Man City and Man United’s Hopes for the Rest of the Season

Manchester United are the most successful team in English football and that fact is even more evident when we restrict ourselves to the Premier League era. They have won the Premier League title a massive 13 times, finishing second on a further seven occasions. Manchester City, however, are second, with eight Premier League titles to their name, which is as many as third-placed Chelsea (five) and fourth-placed Arsenal combined.

We shouldn’t feel too sorry for these giants of modern English football, especially as they are both among the richest and well-resourced clubs in the world. However, it would be safe to say that, for all the historical success they have enjoyed, both clubs will probably want to forget the 2024/25 season.

Mancunian Giants Both Had a Tough Season

Full-time.

🩵 0-2 🔴 #ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/2j3rvyvx96

— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 23, 2025

City came into the campaign having won a record four Premier League titles in a row and were odds-on favourites to make that five. With Liverpool having lost Jürgen Klopp, the Reds, who have often been City’s main rivals, were not expected to be challenging for the title, whilst most felt that Arsenal would once again fall just short of Pep’s winning machine.

As for United, they came into the campaign with a little optimism thanks to the brilliant, and deserved, win over City in the 2023/24 FA Cup final. They won that game 2-1 with goals from two of their bright young stars, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo. It was felt that perhaps they were turning a corner and with Jim Ratcliffe having an increasing say in the running of the club, and much investment promised, Reds were cautiously – very cautiously – hopeful.

Alas, things have not gone well for either of the Mancunian giants, with United starting badly and getting worse, and City starting very well before exploding in a way nobody could have foreseen. Pep Guardiola’s men were top of the table after nine games thanks to seven wins and two draws. However, they won just one of the next nine league games, something it seems unreal to write, even now.

They were dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, failing to make the last 16 for the first time since 2012/13. They should qualify for the competition next year but that is not a given and it truly has been a season to forget. Losing Rodri was a huge blow but the extent of their demise has surprised everyone, with an increasing feeling that Guardiola’s style of football, rigid positionism, is now outdated.

With the FA Cup last 16 giving both Manchester clubs a bit of respite from their league travails, now seems a good time to look at what they might hope for in the remaining months of the campaign. Both are still in the FA Cup and who knows, perhaps they will meet in the final for a third season in a row. But with 11 games to go in the league, City are fourth and the Red Devils are down in 14th, so what should we expect between now and May?

Man City to Target Silverware and 2nd Place

Back in August, and especially after they began with nine league games unbeaten, finishing second in the Premier League and winning just the FA Cup would have been considered a fairly disastrous for City. However, now, that is just about the best they can hope for and even that looks like a huge ask.

They are out of the EFL Cup and the Champions League and, 20 points behind Liverpool, surely out of the league two. That means the FA Cup is their only real chance of silverware this term and that is not what a club with six league titles in seven years expects. Their treble of 2022/23 already seems like a long time ago but it is important that they do not feel sorry for themselves and fight for everything in the remaining two and a half months of the season.

Best Hope Is Second Place

If they can finish strongly and take second place in the league it will give them a foundation on which to build. With a summer to recoup, rebuild and get Rodri back to his very best, they would then be in a good position to come out firing in 2025/26. Finishing inside the top four is the very least they must do though, and that should be within their grasp.

As for the FA Cup, they face Plymouth at home in the last 16 and so should make the quarters. They are the favourites to go all the way and if they can end a tough campaign by lifting a trophy at Wembley it will also help them look to the season ahead with greater optimism.

Man United Need to Show Some Signs of Improvement

The fact that even 25+ games into the season there was talk of a relegation battle for United is truly shocking. They have fallen so far from their glory years under Sir Alex Ferguson and look just about as far away from bringing them back as they ever have. Given the dire performances of the Premier League bottom three, United’s 33 points is probably already enough to keep them up, but they simply have to show some signs of improvement under their new boss, Ruben Amorim.

He has been in charge for 23 games now and seems to have had no success in getting his ideas across. His side look as bad as ever, in all areas of the pitch, and fans dearly want to see at least the beginnings of a football philosophy bedding in.

Time for Ruben Amorim to Step Up

In terms of results they could yet win two trophies, with an FA Cup clash at home against Fulham to come and then a Round of 16 Europa League tie with Real Sociedad. They have done well enough in Europe, finishing third in the league phase but the Basque side will provide a real challenge. They are only ninth in La Liga though, so Amorim’s men may have enough to progress.

If they can lift either trophy it would slightly gloss over what has been a campaign to forget. But really, more than that, their Portuguese boss needs to show he is up to the job by illustrating that he can transmit his ideas to these players. If that doesn’t happen, we expect he won’t stick around long. Roll on, 2025/26!