With the Barclays Premier League ready to kick off its 2016 campaign on August 13th, here are some of the top matches for Manchester City in the first half of the season.
Matchday #1: Manchester City vs Sunderland on August 13th.
Well overall, this shouldn’t be too tough of a home opener to start the new campaign. Sunderland will be under new leadership with David Moyes replacing Sam Allardyce as manager. Pep Guardiola should expect a huge reaction from the fans as he manages at the Etihad for the first time as new City boss. Manchester City has not lost to Sunderland at home since January 1998, and I’m sure that is a trend that Guardiola would like to continue going forward. In their two meetings last season, City led 5-1 on aggregate. Sunderland’s main player would be forward Jermain Defoe who was a main reason why Sunderland fought off relegation at the end of the season. Defoe tallied 15 Premier League goals in 33 appearances last season and should be the main man to watch for City’s back-line.
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Matchday #4: Manchester United vs Manchester City on September 10th.
Pep Guardiola vs Jose Mourinho, Manchester City vs Manchester United, the first Manchester Derby takes place only four weeks into the new season. Does anymore need to be said? City haven’t tasted victory at Old Trafford in the league since March 2014, which is something the players would probably like to change. The two rivals were scheduled to meet up in Beijing in July for a friendly but due to field conditions the match ended up being postponed. This match will definitely be a good set-up to see where Guardiola’s players are at early in the season. Manchester United have rebuilt their squad bringing in players like Swedish-striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Eric Bially was also signed from Villarreal to bulster the back-line as well. City have also bulstered their squad with the signings of Leroy Sane, Nolito, and Ilkay Gundogan.
Matchday #7: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City on October 1st.
This is definitely an interesting match pitting some of the top firepower in the Barclays Premier League. Tottenham embarrassed City in both fixtures last season defeating them by a combined score of 6-2. The match at White Hart Lane was a drubbing to say the least. Tottenham have young stars everywhere on the pitch with striker Harry Kane and midfielder Dele Alli taking most of the attention. Mauricio Pochettino‘s side had the best goal-differential in the league last year, finishing third behind Leicester and Arsenal. Two of the best strikers in the league will be in action as Kane faces off against Sergio Aguero. In October, this will be City’s toughest Premier League match so I feel they need to earn a good result away from the Etihad.
Matchday #14: Manchester City vs Chelsea on December 3rd.
The first match of a busy December for Manchester City highlights a home match vs Antonio Conte‘s Chelsea. This will be Conte’s first season in charge of the Blues. Manchester City dominated Chelsea in their two Premier League matches last season, winning by a combined score of 6-0. I feel City need to have a good result come from this match, as they have five Premier League matches after this one in the busy month of December. Chelsea will look a lot different under Conte, but still provide scoring threats of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Willian. This match will also highlight two of the top managers in all of European Soccer.
Matchday #15: Leicester City vs Manchester City on December 10th.
After a home match vs Chelsea, Guardiola’s side will travel to the King Power Stadium for a match against the defending league champions. This fixture last season saw a 0-0 draw between two sides fighting at the top of the table. Leicester will have a lot of pressure on them this season to perform at the level they did in 2015. Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez are the top two players for Leicester and have stayed at the club amidst numerous transfer rumors. With other matches against Arsenal and Liverpool in December, Manchester City will need to show they can put up points against the top guns of the Premier League. Also, Manchester City’s road form last season was dismal to say the least and for them to make a run for the title, Guardiola’s squad will need to perform strong away from the Etihad if they want to be in contention for the title.
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These are the five matches that I feel are the most important for Manchester City this season. If Manchester City want to have a successful season under Pep Guardiola in 2016, these are the matches they will need to do well in. Start marking these fixtures on your calendar now, because they are some you do not want to miss! For the entire schedule for Manchester City, check out SkySports.