/1 to complete the same treble next season as they did this.

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So, if anybody is going to stop Manchester City claiming a record-setting fourth Premier League title in a row – who is it likely to be?

Before we look at that, we need to take a look at how City stand right now, which is outlined below.

Manchester City

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – Winners
• FA Cup – Winners
• Football League Cup – Quarter Finals
• European Competition – Winners

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 61
• Won – 44
• Drawn – 10
• Lost – 7

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Erling Haaland – 52 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Kevin De Bruyne – 29 assists

Players Incoming

• Mateo Kovacic – From Chelsea – £30,000,000

Player Departures

• Shea Charles – To Southampton – £15,000,000
• Ilkay Gundogan – To Barcelona – Free
• Benjamin Mendy – To Lorient – Free
• James Trafford – To Burnley – £19,000,000
• Josh Wilson Esbrand – To Reims – Loan Eos

Manchester City Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Kalvin Phillips, Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva
• Purchases – Josko Gvardiol, Gabri Veiga
• Odds To Win Premier League – 8/11

Let’s take a closer look now at some of their main rivals and their chances of stopping the City juggernaut.

Who Could Be Manchester City’s Major Premier League/ FA Cup/ League Cup Rivals?

Arsenal

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – 2^nd
• FA Cup – Fourth Round
• Football League Cup – Third Round
• European Competition – Europa League – Round of 16

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 49
• Won – 32
• Drawn – 8
• Lost – 9

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka – 15 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Bukayo Saka – 11 assists

Players Incoming

• Kai Havertz – From Chelsea – £65,000,000
• Declan Rice – From West Ham – £105,000,000
• Jurrien Timber – From Ajax – £38,000,000

Player Departures

• Granit Xhaka – To Bayer Leverkusen – £21,400,000
• Pablo Mari – To Monza – Undisclosed
• Ainsley Maitland–Niles – Released

Arsenal Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Thomas Partey, Nicolas Pepe, Nuno Tavares, Folarin Balogun
• Purchases – Mohamed Kudus, Douglas Luiz
• Odds To Win Premier League – 5/1

Can Arsenal Challenge City?

189-198 – The Gunners have made some big strides in the off-season to close the gap on City, but I still feel they are a little short, although that gap is growing smaller each season.

Chelsea

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – 12^th
• FA Cup – Third Round
• Football League Cup – Third Round
• European Competition – Champions League – Quarter Finals

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 50
• Won – 16
• Drawn – 12
• Lost – 22

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling – 9 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount – 4 assists

Players Incoming

• Nicolas Jackson – From Villarreal – £30,100,000
• Christopher Nkunku – From RB Leipzig – £52,000,000
• Kendry Paez – From Independiente del Valle – £17,270,000
• Angelo Gabriel – From Santos – Undisclosed
• Alex Matos – From Norwich City – Undisclosed
• Diego Moreira – From Benfica – Undisclosed

Player Departures

• Kai Havertz – To Arsenal – £65,000,000
• Mateo Kovacic – To Manchester City – £30,000,000
• Ruben Loftus Cheek – To AC Milan – £17,180,000
• Mason Mount – To Manchester United – £60,000,000
• Christian Pulisic – To AC Milan – £18,800,000
• Ethan Ampadu – To Leeds United – Undisclosed
• Pierre–Emerick Aubameyang – To Marseille – Free
• Kaliodou Koulibaly – To Al Hilal – Undisclosed
• Eduoard Mendy – To Al Ahli – Undisclosed
• Cesar Azpilicueta – To Atletico Madrid – Free
• N’Golo Kante – To Al-Ittihad – Free
• Baba Rahman – To PAOK Salonika – Free
• Tiemou Bakayoko – Released

Chelsea Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech, Trevor Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku
• Purchases – Elye Wahi, Moses Caicedo, Rayan Cherki
• Odds To Win Premier League – 12/1

Can Chelsea Challenge City?

180 – 198 – After all the changes made at Chelsea in the past 12 months or so, a challenge to City is probably too big of an ask, but a push for the Champions League places most definitely is not.

