The wind has changed direction! From only winning 1 match in 6 rounds before going to the Middle East to compete in the Club World Cup, being left far behind by many opponents, Man.City has now truly regained its position as the number 1 candidate for the championship in the Premier League, with a higher probability of winning than all other teams combined.
Man.City ( right ) has too many advantages in the coming time.
Pep Guardiola's men have won all the games since returning from Saudi Arabia with the World Cup trophy. Most recently, they beat Sheffield United 2-0 with the image that people often use to describe the power of a champion: even if they play badly... they still win! Rodri and Julian Alvarez scored, but the explosion of fans at the Etihad Stadium was directed at a player who Guardiola had insisted from the beginning that he would not play. That was Kevin de Bruyne - a star who has been absent (due to injury) since round 2 until now.
Yes, De Bruyne is back on the bench. He could be fully fit in the near future. And of course, De Bruyne's return will be a big difference compared to Man.City's last half of the season. But, when it comes to Man.City taking the top spot again in the next few rounds, there is another important reason.
All the strong teams in the Premier League will lose players because of the 2023 Asian Cup (from 12/1 - 10/2) and the 2023 African Cup of Nations (from 13/1 - 11/2), except Man.City and Newcastle. Of course, Newcastle, even at their best, were no match for Man.City. Now they have fallen to mid-table, losing 4 of their last 5 matches, with no hope of competing for the top spot.
Liverpool had to "release" Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo to the Egyptian and Japanese teams. Arsenal lost Thomas Partey (Ghana), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan). Tottenham will temporarily say goodbye to captain Son Heung-min (South Korea) along with Yves Bissouma (Mali) and Pape Mata Sarr (Senegal). Chelsea lost Nicolas Jackson (Senegal), while MU lost goalkeeper Andre Onana (Cameroon) and Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco). Mohammed Kudus (Ghana, currently playing for West Ham), Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea, Wolverhampton), Abdoulaye Doucoure (Mali, Everton), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria, Fulham) are other notable absences this month in the Premier League.
Without losing any players due to the upcoming two continental tournaments, Man.City is winning continuously and preparing to welcome De Bruyne back to the squad. On the other hand, Man.City's upcoming schedule is very light. Newcastle, Burnley, Brentford, Everton are the 4 upcoming opponents (from now until February 10). Newcastle is currently in the middle of the table, as mentioned. The remaining three teams are all in the bottom 5! During this time, Liverpool will have to face Chelsea and Arsenal. In addition, Liverpool also has to face Arsenal in the FA Cup and play 2 more matches against Fulham in the League Cup (Man.City has been eliminated from the League Cup and only has to meet Huddersfield in the FA Cup). In addition to the 2 matches against Liverpool in 2 different tournaments, Arsenal also has a match against the "dark horse" West Ham.
Man.City themselves have both luck and excellence. But from a place that seemed to be defeated, they have come back strongly thanks to other teams. Arsenal and Liverpool - the two most significant competitors - have dropped too many points when they had the chance to dethrone the champion Man.City.
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