Manchester City preview: Five key questions heading into 2026-27 season

For the first ⁠time in a decade, Manchester ⁠City head into a season without manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline.

The Spaniard’s departure closes the most successful chapter in the club’s history, a period that delivered six Premier League titles, a Champions League crown and ⁠transformed City into the dominant force in English football.

His successor, Enzo Maresca , inherits a squad led by Norway striker Erling Haaland and packed with elite talent, but faces the formidable challenge of following a legendary manager.

As City kick off their league campaign at home to Bournemouth on Sunday, here are the five biggest questions for the new season.

Maresca inherits a club that has been shaped entirely around one manager’s philosophy for a decade. Pundits have already drawn comparisons to Manchester United’s unravelling after Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.

Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant during the treble season and has since built his own reputation at Leicester and Chelsea, so his appointment is not a total leap of faith.

The attraction of Maresca is continuity – City have ‌not sought a radical departure from Guardiola’s football philosophy.

The expectation is that City will look familiar in possession, but Maresca must also establish his own identity quickly.