Are Manchester City Worthy Champions League Favourites?

We are heading towards the end of the Champions League group stage and while games have been played, points have been accumulated and teams have progressed, one thing has stayed the same: before a ball was even kicked, Manchester City were the favourites to win the competition, and that remains the case today.

The losing finalists have seemingly been on the brink of Champions League success for quite some time, standing as either the favourites or extremely close to the head of the betting in the past. This season, their price has remained relatively static as the odds-on favourites, with the latest Space Casino odds showing they are the 59/20 favourites as of November 25th, with other teams such as Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSG and Chelsea trailing close behind as worthy contenders.

For a team that has never won the competition, lost in a final during the last season, and have a tough domestic schedule ahead of them, is this a fair reflection of their chances?

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Will the Pain from Last Season Help?

One of the biggest reasons why many believe that City will finally win the Champions League title they have been chasing is because of precisely what happened last season. Pep Guardiola took his consistent team to the final of the competition, where their hopes were dashed after they were beaten 1-0 by Chelsea.

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The players had been within touching distance of the top prize and that narrow defeat isn't something they'll be wanting to repeat, particularly having proven their worth with a Premier League title win shortly before that fateful match against the Blues.

The Strengths of Manchester City

You need to be a strong team to win the Champions League, and City certainly is that. They have an abundance of talent, and even if they happen to have two or three injuries to members of the first-team squad, they still have more than enough cover to put out a strong team.

They have proven their durability, and their ability to work through a season and play a lot of games. After winning the Premier League in 2020/2021, they went on to make the Champions League final, as well as competing in domestic cup competitions. City played more than 50 games but still looked relatively fresh at the end of the campaign.

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They have a manager in Guardiola who likes to move players around, give them rest when it's needed and play the long game. Of course, the quality of the depth they possess certainly helps with this, however, if City are to win two competitions then they will need to further finesse their skills in order to take the team through their long season.

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Assuming this happens again, and assuming there are no major injury worries for the team to contend with, we can expect to see Manchester City competing for the Champions League title this season. They came as close as they ever have last season, one more step is needed, can they finally take it and land the big European accolade they have been chasing for a decade?