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Premier League 2017-18 season preview: Manchester clubs

Writer's picture: Andrew ZarbAndrew Zarb


Manchester City

Have done lots of strengthening in the summer, spending close to £200m - making 5 new signings (Walker, Danilo, Mendy, Ederson and Bernardo Silva). The signings should definitely improve the squad, but the question is how much time do they need to gel. They are the bookies' favourites to win the title, and with this now being more of a Guardiola team, Guardiola should be able to implement his style of play more easily, and if successful, they will take some stopping. Now Guardiola should have a better understanding of the English game, and challenging for the title should be the bare minimum, if not winning it, especially given the near £200m spent.

Manchester United

Last season, United did what was required of them: get into the Champions League, or be it through Europa League success. They also won the EFL Cup by beating Southampton 3-2 in the final at Wembley. However, this year, given that it is Mourinho's second season and he's thus able to put his stamp on the team, more will be expected of the squad. United have spent a lot of money in assembling the squad, and the expectation will be a title challenge, which, quite frankly, has to be the case. Last season a major struggle was scoring goals, and hopefully this will be addressed by the signing of Romelu Lukaku. Another struggle last season was arguably getting the best out of Paul Pogba. Pogba's best role is as an attacking midfielder, and with the signing of Nemanja Matic, this should let Pogba 'off his leash'. One area which possibly requires strengthening is left-back, or one of the current left-backs; Rojo, Shaw, etc. to step up as that was arguably another area of weakness. A title challenge is the minimum expectation, given the money spent, and there is hope (although it will be difficult) that they can re-claim the title.


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