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At the risk of becoming a meme: is it time to cross Man City as title contenders?
That may sound hyperbolic or a bit silly given we’ve only been 13 games into the season, with City playing just 12. But what Pep Guardiola and his team will need to achieve going forward is almost unprecedented.
Here’s a fancy graph showing the number of points that Premier League champions have reached 13 games in one season:
Even if Man City wins their game in hand, it will still give them the third-lowest point total of any eventual champion in the Premier League era. And that’s under the assumption that something suddenly clicks for this dubious side of town, that they merge into something that is close to their old self: a certifiable monster who can rip off a 10, 20, 25 game undefeated streak. .
City remain brimming with talent, but nothing from Guardiola’s mob so far this season or over the course of last season portends that kind of sustained running. Most likely, they are what all twelve games say they are: a flawed, excellent team that will lose unwanted points in this crazed and packed season.
Sure, this is a unique year. You can discard historical precedents if you wish. Injuries could continue to decimate Liverpool or they could unlocking Spurs. Or the sheer volume of games in a short span of time could lead one team to rise faster than usual, riding the crest of that illustrious thing we call ‘momentum’ while another falls in twice the amount of time. But such a notion also presupposes that such things will not affect the City.
Guardiola’s team have already lost points at home to West Brom and Leeds. They tied at home with Liverpool, their direct title challenger. Losing at Anfield, where Liverpool are currently undefeated in 66 games, and that undoes any ground City can regain with their game in hand.
Odd year or not, Man City has already gotten into a hole early. If they fail to win against Southampton today (Kickoff: 15:00 pm GMT), then we are in crossover territory. And it is not that, apart from Agüero, they are waiting for the cavalry to return or that they have been victims of a series of brutal injuries.
Putting together a streak of titles going forward is an all-powerful task: winning the thing from this position would not only be historic, but it would be Guardiola’s greatest achievement as a manager in a year in which his team already looks out of place. order.
Here are City’s next five league games:
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Southampton, away
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Newcastle, home
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Everton away
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Chelsea away
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Brighton, home
It really is not unreasonable to think that City could score just eight points in those five games.
And at that point, it will really be a closure.
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