Will we win the league this season?

blueste41 said:
It was 1-1 until 60 minutes and 2 of our goals were scored in injury time, dress it up anyway you want but 5-1 flattered us. I didn't say we didn't deserve to win because of course we did.
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So late goals don’t really count? On that basis Liverpool would be struggling to get in the top half!
 
alexmcity said:
And that’s mostly without Rodri, Donna, Doku and Foden on current form, Haaland at his best...

As things stand, Arsenal are slight favourites. But we have a decent chance if Rodri stays fit for most of the season.
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Throw in Marmoush, Cherki, Ait-Nouri, Kovacic to come back and improve the competition for places
Maybe even factor in the January transfer window as well

This is far from the 2 horse race the media / pundits would have us believe and lots can happen during the course of the season

Liverpool are a Van Dijk injury away from being an utter shambles at the back
Arsenal have good strength in depth but a long term Saliba injury may be equally as disruptive
Not that I want anyone injured, as I would much prefer us to beat them at their best and then there's no argument
 
alexmcity said:
And that’s mostly without Rodri, Donna, Doku and Foden on current form, Haaland at his best...

As things stand, Arsenal are slight favourites. But we have a decent chance if Rodri stays fit for most of the season.
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I've said this since we signed him, but if we can get Cherki settled we run away with the league. He's an anomaly he was the best under 21 creator in Europe last season. He made the European champions PSG look like school boys when he played against them. If we can get that Cherki with Foden that's the best midfield combination in the prem. As a lot of Lyon fans and French fans said Cherki on form is unplayable. Luis Enrique was desperate for him
 
Gumzy97 said:
I've said this since we signed him, but if we can get Cherki settled we run away with the league. He's an anomaly he was the best under 21 creator in Europe last season. He made the European champions PSG look like school boys when he played against them. If we can get that Cherki with Foden that's the best midfield combination in the prem. As a lot of Lyon fans and French fans said Cherki on form is unplayable. Luis Enrique was desperate for him
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His record for Lyon in Ligue 1 in 2023/24:

Apps: 22(8), 8 Goals, 11 Assists
 
TonyBookEnd said:
Throw in Marmoush, Cherki, Ait-Nouri, Kovacic to come back and improve the competition for places
Maybe even factor in the January transfer window as well

This is far from the 2 horse race the media / pundits would have us believe and lots can happen during the course of the season

Liverpool are a Van Dijk injury away from being an utter shambles at the back
Arsenal have good strength in depth but a long term Saliba injury may be equally as disruptive
Not that I want anyone injured, as I would much prefer us to beat them at their best and then there's no argument
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Liverpool's central defence is weak even with Van Dijk. VVD remains strong in the air but I suspect that his game on the ground is deteriorating. Konate makes loads of mistakes too, and I don't rate Gomez.

Arsenal are the team to beat.
 
I can see 80 points being enough to win it this year. Overall the PL is probably the best it has ever been but there are no standouts.
 
Cobwebcat said:
I can see 80 points being enough to win it this year. Overall the PL is probably the best it has ever been but there are no standouts.
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Reckon Arsenal are good enough to win 88+ pts. They were much better than Newcastle at their ground. They have alrwady played United, Liverpool and Newcastle away plus City at home. One thing that can stop them is taking seriously all competitions and getting injuries to key players, or City being City and winning 1-2 pts more than them.

Liverpool may get very strong in attack but it will be difficult for them to fix their defence.
 
We have 10 points from 6 games which is nothing to write home about but at the same time I think expectations are rising.

Foden is back to his best and Doku is probably the best wide forward in the Premier League right now. Khusanov and O'Reilly look very strong too.

The risks are injury to key players like Rodri, Doku and Haaland. We don't have the cover that Arsenal have.
 
We had 11 pts after 6 games in 20/21 and GD of +1. We finished the season on 86 pts.

If we avoid serious injuries to key players (Rodri and Haaland, maybe Doku and Foden), we are good enough to win 86-90 pts.
 
It's quite an indicment and also a slight concern that so much seems to hinge on Rodri staying fit

Anyway, if Rodri stays fit then Foden and Doku will both score goals and create plenty of chances for Haaland
That will give us a fighting chance.

If he doesn't stay fit then we'll continue to let the game drift (as we did on Saturday for the last 20 minutes of the First Half) but unlike Burnley, the stronger teams will take advantage
 
Scaring Europe to Death said:
It's quite an indicment and also a slight concern that so much seems to hinge on Rodri staying fit

Anyway, if Rodri stays fit then Foden and Doku will both score goals and create plenty of chances for Haaland
That will give us a fighting chance.

If he doesn't stay fit then we'll continue to let the game drift (as we did on Saturday for the last 20 minutes of the First Half) but unlike Burnley, the stronger teams will take advantage
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Liverpool are very dependent on VVD and Salah, Arsenal on Saliba and Saka. Last season, Arsenal had injuries to some key players and won just 2-3 pts more than us.

Rodri is unique. He makes the other players better by giving us the right structure and rhythm, more so than other City legends or PL greats. To mitigate the negative consequences of missing him we need better players in other positions.
 
Just looking at the odds as they obviously have a pretty good handle of things (never see a poor bookie and all that!)

They have Arsenal as minimal favourites with Liverpool close behind. (Both a shade over evens)

They have us around 6/1 so they don’t give us much of a chance.

For what it’s worth I see it pretty much the same. I don’t think we are quite there yet. Next season though I think we will
 
alexmcity said:
Liverpool are very dependent on VVD and Salah, Arsenal on Saliba and Saka. Last season, Arsenal had injuries to some key players and won just 2-3 pts more than us.

Rodri is unique. He makes the other players better by giving us the right structure and rhythm, more so than other City legends or PL greats. To mitigate the negative consequences of missing him we need better players in other positions.
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I agree, but regardless of what happens at other clubs City's whole possession stranglehold is weakened without Rodri,.and suddenly Foden and Doku are more peripheral and we're creating less chances for Haaland

Nobody had a particularly bad First Half on Saturday but too often, without his speed of thought, we found ourselves mistiming a pass or running down blind alleys.

Subsequently Burnley were enjoying more possession and exploiting the space behind Nunes and Riley.
No harm done eventually but we won't get away with it against the stronger teams.

A new Manager will introduce new ideas and tactics, and players to suit those tactics, but Pep's philosophy needs a mobile Rodri
 
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