Manchester City will NOT win the Premier League title playing like they have and BIG improvements are still needed!

In this week’s edition of his City Xtra column, Amos Murphy claims Manchester City need to take their performances to a new level if they want to win anything major this season. 

The days are getting longer, the nights are getting brighter, and Manchester City are still on the hunt for three trophies this season. Sound familiar? Well, it should. 

It’s a little over 12 months since Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Blues waltzed to a historic treble by lifting the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League during a sensational three-week period. 

Fast forward one year and City are at it again. They’ll resume action after the (entirely pointless) March international break with their triple crown still intact, harbouring dreams of making it back-to-back trebles this season. 

It all sounds so simple. And, in a way, it was for Manchester City last season. They found their rhythm around this time of the year and during the run-in, Pep Guardiola’s men didn’t drop a beat.

It’s wholly unrealistic to expect City to go on and match their treble achievement from last time around – not that the players and manager will be settling for anything less. But for City to even defend one of the big two trophies – the Premier League or Champions League – major changes will have to be made. 

It’s been a rickety campaign for City so far and in any other season, there’s every chance either Arsenal or Liverpool would’ve run away with the league title by now. In a way, it’s a miracle City are still within touching distance. 

That does come with its own set of benefits though. City will be hoping they’ve learned from mistakes earlier on in the season and can now go on and reach peak form at the right time. It’s also around this time of the campaign when Guardiola tends to settle on his preferred staring XI. His main guys.

However, given their slip-ups along the away, in the Premier League at least, there is a non-existent margin for error. That’s partly because, unlike previous title races, City are one of three teams vying for the championship. They’re not only banking on one side dropping off, but two instead. 

The first test of their Premier League credentials will come on Sunday against Arsenal. Should it go badly for City, it might prove to be the first and last test. Arsenal were humiliated at the Etihad Stadium last season, and on the back of a couple of (extremely fortunate) wins against City already this season, they’ll be on the lookout for revenge.

In every sense, it’s a must-win match for City. The points gap will stretch to four if they lose and even a point does very little to help their Premier League permutations. And even a win transfers the league title from Arsenal’s hands, into Liverpool’s. There’s plenty of work to do.

To put it bluntly, if City want to be lifting silverware this season, it’s time for them to step things up to another level. It’s crunch time and City simply have to deliver.