Going for gold: Examining Manchester City's quest for back-to-back trebles

When Manchester City lifted the Champions League trophy in Istanbul last June, it represented the culmination of a project that began in 2008 and has now completely reshaped the footballing landscape.

No European team has ever won back-to-back continental trebles – the Champions League, their domestic title and main cup competition – but City’s dominance of English football in recent seasons demonstrates that if any team can manage such a historic feat then it may well be Pep Guardiola’s.

Ahead of Friday's quarter-final draw for the Champions League, the Citizens are now a general 10-1 chance to retain the three prizes they plundered so memorably last term. They are favourites to again win Europe's top club prize, the Premier League and FA Cup, and the next couple of days will be pivotal to their chances.

City will be the team that everyone wants to avoid in the Champions League draw and on Saturday evening they entertain Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

And City will feel they have a score to settle with the Magpies, who knocked last season's treble winners out of the EFL Cup in September, ending any dreams Guardiola harboured of going one better than the 2022-23 season.

The two teams have suffered contrasting fortunes since that meeting at St James' Park, however. Whereas City are chasing history, Newcastle are only tenth in the Premier League and have already crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup in a campaign blighted by injuries on Tyneside.

Manchester City are just 1-12 to continue on the road to Wembley on Saturday and 11-8 to win an eighth FA Cup.

Injuries have afflicted many teams in the Premier League this season but City have not fared as bad as some of their title rivals, with Kevin De Bruyne's knee injury at the start of the season their most pertinent absence.

However, Guardiola may need to rely on back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega during the run-in after Brazilian number one Ederson suffered an injury when giving away a penalty in Sunday’s pulsating 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

That likely final meeting between Guardiola and his managerial nemesis Jurgen Klopp means the title race remains on a knife edge, with just a single point separating Arsenal, Liverpool and City.

Despite sitting third and a point adrift of the Gunners, the defending champions are 6-5 favourites to retain their crown, which is a reflection of their impressive track record of getting the job done down the stretch.

The Citizens have won five of the last six Premier League titles and it took Liverpool winning 26 of their first 27 games to stop them during 2019-20 season.

A relentless pursuit of their challengers from January onwards has been a recurring theme of City's Premier League successes under Guardiola. However, the Spanish maestro has never had to fend off two challengers at once during his time at the Etihad and City's home clash with Arsenal in a couple of weeks will be a huge moment in the title race.

While domestic success has almost been a given under Guardiola's watch, it took the Citizens until last term to finally get their hands on the ultimate prize, the Champions League trophy.

After a series of near-misses, City finally struck gold with victory over Inter in last season's final and they are 7-4 to repeat the feat at Wembley in June.

The quarter-final line-up for Europe’s premier club competition is typically strong with seven of the first nine clubs in the ante-post betting reaching the last eight.

The Premier League has provided seven of the last 12 finalists and three of the last six winners of the Champions League, and as a result bookmakers rate Arsenal as 4-1 second-favourites behind City, demonstrating the strength of English teams on the continental stage. To illustrate that point further, Liverpool are favourites to win the Europa League and Aston Villa head the betting for Europa Conference League.

A European Super League has yet to get the green light but the continent’s power lies firmly with Premier League clubs right now, and one team above all others is leading the way.

Back-to-back continental trebles may simply confirm what many already suspect: it’s Manchester City’s world and we’re just living in it.

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