Following a series of frustrations from October 2024 to December 2024, Manchester City seemed to make some progress in January 2025. The Sky Blues won three of their English Premier League matches and drew the remaining fixture. Manchester City also defeated Salford City in the FA Cup’s Third Round, and they have progressed in the competition. Finally, while City were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the month in the UEFA Champions League, the English side earned a much-needed victory against Club Brugge on the final day of the group stage period. The result means that Manchester City will advance to the competition’s new format of the knockout stages.
Now, February 2025 will be another crucial period in City’s season. They will play seven matches across three competitions, two of which will be cup competitions. City will be competing in the EPL, FA Cup, and Champions League. But the upcoming run of fixtures will be very challenging.
Manchester City will start the hectic month with a visit to Arsenal. The Gunners will host the Sky Blues for this EPL match on Sunday, 2 February. The reverse fixture earlier this season was very heated, where both sides played physically in the match. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, and tempers flared after City drabbed a last-minute equalizer. Given what transpired, it is probable that this will be another physical and demanding game.
Manchester City will then remain on the road, where they will face Leyton Orient. The O’s will host the Sky Blues on Saturday, 8 February in the FA Cup’s Fourth Round. This will be their first match this decade. The last time these two sides played one another was during the 1965/1966 season in League Two. Their last meeting ended in a 2-2 draw. Much has transpired since that event, where City are now a dominant force in the EPL while the O’s compete in League One. Despite these differences, the Sky Blues will take the match seriously.
Following the FA Cup fixture, Manchester City will return home for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League’s new knockout phase play-off. Having finished outside of the top eight places in the new Champions League table, the Sky Blues will be forced to play an additional two matches. The winner on aggregate will then progress to the competition’s Round of 16. City and Real have a lot of history in the tournament, where they have faced each other in the knockout stages in four of the previous five Champions League seasons. Madrid won the latest encounter last season, where Los Blancos won on penalties after the aggregate was tied after two matches.
After this match, Manchester City will remain at home. They will face Newcastle United in the EPL. The Sky Blues will host the Magpies on Saturday, 15 February. This matchup has become entertaining in recent fixtures, where the games are tightly contested. History suggests that this will be another difficult match for the hosts.
Following the EPL fixture against Newcastle, Manchester City will return to Champions League action, where they will travel to Real Madrid. The Sky Blues have recently earned important results on the road against Los Blancos in recent seasons. Should the English side hope to progress to the Champions League’s Round of 16, they will need to earn a result in Spain. Time will tell how the fixture will unfold.
Manchester City will then conclude the month of February with two EPL fixtures. Of these two matches, they will first host Liverpool on Sunday, 23 February. The Reds currently lead the league table and they show no signs of faltering. Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have struggled this season. Liverpool last won at the Etihad in the EPL in November 2015, and they will hope to earn a victory at this ground. Meanwhile, Manchester City will aim to keep pace with their opponents so that they can secure a top-four finish.
The Sky Blues will then conclude February 2025 on the road. They will face Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, 26 February. This will be a difficult encounter as City have historically struggled on this ground. Out of their eight meetings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Manchester City have only won two of them. They have lost the remaining six. City have also scored only four goals in these eight matches, where the goals came in City’s three most recent games at the ground. It is predicted that City will find themselves in a challenging environment once again.
In short, February 2025 appears to be one of Manchester City’s most difficult run-ins this season. If Manchester City have any hope of winning a trophy this season, they will need to deliver in these matches. Otherwise, they will find themselves in trouble. If results do not go in their favour, then they could find themselves further outside of the top four places in the league, and they could possibly be eliminated from the FA Cup and the Champions League this season.
City will need to give it their all this month. It may just save their season.