Manchester City face transition season under Enzo Maresca after Guardiola and Rodri exits
Manchester City are the subject of The Guardian’s Premier League 2026-27 preview published on 18 August 2026, with Enzo Maresca tasked with sustaining the club following Pep Guardiola’s departure and Rodri’s exit to Barcelona.
Maesrca inherits a squad that has lost several key figures, including Rodri, John Stones, Nathan Aké and Bernardo Silva, while Elliot Anderson has arrived for £116m from Nottingham Forest after impressing for England at the World Cup. The new manager’s record includes a Championship title with Leicester and the Conference League and Club World Cup with Chelsea, and he has said the role is “fantastic, nice and exciting, and for me, a privilege,” adding: “First of all, the most important thing has been that Khaldoon [al-Mubarak, the chair], Hugo [Viana, the director of football] and Ferran [Soriano, the chief executive] all speak the same language in terms of this is a club that has to win games, titles and has to compete, but we also talk about how we can continue to make this club better, season after season.”
Rodri’s departure is framed as a sizeable loss after the 30-year-old’s displays in Spain’s triumphant World Cup campaign, with the piece noting he “may be headed for a second Ballon d’Or.” The article also records that the departed Rodri captained his country to the World Cup and was named player of the tournament.
Elliot Anderson’s arrival is presented as both an opportunity and a gamble: signed for £116m from Nottingham Forest, he is described as the “lad from Whitley Bay who could not nail down a starting berth for Newcastle in five years as a senior professional there,” yet showed at the World Cup flashes of a player who can “spray passes long range – Rodri-style – as well as the shorter, metronomic stuff.” The piece states Anderson has a “career-defining opportunity” to run City’s midfield.
Erling Haaland is identified as the likely main source of goals, described as “favourite to claim a fourth Premier League Golden Boot in five seasons,” while Phil Foden’s form is labelled less certain despite a “bumper new contract,” and the article asks whether “the boy from Stockport dovetail with Rayan Cherki” after Cherki made six substitute appearances and one start for France, who lost to Spain in the semi-finals.
The club’s off-field context is set out alongside the footballing questions: City are described as a “best-in-class organisation” but remain subject to “the 130 charges brought against them for alleged breaches of Premier League rules,” with more than three years since the charges were announced and the club “continuing to deny any wrongdoing.” Stadium developments are noted: the Pep Guardiola Stand opened for Guardiola’s final home game last season, taking Etihad capacity to 61,000 from 53,400, and the club has frozen ticket prices for a third consecutive season while 4,000 new flexi season tickets have sold out, half for junior fans, and £10 seats introduced for those living in the five wards around the ground.
Tactical and squad issues are highlighted: Manchester City conceded more league goals from set pieces last season than in the previous two campaigns combined, with the winning goals in their losses at Aston Villa and Newcastle both coming from corners. Maresca’s Chelsea conceded from a set play every three league games, described as “a shade worse than City’s in 2025-26,” and the club’s defensive options include Vitor Reis, who was signed in January 2025 and made four appearances that season — including a substituted debut at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round when hooked at half-time with City trailing 1-0, playing all of the 3-1 victory in the following round, an 89th-minute appearance in the 2-0 league win at Leicester in April, and a full outing in the 2-0 Club World Cup win over Wydad Casablanca that June — and whose last-season loan at City’s sister club Girona ended in relegation, though he “is said to have impressed.”
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips).