Manchester City may have suffered a cruel penalty shootout loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield, but they can still collect a record six-trophy haul in the upcoming season.
City’s treble last season may have seemed like the pinnacle as they finally conquered Europe, but this campaign they could achieve even more.
A player worthy of the trophy 🥰#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/C6r7Gmpprw
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 11, 2023
The Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League will all be up for grabs again, but City will have the opportunity to scoop the Carabao Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and even become FIFA World Champions in 2023/24.
No team in England has ever won the quadruple of the typical treble in addition to the Carabao Cup.
This year City have the chance to better what they achieved last season, and they could even add a couple of exclusive trophies as well.
The Premier League picture
City will unsurprisingly be favourites to win the Premier League title for the fourth successive time this season and they have also arguably improved since last season.
In the English Premier League winner odds, City are offered at 8/11 to once again maintain their crown.
Pep Guardiola’s ambitions of winning the 2023/24 league title have been strengthened by City’s strong recruitment over the summer transfer window.
Former Chelsea man Mateo Kovacic is an excellent replacement for Ilkay Gundogan and a replacement for Riyad Mahrez surely awaits before the culmination of the transfer window too.
In Riyad Mahrez's final season at Man City, he…
— Squawka (@Squawka) July 28, 2023
◉ Scored the first FA Cup semi-final hat-trick at Wembley
◉ Became the African player with the most assists in PL history
◉ Became the African player with the most titles in PL history
And won the treble. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4ZaF4RGs13
The Sky Blues have improved on what was already the strongest team on the planet.
The only question is how suited their rivals are in order to challenge their ambitions.
Arsenal looks best prepared to go head-to-head with City in the league, and their experience of coming so close last season will surely have benefited them.
It is difficult to see anyone stopping Guardiola’s team, but if anyone is to cause an upset it will surely be former City assistant Mikel Arteta.
The Champions League
City showed that last season they are no longer fazed when playing against Europe’s elite.
There were no signs of mental fragility even in the huge ties against record UCL winners Real Madrid on the road to Istanbul.
Guardiola’s team’s biggest opposition has always been themselves and in past years they had a tendency to throw ties due to letting the pressure get the better of them.
However, City’s UCL triumph against Inter Milan signified that the team have turned a corner, they are in the process of securing a place in the European elite for themselves.
Most teams across Europe are in a transitional period, and surely nobody will have the tools to prevent City from becoming back-to-back champions at Wembley in June.
The other competitions
The domestic cup competitions have been dominated by the club ever since Guardiola’s arrival.
Other clubs like Arsenal may struggle to maintain a challenge across all four fronts due to their jump up to the UCL, but City have the experience and the mentality to aim for victory in every single competition that they partake in.
The UEFA Super Cup offers an opportunity for City to gain an early season honour, as they will face Sevilla in Greece.
Perhaps the biggest honour available this season will be the FIFA Club World Cup.
City will compete against the best teams from all of the continents around the world in Saudi Arabia in December.
City could achieve so many significant feats in 2023/24: four-time back-to-back league winners, double UCL winners, and even FIFA World Club Cup Champions.
But most significantly, last year’s historic treble could be doubled to a remarkable sextuple in 2024.
Featured image credit: Richard Matthews via Flickr under CC BY 2.0 licence
