Love him or hate it, you simply have to respect him – Pep Guardiola is a football genius. Less than two months since Manchester City finished the 2017/18 Premier League season with a record points tally, record number of goals and record gap to second place, the Spaniard is now plotting back-to-back top flight titles; and it would take a brave man to back against the Blues on last year’s excursions.
Arch rivals Manchester United finished 19 points adrift of City and Blues supporters will be expecting another year of domestic dominance. Guardiola’s side scored 106 goals in 38 top flight matches in 2017/18 and topping that tally is going to be difficult. For City, the priority will be to retain the Premier League title – anything else is a bonus.
🚨 RECORDS BROKEN 🚨
31 wins – the most by any team in a single @premierleague season
97 points – the most points won by any team in a single Premier League season
105 goals – the most scored by any team in a single Premier League season
CITY #mancity pic.twitter.com/T3z2k6wGqJ
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 9, 2018
The one blemish on City’s incredible 2017/18 campaign? The manner of that Champions League defeat to Liverpool. Losing to Jurgen Klopp’s men over two legs was disappointing but it was understandable; nobody expected City to lose BOTH legs though. City will look to write a few wrongs in 2018/19 and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Blues winning Europe’s elite club competition next season.
At the time of writing, Guardiola’s men are 5/1 in betting tips football on Betfair to win the Champions League next season and plenty of punters will fancy City to go all the way. As per usual, the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid will also be well backed but City will be hungry to claim a maiden European Cup; Los Blancos will take some stopping though as they hunt a fourth successive success in the competition.
City negotiated a potentially tricky group to reach the knockout stages and fans will be confident of a better effort next season. Pep’s men have the quality to win Europe’s elite club competition and it would take a brave man to back against City in their pursuit of glory. You need a bit of luck to win the Champions League and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the English champions lift the famous trophy next May.
Bettors will be keeping a close eye on City’s price ahead of the 2018/19 campaign and those familiar with the Betfair Exchange may find better value in those markets. Winning a maiden Champions League title is the ultimate objective for Pep Guardiola during his Etihad Stadium tenure but it will not be straightforward. City will need to be at their brilliant best to stand any chance of pipping their rivals to the crown.
Pep Guardiola is trying to build a dynasty at Manchester City and winning the Champions League is the next step. Retaining the Premier League title is just as important though and City fans will be demanding a similar campaign in 2018/19. The platform for success is there for City; Pep’s men can be the next big superpower. Watch this space, City will be there or thereabouts on all four major fronts again next season.