Liverpool

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – 5^th
• FA Cup – Fourth Round
• Football League Cup – Fourth Round
• European Competition – Champions League – Round of 16

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 52
• Won – 26
• Drawn – 12
• Lost – 14

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Mo Salah – 30 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Mo Salah – 16 assists

Players Incoming

• Carlos Mac Allister – From Brighton – £35,000,000
• Dominik Szoboszlai – From Red Bull Leipzig – £60,000,000

Player Departures

• James Milner – To Brighton – Free
• Naby Keita – To Werder Bremen – Free
• Alex Oxlade Chamberlain – Released
• Roberto Firmino – To Al Ahli – Free

Liverpool Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez, Nat Phillips, Thiago, Caoiminh Kelleher
• Purchases – Romeo Lavia, Kalvin Phillips, Cheick Doucoure, Joshua Kimmich, Gabri Veiga
• Odds To Win Premier League – 8/1

Can Liverpool Challenge City?

194 – 198 – On Paper, Liverpool look likely to be City’s main challengers once again. But it all depends on the midfield changes working for the Reds. If they do, then we could have a real battle between the two.

Manchester United

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – 3^rd
• FA Cup – Runners Up
• Football League Cup – Winners
• European Competition – Europa League – Quarter Finals

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 62
• Won – 42
• Drawn – 8
• Lost – 12

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Marcus Rashford – 30 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Bruno Fernandes – 13 assists

Players Incoming

• Andre Onana – From Inter Milan – £47,200,000
• Jonny Evans – From Leicester City – Free
• Mason Mount – From Chelsea – £60,000,000

Player Departures

• Alex Telles – To Al-Nassr – £4,000,000
• Charlie Savage – To Reading – Undisclosed
• David de Gea – Released
• Phil Jones – Released
• Axel Tuanzebe – Released

Manchester United Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Fred, Anthony Elanga, Dean Henderson, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay
• Purchases – Rasmus Hjolund, Harry Kane, Randal Kolo Muani
• Odds To Win Premier League – 11/1

Can Manchester United Challenge City?

186 – 198 – At the moment, I still feel United are a couple of top players short of a realistic challenge to City, but some of the names they have been linked with would see that gap close considerably if they can sign one or two of them.

Newcastle United

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – 4^th
• FA Cup – Third Round
• Football League Cup – Runners Up
• European Competition – N/A

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 46
• Won – 24
• Drawn – 15
• Lost – 7

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Callum Wilson – 18 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Kieran Trippier – 9 assists

Players Incoming

• Sandro Tonali – From AC Milan – £55,000,000
• Harvey Barnes – From Leicester City – £39,000,000

Player Departures

• Chris Wood – To Nottingham Forest – £12,000,000
• Matty Longstaff – Released
• Ciaran Clark – Released
• Jeff Hendrick – To Reading – Loan Eos
• Allen Saint-Maximin – To Al Ahli – £30,000,000

Newcastle United Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Isaac Hayden, Jamal Lascalles, Ryan Fraser, Matt Ritchie
• Purchases – Tino Livramento, Ibrahim Adel, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Federico Chiesa
• Odds To Win Premier League – 14/1

Can Newcastle United Challenge City?

168 – 198 – I still feel Newcastle are a good few players away from challenging Manchester City for the title. A Champions League tilt is another good shout, but I think this could be a season of consolidation for the Toon this year.

Tottenham Hotspurs

Last Season’s Performances

• Premier League – 8th
• FA Cup – Fifth Round
• Football League Cup – Third Round
• European Competition – N/A

Last Season’s Total Games Record

• Games Played – 50
• Won – 23
• Drawn – 9
• Lost – 18

Individual Performances

• Top Goalscorer (all comps) – Harry Kane – 32 goals
• Top Assists (all comps) – Ivan Perisic – 12 assists

Players Incoming

• Dejan Kulusevski – From Juventus – £25,600,000
• James Maddison – From Leicester City – £40,000,000
• Guglielmo Vicario – From Empoli – £17,200,000
• Manor Solomon – From Shakhtar Donetsk – Free

Player Departures

• Harry Winks – To Leicester City – £10,000,000
• Lucas Moura – Released

Tottenham Hotspur Team & Manager Rankings

Rumoured Further Player Sales/Purchases That Could Affect The Ratings Above

• Sales – Harry Kane, Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg, Giovani Lo Celso
• Purchases – Dusan Vlahovic, Ivan Toney, Micky Van de Ven, Edmond Tapsoba
• Odds To Win Premier League – 40/1

Can Tottenham Challenge City?

175 – 198 – Ange Postecoglou has a lot to do to make this squad realistic challengers to City. That is even more the case if Harry Kane leaves the club. The best Spurs can hope for is a shot at the top four in my view.

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