The start of the new Premier League season is less than 2 weeks away and all eyes are on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side. 

Last campaign, the impossible happened when City completely collapsed out of nowhere. A loss to Spurs in the EFL Cup seemed to be the trigger point, with City then going on a run of form where they picked up just 1 win out of 13 games. 

By Pep’s standards, it was unheard of, and the fact is City never really recovered from that bad stretch. The club went into panic mode that January window, bringing in Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis for a combined €142 million, but the damage had already been done. 

In fairness to Pep, City did look a lot better towards the end of the season and even managed to drag their way to an FA Cup final, which they ended up losing to an inspired Crystal Palace side. It effectively capped off what had been a nightmare season for City, with some even speculating that the “Pep Era” is now done and dusted. 

We can’t say that for yet just yet, though, with the new 2025-26 season upon us. Man City have been busy in the summer transfer window and if anything is true about Pep, it’s that he’ll give everything to turn it around. But, when looking at the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal, with Liverpool in particular looking stronger than ever, just how likely is a Pep comeback to happen? 

Man City 7/2 Favourites for 2025-26 Premier League Title 

Ahead of the new Premier League season, Man City are the surprise third favourites to win the title at 7/2 with most bookies. That’s a sentence nobody thought they’d ever hear, at least while Pep was still in charge. Here we are, though, with the legendary Spaniard facing arguably the biggest challenge of his managerial career to turn the ship around before it’s too late. 

Ahead of Man City in the betting odds are Liverpool (7/4) and Arsenal (5/2), with BettingTools.com reporting that both teams look more likely to get the better of Pep once the new season kicks off. Liverpool absolutely stormed the Premier League last season and have just gone on a huge summer spending spree that could see their final bill reach close to €500m after bringing in the likes of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitke (Wirtz is Liverpool’s record signing at €125m). Then there’s Arsenal, who, despite going 5 seasons on the bounce trophyless, look like they’re finally going to go all-out and throw the kitchen sink under Mikel Arteta. Plus, Arsenal have also been quite active in the window, opting to bring in striker Viktor Gyökeres, Martín Zubimendi and several others to push their summer spending over €200m, so the Gunners are much stronger than last season.  

City also haven’t been quiet in the summer window, with Pep said to have been disappointed by his previous signings in January. City’s board also openly admitted that refusing to strengthen last summer was a huge catalyst for their collapse, so it hasn’t come as a shock to see City bring in several players throughout June and July. So far, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri,  Marcus Bettinelli, Sverre Nypan, and James Trafford have all come through the door, with former AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders being the most expensive at €55m. They’re not what you would call “huge” signings, with Pep opting to go with quality in numbers so he has depth to call upon, but these signings should be more than enough to get City firing again. 

Let’s not forget that City have also recently bid farewell to club legend Kevin De Bruyne, whose absence will no doubt be felt in the new season. There are still members of the old guard around, though, with the likes of Ruben Dias, Bernado Silva, and Ederson staying with the club for at least another season. Then there’s young Erling Haaland, who will be really looking to kick on this season after only racking up a disappointing 22 goals in the previous campaign. More goals and trophies will be the aim, and it’ll be largely down to whether Pep can engineer them or not. 

After 17 Years On Top, Pep Might Be Running on Empty 

One thing for sure about Pep Guardiola is that there’s a lot riding on the upcoming Premier League campaign. It’s make or break for the Spaniard and the run of games up until the festive period will reveal if Pep’s time is truly up, as any early blips will pretty much signal City’s fate again. And this is something that Pep himself has spoken about recently, detailing to reporters he feels tired and will soon be taking a break from the sport: 

“I don’t know how long I’ll stop for: a year, two years, three years, five, 10, 15, I don’t know. But I will leave after this spell with City because I need to stop and focus on myself, on my body.” 

Pep himself is currently in the middle of a 2-year deal with City set to expire in 2027, so it’ll be interesting to see how everything unfolds in the lead up to that. If City do fail to hit the ground running this season, there’s no guarantee that Pep will be in the dugout this time next year, although there’s still every chance in the world he’ll see out his contract as a show of loyalty to the club he loves. And if Pep somehow manages to get City back on top and muscle Liverpool away from back-to-back titles, then the Pep era might not be ending as quickly as we first thought.

Man City Play Wolves Away First Game of the Season 

City’s first game of the season is August 16 away at Wolves. Not exactly the easiest game to start a new campaign, but you’d expect Pep’s men to win this one convincingly. However, this will then be followed up by games against Spurs, Brighton, Manchester United and then Arsenal, so it’s safe to say the first five games of the 2025-26 campaign will serve as a blueprint to understand whether Pep’s got his side back on track or not. 

Based on City’s recent signings, who will be dangerous if they can glue throughout the season, and the fact Pep looks in a much better headspace than he did 10 months ago, you wouldn’t put it past City to be in the midst of a title race with both Liverpool and Arsenal come the latter stages. If not, the Blues will at least be in and around the top four, although a top four finish with no major trophies would almost certainly lead to Pep walking away from the club. 

Grab your popcorn, because it’s going to be an interesting season.