Man City 2023/24 season preview: Key players, summer transfers, squad numbers & predictions

  • Manchester City are looking to emulate last season's treble-winning success
  • The Sky Blues are clear favourites for the Premier League title
  • Pep Guardiola has made some big signings in the window so far
Man City won the treble in 2022/23
Man City won the treble in 2022/23 / Matt Burt | 90min
facebooktwitterreddit

How do you improve on a treble-winning season? The simple answer: win the quadruple.

That is the unenviable task that faces Pep Guardiola ahead of the 2023/24 campaign as Manchester City look to reign supreme over England and Europe once again. Winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup was an incredible achievement, and one that is seldom achieved.

However, when a new season rolls into town, everyone forgets about the past. It's all about the here and now, and Guardiola will have to somehow keep his players motivated despite the fact the majority of his squad have already won everything they can in English football.

This City team are relentless though, as shown by their accumulation of silverware in recent years. If one man can make the Sky Blues even better, it's Guardiola.

Here's 90min's preview of Man City's 2023/24 season.


Man City's performance last five seasons

Season

Premier League

FA Cup

EFL Cup

Europe

2022/23

1st

Winners

Quarter-final

Champions League winners

2021/22

1st

Semi-final

R4

Champions League SF

2020/21

1st

Semi-final

Winners

Champions League runners-up

2019/20

2nd

Semi-final

Winners

Champions League QF

2018/19

1st

Winners

Winners

Champions League QF


Summer transfers

Ins:

  • Josko Gvardiol (DF) - RB Leipzig - £77.6m
  • Mateo Kovacic (MF) - Chelsea - £25m

Outs:

  • Riyad Mahrez (FW) - Al Ahli - £30m
  • Yangel Hererra (MF) - Girona - £4.3m
  • Nahuel Bustos (FW) - Talleres - undisclosed
  • Ilkay Gundogan (MF) - Barcelona - free
  • Benjamin Mendy (DF) - Lorient - free
  • Issa Kabore (DF) - Luton Town - loan
  • Josh Wilson-Esbrand (DF) - Reims - loan

Squad Numbers

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

Number

Name

2

Kyle Walker

3

Ruben Dias

4

Kalvin Phillips

5

John Stones

6

Nathan Ake

7

Joao Cancelo

8

Mateo Kovacic

9

Erling Haaland

10

Jack Grealish

13

Zack Steffen

14

Aymeric Laporte

16

Rodri

17

Kevin De Bruyne

18

Stefan Ortega

19

Julian Alvarez

20

Bernardo Silva

21

Sergio Gomez

24

Josko Gvardiol

25

Manuel Akanji

31

Ederson

32

Maximo Perrone

33

Scott Carson

47

Phil Foden

80

Cole Palmer

82

Rico Lewis

87

James McAtee


Key players

Erling Haaland
Haaland will be looking to break his own record / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages

Star player

It would be daft to suggest anybody other than Erling Haaland as Man City's star player. Ultimately, Guardiola's squad is made up almost exclusively of star players, but the man who stood out above the rest last season was the big Norwegian striker.

Haaland annihilated the Premier League goalscoring record for a 38-game season, netting 36 in 35 matches, and even managed to provide eights assists on top of that freakishly high tally. The 23-year-old has established himself as the most complete forward in world football and centre-backs are yet to find a way to stop the colossus.

With the service he is provided by the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva, it wouldn't be surprising if he topped his own goalscoring record in the Premier League next term.


One to watch

Josko Gvardiol
City's new signing faces stiff competition / Stefan Matzke - sampics/GettyImages

Normally when you splash £77.6m on a new signing, they will automatically take up a position in the starting lineup. Such is the abundance of Man City's defensive options, that is no guarantee for Josko Gvardiol.

With Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones already at the club, Gvardiol's minutes may be shared more than he would like them to be. The 21-year-old is one of the most promising centre-backs in world football, so it will be interesting to see how quickly he adapts to life in the Premier League and where he may fit into Guardiola's ever-changing system.

Luckily for Gvardiol, time is on his side.


2023/24 kits

Home kit

Jack Grealish
City's new home kit was shown off in the Community Shield / Matthew Ashton - AMA/GettyImages

Away kit

Man City's away kit for the 2023/24 season
Man City's away kit for the 2023/24 season /

Third kit


Premier League prediction

You would have to be pretty brave to bet against City winning the Premier League title for a fourth consecutive year.

Even the most optimistic of Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal fans will be unlikely to splash big money on their side leapfrogging the Sky Blues, and another Guardiola title looks inevitable at the beginning of the season.

They have lost a few key players like Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, with more potentially departing, but their recruitment has been solid and Guardiola always finds away to get his players ticking. They should have no problems again this year.

Man City 2023/24 Premier League prediction - 1st


READ MORE OF 90MIN'S SEASON PREVIEWS: A-F

manual


READ MORE OF 90MIN'S SEASON PREVIEWS: L-W

manual