By SRTeam Injuries and illnesses have been a major concern for Manchester City this season, especially in defence. They are currently floundering at sixth in the table, and there are just 17 games left before the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
John Stones has missed several crucial games, and some of the other key defensive/defensive midfield players who have also missed important matches through injury or illness are Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Manuel Akanji, Kevin De Bruyne, and Phil Foden.
Others blame Pep’s title defence dreams being in tatters due to poor recruitment strategies, not injury and illness.
Will Manchester City’s defensive frailties continue, and how can manager Pep Guardiola fix their defensive issues without making any transfers? Let’s take a closer look right here.
Can Manchester City’s defensive issues be resolved without making any transfers in the January 2025 transfer window?
Based on recent activity, it looks as though the only solution to Manchester City’s defensive issues is to bring in new players, which means taking advantage of the January transfer window before the cut-off day on Monday, 3 February at 23:00.
Pep and his team have already lined up a few key deals. The squad looks confident up front, but the frequent injuries and illness have been a major concern at the back. Phil Foden has even said that he welcomes the idea of bringing in new players to strengthen the back line.
The two key deals that have already been made in January 2025 are for 18-year-old Brazilian Vitor Reis (central defender) from Palmeiras (Campeonato Brasileiro Série A) and 20-year-old Uzbek footballer Abdukodir Khusanov (defender) from Lens in France’s Ligue 1.
According to reports, these two new defenders have cost Manchester City a combined £63 million. According to other reports, the club are pursuing German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt’s 25-year-old Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush but they haven’t yet reached an agreement to secure him.
The transfer window deadline is fast approaching, so they must act fast if they want to ensure the £70 million star. Some reports also suggest that Manchester City are looking to strengthen their midfield by bringing in one or two new faces.
Can Manchester City win the league this season?
If you want to bet on sports in ZA on Manchester City winning the league, you might want to reconsider because they are only the third odds-on favourites to win the league behind second odds-on favourites Arsenal, and clear odds-on favourites [and league leaders] Liverpool.
That doesn’t mean that Manchester City can’t win the current 2024/25 campaign, but you have to consider what the odds are trying to tell you. As it stands, the average English Premier League ‘outright winner’ betting odds look like this:
- Bet type: 2024/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Liverpool (odds-on favourites). Odds: 7/20, 1.35, -286 (fractional, decimal, and American/moneyline odds). Implied probability rate (IPR): 74.10%
- Bet type: 2024/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Arsenal (second odds-on favourites). Odds: 3/1, 4.00, +300. IPR: 25.00%
- Bet type: 2024/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Manchester City (third odds-on favourites). Odds: 25/1, 26.00, +2,500. IPR: 3.80%
- Bet type: 2024/25 EPL outright winner. Club: Nottingham Forest (fourth odds-on favourites). Odds: 33/1, 34.00, +3,300. IPR: 2.90%
In other words, Liverpool are looking far more likely to win the league this year. A more realistic bet with a better chance of returning you a profit (but still not guaranteed) is for Manchester City to finish in the top four by the end of the season, ensuring them European football next season with automatic qualification for the UEFA Champions League group stage.
For example, at the time of writing, Manchester City are priced at around 1/10 in the fractional odds format to finish in the top 4, which is -1,000 in American/moneyline odds and 1.10 in decimal odds, meaning they have a whopping 90.90% implied probability rate of actually achieving this.
Final thoughts
The defensive issues could be resolved without making any transfers, but that’s only if Manchester City players can stop getting injured or suffering from illnesses. Still, to be on the safe side, Pep will want to shore up his squad and may need to bring in fresh and talented new players as a back-up.
Don’t forget that Manchester City are also still in the Champions League AND the FA Cup, but the chances of them winning the ‘treble’ like they did in the 2022/23 season are highly unlikely.
If you were to bet on this particular market right now, you would be looking at odds of around 500/1 (501.00 or +50,000), meaning they only have a 0.2% chance of winning all three this year.
In comparison, Liverpool are far more likely to achieve this incredible feat at around 14/1 (15.00 or +1,400) with a 6.70% implied probability rate.
The important thing to remember is that anything can happen to upset the odds, meaning that the favourites don’t always win. Also, don’t forget that without prior warning and at any time, the sports betting odds offered by today’s most trusted iGaming operators are subject to change at any time.
Satyakam Pradhan