Manchester City trail Arsenal by just five points as Pep Guardiola's side look to defend their title in the second half of the Premier League season.
It was a relatively quiet transfer window for City last month, with 20-year-old midfielder Maximo Perrone the only addition made to Guardiola's squad. The biggest transfer news to come out of City was the departure of Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich on loan.
After a 1-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of February, City sit five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, with the Gunners holding one game in hand over the defending champions. The two sides are still yet to face each other in the league, with the outcome of the two upcoming clashes set to have a big impact on the title race.
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So, could City overtake Arsenal and win a third consecutive Premier League title? Let's take a look.
We simulated the remainder of Man City's 2022/23 Premier League season
We used the Football Manager 2023 editor to update the teams, managers and playing squads of all Premier League clubs, whilst also using the Football Manager 2023 editor to replicate the current Premier League table. We then simulated from February 9 until the end of the season in-game.
City lost just once in the final 17 games of the season, but they drew five, and that was too many points dropped to make up the ground between themselves and Arsenal. With that one defeat also coming against the Gunners, City were unable to close the gap as they finished second in the Premier League.
Erling Haaland continued his goalscoring form at a slower pace in the second half of the season as City ended the campaign as the league's top scorers, with the Norwegian notching 35 goals in the league, breaking the current goalscoring record by three goals. City did beat Arsenal at the Etihad, with some other impressive results including a 2-0 win over Liverpool and a 1-0 win against Newcastle United.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best City XI based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is how the best City XI looked in 2022/23 according to FM23.
Full Man City best XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Laporte; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; Foden, Haaland, Grealish.
Interestingly, Nathan Ake and John Stones were not selected in City's best XI in the simulation, with Aymeric Laporte starting at left back whilst Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias occupied the centre-back positions. Ilkay Gundogan was selected ahead of Bernardo Silva in midfield, whilst Riyad Mahrez missed out on a spot in the front three with Phil Foden and Jack Grealish on the wings.
Despite not winning the league, City were successful in the cup competitions, winning the FA Cup along with a first-ever Champions League trophy. City beat rivals Manchester United 2-0 in the final to lift the FA Cup, whilst goals from Haaland and Kyle Walker secured a 2-1 win over Napoli in the Champions League final.
Overall, FM23 predicts that despite not being able to defend their Premier League title, City could still have a successful season, winning the Champions League and FA Cup in the simulation. Haaland broke the Premier League record for most goals in a season in a campaign that City fans would be very happy with.
Would you be happy with this outcome for City at the end of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign? Let us know in the comments below!
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