City entered eight of Pep Guardiola’s 10 campaigns from 2016 as the experts’ pre-season favourites and lifted the trophy six times during that spell. However, ahead of their first season under Enzo Maresca, just 12% of the panel (3 out of 26) expect them to regain the title.
Thomas Hitzlsperger: City are the only English side to have appeared in the Champions League every season since 2011. That is a remarkable achievement given the intense competition near the top of the Premier League.
While Guardiola was in charge, I would have confidently placed them in the top four. Now that he has departed, replacing such an influential manager will be extremely difficult. This could be the season City finally fall outside those places.
Shay Given: I do not believe Guardiola’s exit will lead to the kind of decline United experienced after Sir Alex Ferguson retired. I actually expect a positive response because a new voice could refresh the dressing room. These players have gone two seasons without winning the Premier League, so their motivation should be high. I expect City to finish first.
Troy Deeney: My forecast for City has nothing to do with their Community Shield performance. It comes from what I observed of Enzo Maresca during his spells at Leicester and Chelsea.
I am unconvinced that he has the authority required to impose exactly what he wants. Guardiola has influenced many coaches, but Arteta is the only one who has adapted those ideas and created a clearly distinctive approach of his own.
Without meaning to be disrespectful, Maresca appears to be a lesser version of Guardiola. He is committed to one style and does not seem to have an effective alternative. City’s defensive weaknesses were obvious on Sunday, but his teams have often left too much space, and that remains the case even though he now has elite players available.
Joe Hart: City looked disjointed against Arsenal in Cardiff, but I doubt they will panic because of one disappointing display. They will still feel that their squad has enough talent to compete for the title.
Theo Walcott: Replacing Guardiola with Maresca creates an enormous uncertainty, although City’s squad remains exceptionally strong. The biggest concerns are adapting to the new manager and coping with the departures of Rodri and several other players.
Nedum Onuoha: City still have numerous players with title-winning experience, but they are beginning a new era under a different manager and have lost some important senior figures.
Anita Asante: Maresca’s approach is fairly similar to Guardiola’s, so the team’s overall identity should not change dramatically. City also retain several outstanding attacking players, but Rodri’s departure is a major setback because he was such a crucial part of the side.
The exits of John Stones and Bernardo Silva are significant as well. Both were influential dressing-room leaders, and their presence will be missed both on and off the field.
Leon Osman: Those departures suggest there may be difficulties ahead, even with Erling Haaland leading the attack.
Pat Nevin: City are rebuilding across several areas, particularly in midfield and management. I would be surprised if they became champions, although I still expect them to remain among the leading teams.
Rachel Brown-Finnis: They continue to possess several high-quality players, but their inconsistency is likely to prevent them from winning the league.
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