Can City seal a historic back-to-back treble this season?

Pep Guardiola masterminded the Cityzens first ever treble, conquering rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final, pipping Arsenal to secure their third consecutive Premier League title, and claiming their first ever Champions League trophy with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul. Their achievements last season will go down in English footballing folklore but with a squad brimming with World class talent and an almost obsessive manager relentlessly improving their performance, many are predicting that the Manchester club could potentially replicate their astonishing accomplishments of the previous campaign. There’s no question that the gap between the Sky Blues and the chasing pack is growing with each season that passes so it’s not an idea that should be dismissed out of turn. But with the Spanish boss himself reflecting on his success saying it would be “impossible” to repeat the feats of last year, is a back-to-back treble out of the question or are the Cityzens capable of writing yet more history?
FA Cup - 7/2
By using this odds calculator and getting all the odds for their trophies together we can see that City are at around 16/1 to win the treble yet again this season and part of the reason for that is City’s incredible record in domestic cup competitions. Over the course of Guardiola’s seven seasons in charge, the Spaniard has won the League cup four times and the FA Cup twice. City became the second ever side to win four consecutive League Cups and reached the FA Cup semi-finals on five consecutive occasions. More often than not a favourable draw can win you this competition and City will outclass most of their opponents in the first few rounds if the right names get pulled out of that hat. Even if they face Premier League opposition, there are only a few clubs who could cause Guardiola’s squad some trouble in their pursuit of this trophy, even in a one-off game billed as though ‘anything could happen’. Another trip to Wembley for a semi-final is on the cards and it is there where City will likely slip up if at all. Despite dominating the league over the last three or four years, the Cityzens have often struggled when playing on England’s hallowed turf. Three consecutive semi-final defeats to fellow ‘big-six’ opposition between 2020 and 2022 foiled Guardiola’s plans for a treble up until last season; first in a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, then a 1-0 defeat to that season’s Champions League winners Chelsea, and finally to familiar foes and eventual winners Liverpool. Everytime Guardiola has jumped that semi-final hurdle he has gone on to lift the famous trophy aloft on the steps of Wembley so it’s reasonable to think if he can avoid another semi-final hoodoo then City will secure the FA Cup this season.
Premier League - 2/5
City have got their Premier League campaign off to the perfect start, picking up where they left off last season with five wins from their first five games. The usual suspects follow close behind but for now City are setting the pace in the early stages of this year’s title race. As much as this feels like business as usual, it is suspected that City will face a tougher challenge this year to hold onto their crown than they did last year given Liverpool’s resurgence. That’s not to undermine the sterling efforts of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal who took the title race down to the wire. In fact the Gunners led the way for 248 days before succumbing to City’s relentless pressure in heartbreaking fashion. Erling Haaland’s record tally of 35 goals in the Premier League helped get the Cityzens over the line there with the incomparable work of Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Rodri and Bernardo Silva supporting the Norwegian all the way. City’s enviable squad depth helped them immeasurably in their search for Premier League glory last term and it is that strength in depth that will be vital more so this year. City’s pre-eminent Belgian midfielder De Bruyne picked up a hamstring injury in the opening encounter with Burnley that has him sidelined until the congested Christmas period. The 32-year-old is the beating heart at the centre of City’s attack, and the definitive factor in Haaland’s huge goal tally last season. The concern will be that without him City could struggle when tougher fixtures arrive amidst a very busy schedule. Having said that, his absence hasn’t affected results on the pitch thus far, even though there have been some close calls. Haaland already has seven goals, Julian Alvarez has stepped up in a big way, even defensive midfielder Rodri is finding his shooting boots. They have shown the club has more than enough to compensate for the absence of their star midfielder until Christmas and that’s why the chasing pack will likely have to wait a little longer to usurp City as the Kings of English football.
Champions League - 9/2
The European Cup has proven to be the banana skin for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City on more than one occasion and if any tournament is going to cause the downfall of their bid for a back-to-back treble it is this one. City were the perennial bridesmaids when it came to the Champions League with last season’s triumph in Istanbul finally breaking their European hoodoo. The 2021 defeat in the final to Chelsea was believed to be as bad as it could get but an unbelievable comeback from Los Blancos in the Bernabeu in 2022 fed into a belief that the Cityzens might never lift this famous trophy under Guardiola. The Spaniard quashed those doubts in emphatic fashion last season, dispatching the reigning champions with a 4-0 victory at the Etihad. The teams displays across the continent last term have meant bookies fancy them as the favourites for this year’s competition once again. They have the added benefit of being handed a very winnable group with RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade unlikely to offer a significant challenge before the knockout stages get underway. However, previous excursion across Europe should serve as a cautionary tale to any complacent members of their squad. City have been in this story before, billed as the tournament favourites only to suffer an unlikely quarter final defeat to Liverpool, or Tottenham, or even Lyon. Their underwhelming display in the UEFA Super Cup should also serve as a warning. City are more than capable of securing their second European Cup in 2023/24, but history would suggest that this will be the trickiest of the three to win back this season.