Manchester City 2025/26 Season Preview
Man City pre-season plan could lead to radical tactical changes#MCFC https://t.co/RymSikkgEU
— Manchester City News (@ManCityMEN) July 13, 2025
Despite finishing third last campaign, and claiming yet another year of Champions League football in the process, 2025/26 feels like a make or break season for Manchester City, in particular for Pep Guardiola.
Though boasting a star-studded squad fresh off the back of winning a fourth league title on the bounce, the Cityzens hit a rotten patch of form at the end of October which derailed their entire season - they won just twice in 14 matches across all competitions, a run which sent English football into shock. Not since 2015/16 had the reigning champions (on that occasion Chelsea) failed to defend their title so spectacularly, and had you predicted last year that City would underperform in 2024/25, you would have received more than just a laugh in the face.
It also ended as the club's first trophyless season since Guardiola’s first in charge, in 2016/17 (no City fans, the Community Shield does NOT count), as City saw the FA Cup slide from their grasp against a magnificent Crystal Palace side. Since his arrival in Manchester, the Spanish master has crafted a reputation for himself as one of the best managers to ever live, bringing in world-class players in every position, and getting the most out of each and every member of his squad. 2024/25 shattered that illusion, proving that even the most successful of individuals are flawed.
Completing four signings before or during their ultimately Club World Cup, it is clear that Guardiola is eager to avoid a repeat - after years of seemingly un-ending domination, age or lack of motivation seem to have finally caught up to City’s squad. Now is the perfect time to give the team a facelift.
Best Result: Ipswich Town 0-6 Manchester City (Foden 27’, 42’, Kovacic 30’, Doku 49’, Haaland 57’, McAtee 69’)
Worst Result: Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City (Odegaard 2’, Partey 56’, Lewis-Skelly 62’, Havertz 76’, Nwaneri 90+3’; Haaland 55’)
Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan - £46.3 Million
Tijjani Reijnders completes his move to Manchester City! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/SiMzx1hgmW
— Manchester City (@ManCity) June 11, 2025
Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves - £32 Million + £2.5 Million Add Ons
Rayan Cherki from Lyon - £31 Million
James Trafford from Burnley - £27 MillionLink
Sverre Nypan from Rosenberg - £12.5 Million
Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea - £2 Million
Caelen Cadamarteri from Sheffield Wednesday - Undisclosed Fee
Yan Couto to Borussia Dortmund - Loan made permanent for £25 Million
Maximo Perrone to Como - £13 Million
Jacob Wright to Norwich City - £2.3 Million
Kevin De Bruyne to Napoli - Free Transfer
Juma Bah to OGC Nice - Season Long Loan
Joal Ndala to Hull City - Season long loan
Divin Mubama to Stoke City - Season long loan
Finley Burns to Reading - Season long loan
Scott Carson - Released
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Marcus Bettinelli.
Defenders: Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Issa Kabore.
Midfielders: Tijjani Reijnders, Mateo Kovacic, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva, James McAtee, Nico O'Reilly, Claudio Echeverri.
Attackers: Omar Marmoush, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb.
Our 25/26 Home Kit has arrived 🤩
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 13, 2025
𝘽𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂: #ManCity have dropped their 25/26 away kit. ◼️◽️
— City Report (@cityreport_) July 18, 2025
🛍️ SHOP NOW: https://t.co/YqyzrhhaMv pic.twitter.com/pb2RbEMDGS
No third kit confirmed
Wolves vs Manchester City | Molineux, Wolverhampton | Saturday, August 16th, 17:30
Manchester City’s opening clash with Wolves is set to be shown on Sky Sports. While it is not clear which Sky channel the game will be broadcasted on yet, it is likely to air on either Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Premier League.
Wolves vs Manchester City - Saturday, August 16th.
Manchester City vs Tottenham - Saturday, August 23rd.
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Manchester City - Sunday, August 31st.
Manchester City vs Manchester United - Sunday, September 14th.
Arsenal vs Manchester City - Sunday, September 21st.
One of the most famous derbies in the game of football, the battle between the red and blue sides of Manchester always delivers. With a history of great matches, greater players and the greatest drama, you don’t want to miss either installment of the Manchester Derby this season.
Manchester City vs Manchester United - Sunday September 14th.
Manchester United vs Manchester City - TBC.
Last Five Meetings:
🔵According to Pep Guardiola the current Manchester City team is well equipped to win the Premier League 2025-26. He expects no more signing from the club as he wants a small squad.
— Viana. (@counterpunch__) July 15, 2025
[Update] The manager is happy to have Nunes as our Right back this coming season. pic.twitter.com/jRbPf50Q6e
Last season certainly provided a unique experience for Pep Guardiola. Just the second trophyless season of his career, he was the picture of frustration in the dugout, constantly making complicated and sometimes unintelligible gestures to his charges, and generally looked rather forlorn whenever a TV camera panned to him. His infamous water bottles arguably got more screen time than he did last season
We have grown so used to seeing him dominate, beating everyone in his path and generally making it look easy, that for a while, City’s collapse was a welcome breath of fresh air, something like the dawn of a new era. But in another context, we also saw some of their greatest ever players fall from grace - it was a sad sight to see the likes of Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and especially Kevin De Bruyne look out of place on the pitch, and after a while, their poor form earned them a certain amount of sympathy - credit must to Guardiola for salvaging Champions League and a third place finish; it all looked so unlikely at the turn of the year.
Now, the Spaniard must oversee a full rebuild - securing the signings of Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, and Rayan Ait-Nouri could all prove massive in the upcoming campaign, and it is unlikely that the Spaniard will stop there - with so many players up for sale or rumoured to be headed elsewhere, Guardiola must draw on all of his experience and use his pull to maximum effect - if he fails to bring in players of suitable quality, another relatively uncompetitive season could well be on the cards.
Erling Haaland
Although City’s stranglehold on English football came to an abrupt and unexpected end last season, Manchester City’s Norwegian terminator kept doing what he does best - finding the back of the net by any means necessary.
Happy 25th birthday to Erling Haaland. 🇳🇴🥳
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) July 21, 2025
⚽️ 301 goals
🏆🏆 Premier League
🏆 FA Cup
🏆 Champions League
✅ Golden boot for Premier League, Champions League and Europe in 2023
🥇 Premier league POTS & YPOTS 2023
🥇 FWA POTY 2023 pic.twitter.com/kOtu2t8H34
Though it was statistically his least productive season in a sky blue shirt (34 goals in 48 games in all comps), Haaland remained impressive as the focal point of the attack, and even when those around him failed to flaunt their typically brilliance and fluidity, the two-time golden boot winner still found the net with haunting regularity. Specialising particularly in scrappy, intidy goals as City slumped to a mediocre third place finish by their standards, it will be scary for everyone else when this revamped, younger Manchester City are at their flowing best, when the word “messy” does not even register in their vocabulary.
He suffered a couple of minor injury setbacks in 2024/25, but neither kept Haaland away from the game for too long. With a body like a lumberjack and a character that demands, even orders goals from him, the big man was never going to be out for a long spell. And with £80 million January signing Omar Marmoush starting to find his feet at the club, the club could build one of the most intimidating strike partnerships the Premier League has seen in decades if both hit form together.
This section will be completed at the start of August, when the team has started to take a more accurate shape following various incomings and outgoings.
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