Manchester City Club World Cup Preview: Guardiola learns from his mistakes and waits for the Blue Moon to stage the return of the king in the United States

As one of the favorites to win the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, Manchester City was assigned to Group G, and their opponents in the same group include Juventus, Moroccan team Casablanca Vidard and UAE team Ain. Judging from the overall strength, there is almost no suspense in the promotion of the Blue Moon Legion. The question is - after just experiencing a frustrated season where "the four majors are gone", can Guardiola lead the team to rebound strongly in this important international competition?

Guardiola's chance to save him is here

Last season was a rare "grainless" season in Guardiola's coaching career. Although he has dominated the Premier League for four consecutive years (2020/21 to 2023/24), he has not won a single championship in the 2024/25 season. This is his second "Zero Champions League" season since he took over Manchester City (the first time in the 2016/17 season).

There are many reasons for the decline in performance: Rodri's long-term injury, De Bruyne's decline in form, fatigue caused by multi-line combat, etc. But now is not the time to shirk responsibility. With the Club World Cup about to start, Manchester City has an excellent opportunity to regain confidence and reshape their image.

If they can win the championship successfully like in 2023, they will prove to the world that this super giant that once swept Europe cannot be underestimated.

Looking back at the 2023 Club World Cup, Manchester City, who participated as the Champions League champion, showed overwhelming strength. They beat Japanese team Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 in the semi-finals, and defeated Brazilian team Fruminense in 4 goals in the final, winning the first Club World Cup trophy in team history. This score also tied the record for the biggest score difference in the Club World Cup final set by Barcelona in 2011.

Now, Manchester City has embarked on its journey again, and the whole team is eager to regain its glory.

The Blue Moon qualifies for almost no suspense

According to Opta supercomputer prediction, Manchester City has a probability of breaking through the group stage with a maximum of 97.2%. Among the 32 participating teams, no team has such a high probability of promotion.

This is not an exaggeration. The three teams in the same group as Manchester City - Juventus, Vadard and Ain cannot compete with them in terms of strength.

Although Juventus is still a traditional Italian force, it ranked fourth in Serie A last season and failed to win any championship title. What is even more disappointing is that coach Mota was fired in less than a season and was taken over by Tudor.

As for Vidard, they are one of the most successful clubs in Morocco, winning 22 domestic league titles, but currently ranked only 365th in the world. Moreover, the core player they won the African Champions League three years ago has already left the team.

, while Ain from the UAE ranks 611th on the list, which is almost negligible.

In other words, as long as Manchester City performs normally, the first place in the group is almost the best.

In order to welcome the new season, Manchester City has made frequent moves in the transfer window this summer, signing several new players:

Renne Art Nuri (backer) | Transfer fee 36 million pounds

Renne Cherki (midfielder) | Transfer fee 34 million pounds

Tijani Reindez (midfielder) | Transfer fee 46 million pounds

Marcus Betinelli (goalkeeper) | Free signing, from Chelsea

Except Betinelli is only introduced as a substitute goalkeeper, the other three players are plug-and-play strong players, further enhancing Manchester City's depth and competitiveness in key positions.

Of course, how to integrate these new faces into the existing tactical system will be one of the challenges that Guardiola faces. After all, the running-in period often takes time, especially in a high-intensity international event.