Manchester City continued to make progress in their quest for silverware this season as they earned a series of important results in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. In November, they played six matches. The results from their fixtures mean that Manchester City sit second in the EPL table and ninth in the Champions League table. The Sky Blues had some tough moments and results toward the end of the month, but overall, the squad will be pleased with where they sit in the current standings.
The Mancunians will now be put to the test during the hectic festive season. In December, they will play seven matches across three competitions. They will participate in the Premier League, Champions League, and the EFL “Carabao” Cup.
Manchester City will begin the month with a visit to Fulham. The Cottagers will host the Sky Blues on Tuesday, 2 December. Manchester City have previously performed well against Fulham in recent seasons, but given the increased competitiveness of the league this season, as well as Fulham’s strong start, they may cause problems on Tuesday.
Following this match, Manchester City will return home to host Sunderland. The match will be played on Saturday, 6 December. Like Fulham, Sunderland have also had a strong start to the 2025/2026 season; thus, the Mancunians should not take them lightly.
Once these two EPL matches have been played, the Sky Blues will turn their attention to the Champions League. They will travel to Spain to face Real Madrid on Wednesday, 10 December. A classic in recent seasons, this will be the fifth season in a row where Los Blancos have faced the Sky Blues. Their head-to-head is also nearly identical, where Real Madrid have won five matches, drawn five, and lost four against Manchester City. It is expected that this will be quite the fixture.
Following the Champions League game, Manchester City will return to EPL action with a trip to London. They will face Crystal Palace on Sunday, 14 December. The Eagles have challenged the Sky Blues in past seasons, most recently during the 2024/2025 FA Cup Final, where the Londoners defeated the Mancunians. Since then, Palace have performed well during the 2025/2026 season, thus it is expected they will be difficult opponents.
After this EPL game, the Sky Blues will return to the Carabao Cup. Manchester City will host Brentford on Wednesday, 17 December, in the competition’s quarter-final. Should the Sky Blues defeat the Bees, then they would advance to the Carabao Cup Semi-finals. The first leg of the semi-final would be played in January, while the second leg would be played in February.
Finally, Manchester City will conclude the month of December with two EPL games. They will first host West Ham United on Saturday, 20 December. Manchester City will then travel to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday, 27 December.
Overall, the Sky Blues have a series of challenging fixtures in December. Their opponents will put pressure on Manchester City, and failure to earn positive results in these matches could derail the 2025/2026 season for the Sky Blues. Should they be victorious, however, then they could be on their way toward silverware in the latter part of the current campaign. Time will tell how Manchester City will fare during this congested set of matches during the festive period.