Can Man City Continue Their Historic Premier League Run?

The arrival of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Abu Dhabi Group at Manchester City in 2008 changed the fortunes not only of the football club, but also of the very sport itself. Though it took the club three years to win its first silverware, securing the FA Cup in 2011, there has barely been a year in which the Cityzens haven’t won at least one trophy.

That went into overdrive after the appointment of Pep Guardiola as the club’s manager, with City setting an English record when they won their fourth straight Premier League title at the end of the 2023-2024 season. The obvious question to ask is: can it continue?

Making History

Across previous season of the English top-flight, the most times that any club had been able to win the division successively was three. That was first achieved by Huddersfield Town between 1923 and 1926, then Arsenal managed it from 1933 to 1935, stopped by Newcastle United and Sunderland, respectively. The next team to win it three times in a row was the all-conquering Liverpool side of the 1980s, having won it twice in 1976 and 1977 and twice again in 1979 and 1980, the Merseyside club won the hat-trick between 1982 and 1984. Ironically, it was their neighbours Everton that stopped them from winning a fourth.

Manchester United won three back-to-back between 1999 and 2001, then achieved it again between 2007 and 2009, stopped by Arsenal and Chelsea respectively during a period when the Red Devils were the dominant force in the country. Prior to Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad, Manchester City had only managed two successive titles, winning those in 2018 and 2019 before losing out to Liverpool in 2020. That, though, was the only time that City failed to win the Premier League title between 2018 and 2024, with the Sky Blues finishing as English top-flight titles seven times out of eight, including that remarkable run of four wins in a row.

That, of course, was history making. It was the first time since top-flight football was played in England that any club had been able to win the title four times in succession, proving the complete and utter dominance of Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City stalwarts. It took them to ten titles overall, meaning that they sit ten behind city rivals Manchester United, nine off Liverpool and three shy of the number of titles won by Arsenal. If they were to win it again at the end of the 2024-2025 campaign, it would make them virtually untouchable in terms of successive titles won in the English top-flight. But can they?

What Can Stop City’s Dominance?

If you want to get a sense of whether or not Manchester City are likely to win a fifth Premier League title in a row, you need to look at the possible things that might stop them. Here is a quick look at the most obvious ones:

115 Charges

The elephant in the room when it comes to Manchester City’s dominance of English football in recent years are the 115 charges of alleged financial irregularity that have been levied against the club by the Premier League. City themselves strongly deny any wrongdoing, but that is obviously to be expected. Whilst the Premier League isn’t going to rush its decision regarding the charges, there is the possibility that at least of them might well stick. If that were to come to a head before the end of the 2024-2025 season, repercussions could include anything from a points deduction through to relegation; either or which would make a title win unlikely.

Complacency

It is fair to say that Pep Guardiola is one of the best football managers in the world for a reason. He is not someone that is willing to let up, keeping his players pushing forward season upon season. Even so, there is no question that complacency may well be an issue for Manchester City moving forward; after all, what else is there for the players to achieve? If some of those in City kits were to take their foot off the gas during the forthcoming season, especially on the back of the European Championship, it would be entirely understandable. Yes, the Spaniard will be telling them they can make history, but will that be enough considering they’ve already done that?

Other Teams Improving

The only side to stop Manchester City from winning the title in recent years was Liverpool. The Merseyside club have been a thorn in Pep Guardiola’s side throughout his time in the Premier League, pushing them by winning 97 points in the season that City got 98 and 92 points to mean City needed to get 93. The Reds have parted ways with Jürgen Klopp for the forthcoming season, meaning that the assumption is that they will be worse off. In truth, though, the German was looking tired towards the end of his reign and the appointment of Arne Slot might inject some much-needed vim and vigour into their campaign.

Then there is Arsenal. The London club haven’t won the title since the 2003-2004 season, which was notable for the fact that they went the entire campaign unbeaten; something that even Guardiola hasn’t managed to do. Mikel Arteta worked under Guardiola, so he will know exactly how his countryman thinks. Having finished second to them two years running, Arteta will be looking to take his Gunners one step further this time around.

If anything is going to stop Guardiola’s City side from winning the Premier League from an unprecedented fifth successful title then it might well be one of the other teams in the top-flight, ready and waiting to take advantage of any slip-up from the Cityzens.