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Manchester City are in the unusual position of not heading into a Premier League season as favourites.
Sean McCormick Football Content Editor 12:16, 07 Aug 2025
Sean McCormick is a content editor across our North East and Yorkshire football clubs. He was previously a Newcastle United reporter, a trends writer covering both the Magpies and Sunderland AFC, as well as a football content editor at the Manchester Evening News. He also writes about darts and boxing. He joined us in 2016.
With just eight days until the new Premier League season kicks off, the pre-season predictions for the upcoming campaign are beginning to tumble in.
Manchester City ended their four-year reign as Premier League champions last season as they ended up finishing in third place, 13 points adrift of champions Liverpool and three points behind second-placed Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola's side finished with 20 points fewer than the previous season, and without a trophy, and while an unprecedented injury crisis last term certainly did not help matters, it has prompted a full scale rebuild at the Etihad.
City have spent £151million on six summer signings with goalkeepers James Trafford and Marcus Bettinelli, left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and midfielders Sverre Nypan, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki all making the move to Manchester.
Man City's 2025/26 Away Shirt
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Man City have launched their new away shirt for the 2025/26 season, featuring an all-black design inspired by the club's earliest-known kit.
That followed on from a January transfer window that saw the arrivals of forward Omar Marmoush, midfielder Nico Gonzalez and defenders Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah.
Legendary midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has left the club and so too has third choice goalkeeper Scott Carson. Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips can leave, too, while a number of City's young stars are expected to leave on loan.
City are confident their new signings will have them fighting on all fronts again this season but there may be some teething issues as Guardiola ushers in a new era.
So it would have suited him down to the ground to see Match of the Day pundit and the Premier League's record goalscorer Alan Shearer have City in third place behind Liverpool and Arsenal in his pre-season predictions for Betfair.
It will be unusual territory for City to head into a campaign not as favourites to win the title (most bookmakers have them behind Liverpool and Arsenal in the odds, too), but it should alleviate some of the pressure on a new team heading into the new campaign.
While City haven't stood still, neither have their rivals. Liverpool have spent north of £200million on the signings of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez and could spend the best part of £150million to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle, too.
Arsenal have spent the best part of £200million on new recruits, following the arrivals of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
While City being labelled as third favourites may have irked Guardiola and his players in the past, this season feels as if the tag of dark horses will suit them perfectly as he looks to win his seventh Premier League title as City boss.
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