Over to you, Enzo. For the first time in a decade, Manchester City kick off a season without Pep Guardiola in charge.
The Catalan delivered 20 trophies in 10 years – a preposterous return – but will be remembered as much for the sumptuous football that his teams consistently produced. Large boots to fill indeed.
Thankfully for City, Enzo Maresca is a snug fit, following two spells working on Pep's coaching staff.
Can Enzo Maresca bring this side back to top-flight glory?
The Italian was even credited with suggesting some of City's most influential tactical tweaks while he was Guardiola's assistant, such as John Stones' move into midfield in 2022-23's treble-winning season.
More importantly, Maresca has first-hand experience of lifting silverware with a Premier League giant. In a generally successful 18-month stint managing Chelsea, he won the 2025 UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, despite myriad off-field issues.
At City he inherits a far more stable squad, loaded not just with elite talent but potential: Nico O'Reilly, Abdukodir Khusanov and Rayan Cherki are 21 or 22, while £116m arrival Elliot Anderson is 23. The experience of Bernardo Silva and Stones is gone, though.
It's testament to the standards Guardiola set that last term's domestic cup double felt like an underwhelming goodbye, with the league surrendered to Arsenal. Maresca's task is to return City to the summit of English football.
The Coach
Back in 1998, Enzo Maresca joined West Bromwich Albion as a teenage midfielder who had “no grasp of the English language”. Decades later, he has won trophies as a manager with Leicester and Chelsea. But following Guardiola's long reign is a very different challenge.
Key Player
Erling Haaland has 162 goals in just 198 Manchester City appearances, and may be the most feared centre-forward in world football these days. The Norwegian is a force of nature, combining elite finishing with no shortage of aggression, strength, pace and personality.
Last Season's Results
PREMIER LEAGUE: 2nd
FA CUP: Winners
LEAGUE CUP: Winners
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Last 16
Top Scorer
Erling Haaland bagged 38 goals in all competitions last year, and won the Premier League Golden Boot.
Since he joined the league, only the recently departed Mohamed Salah has taken a Golden Boot off of the Norwegian.
Lessons From Last Year
As the cliche goes, Premier League titles aren't won before Christmas, but they can be lost. Four defeats in City's first 12 games – including to Spurs for the 10th time under Guardiola (how?) – allowed Arsenal to open up an insurmountable lead.
Pep's pupils came alive in the spring, going unbeaten in 15 up to the final day, but it wasn't enough.
Slow starts and stellar recoveries were a theme of Guardiola's latter years at the Etihad. But without the wizardry of Kevin De Bruyne, who seemed to enjoy springtime more than anyone, they fell short. A strong start would help Maresca.
Most Likely To...
Try to avoid their team-mates' holiday slideshows: Phil Foden and Gianluigi Donnarumma. The duo were rare City players who didn't go to the World Cup – the club had more representatives than any other, with a total of 17.
Least Likely To...
Discover the verdict of the 115 charges of alleged FFP breaches, despite the independent hearing concluding in December 2024.
View From The Stands
Words by: LLOYD SCRAGG @lloyd_scragg
Last season was more than respectable, in the end. Winning two trophies and taking the title race to the final week wouldn't have been foreseeable in late January. And at least Arsenal winning it before the final day allowed us to give Pep, John Stones and Bernardo Silva a send-off.
This season will be different because we'll never have it as good again – but, with a new squad, we're much better placed for the succession than Manchester United were after Alex Ferguson.
Our key player will be Rodri. We're not the same team without him.
The active player I'd love to have back is Morgan Rogers.
The one change I'd make at our club would be to introduce new season tickets – not flexi-tickets – for fans on the waiting list, and to get rid of the draconian 10-match ‘personal attendance' rule for season ticket holders. Sadly, many Blues lost their STs last season due to difficult personal circumstances.
Look out for 18-year-old Ryan McAidoo, a tricky winger with a low centre of gravity. He scored on debut in the FA Cup and can make a claim on the pre-season tour, with so many players missing it.
The pantomime villain will be Howard Webb, if he can't get a hold of the Premier League's fixation on set pieces. Most fans are on the same page: the prominence of the ‘meat wall' in the opposition box, and the timewasting that ensues, is tragic.
We'll finish 2nd.
Fixtures
AUGUST
23 Bournemouth (H)
29 Crystal Palace (A)
SEPTEMBER
5 Coventry (H)
12 Man United (A)
19 Sunderland (H)
OCTOBER
10 Liverpool (A)
17 Ipswich (H)
24 Aston Villa (A)
31 Brighton (H)
NOVEMBER
7 Nott'm Forest (A)
21 Fulham (H)
28 Arsenal (A)
DECEMBER
2 Leeds (H)
5 Brentford (A)
12 Chelsea (H)
19 Hull City (H)
26 Newcastle (A)
30 Everton (A)
JANUARY
2 Tottenham (H)
6 Leeds (A)
16 Nott'm Forest (H)
23 Brighton (A)
30 Arsenal (H)
FEBRUARY
6 Fulham (A)
10 Tottenham (A)
20 Newcastle (H)
27 Hull City (A)
MARCH
3 Everton (H)
13 Coventry (A)
20 Man United (H)
APRIL
10 Bournemouth (A)
17 Crystal Palace (H)
24 Chelsea (A)
MAY
1 Brentford (H)
8 Liverpool (H)
15 Ipswich (A)
23 Aston Villa (H)
30 Sunderland (A)
Title Odds
Manchester City to win the Premier League title odds: 3/1
FFT Verdict
FourFourTwo verdict: Manchester City to finish 2nd.
Fears over the reality of a post-Pep landscape are offset by a squad with next to no holes in it. Some tactical funkiness might make for a sluggish start before a rampant recovery – a fitting tribute.
This feature was written in June as part of FourFourTwo magazine's legendary Season Preview issue which can be ordered here.
