This will be Pep's biggest test – can Man City win it all again?

This will be Pep Guardiola’s biggest test – After winning a historic Treble with Man City last term, can he do it again in 2023-24?

• Since Pep Guardiola’s arrival at Manchester City he has won five League titles 
• His champions now face the challenge of winning a fourth successive crown 
• Click here to watch Mail Sport’s brand new show ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ in full 

No sooner had Manchester United secured the first Treble by an English club in 1999 than Dwight Yorke knocked on Sir Alex Ferguson’s door and asked for a year off. It was a joke, but Yorke had a serious point to make.

The former United striker said recently: ‘I just thought, “What else is there to do now?” What more could we possibly do as a team? Yeah, you can repeat the feat, but if you don’t repeat it you are deemed a failure.’

It has taken 24 years for another club to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in one season. You would have got good odds back in Yorke’s day on it being Manchester City.

So times have changed and football has changed but some things remain the same, and the issue of motivation, drive and hunger is one of them.

Ferguson may look back on that time almost a quarter of a century ago as his greatest achievement in the game.

Dwight Yorke (centre) asked Sir Alex Ferguson (left) for a year off after winning the Treble

Pep Guardiola’s Man City side face a tough battle if they are to match their achievements from last season

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However, the fact that his team lifted themselves again the following year to retain their league title by a margin of 18 points says everything about the spirit that ran through the heart of that dressing room back then.

And this is City’s challenge now. It’s nothing more or less than this. Can they move forward from the arcing highs of last season and become the first team to win the top-flight title, the one that matters to English clubs year on year, four seasons in succession?

From a distance, it already seems like an enormous ask. Competing on multiple fronts is sapping work, physically and mentally. Liverpool tried it — with less success — in 2021-22 and the impact of that was undoubtedly felt last season. And crucially, and for the first time in a long time, City haven’t improved their squad this summer.

Since defeating Inter Milan in Istanbul last June, Pep Guardiola has lost his captain, Ilkay Gundogan, and Riyad Mahrez. Kyle Walker may yet follow.

Incomings at this stage have been limited to Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and his Croatia team-mate, defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.

So if City are to reach last season’s heights, it seems as though they will once again require stellar seasons from the likes of Erling Haaland, John Stones and Jack Grealish. That is not as easy as it sounds.

In short, the door may be open for others in the Premier League this season. The wider question is whether there is anybody out there good enough to walk through it and take a trophy that has worn sky-blue ribbons for five of the last six seasons.

The truth is that City do occupy a level all of their own, in terms of quality, depth and consistency. So as much as they could be forgiven for taking half a step back this season, it will still require somebody else to take a whole step forwards to go past them.

If City are to reach the heights of 2022-23 they must rely on stellar performances from the likes of Jack Grealish

Erling Haaland was the star of the show after scoring 36 Premier League goals in 35 games

City’s biggest rivals last term, Arsenal, have spent big money including a £105m deal for Declan Rice

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal have spent big money. In Declan Rice, the north London club have bought guaranteed improvement. Kai Havertz, stolen from Chelsea, already feels like cover. Mikel Arteta still lacks a top goalscorer, though.

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At Anfield, Liverpool have the feel of a club and a team that could go absolutely anywhere over the next nine months.

If they take further steps backwards, it may well be that we witness the premature end of the Jurgen Klopp era.

Up front, Liverpool have rebuilt formidably in recent times. But the questions will continue to revolve around a defensive unit that was not fit for purpose last season and, as such, Klopp will need Virgil van Dijk back to his best.

Early signs of adaptation from two midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai will also be required as Liverpool seek to move on from the departure of big names and, indeed, big voices such as Fabinho and former captain Jordan Henderson.

Klopp and Liverpool will not lack motivation. They will have to find a way to cope with Thursday night Europa League football, though, which is something Manchester United can at least put behind them after last season’s third-place finish.

At Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag continues to look like a manager who knows what he’s doing but for two big outfield signings — Mason Mount and the 20-year-old Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund — to close a gap between United and City that stood at 14 points last time round feels like a significant task. 

United also have a change of goalkeeper for the first time since Ferguson’s days and that is a change that traditionally can take a team one way or the other. For Andre Onana, the replacement for David de Gea, the challenge will be enormous.

Outside of all this, Newcastle’s first season in the Champions League for two decades will be fascinating to watch. Trying to maintain their league trajectory after last season’s efforts will represent manager Eddie Howe’s greatest challenge.

At Chelsea, we welcome back Mauricio Pochettino and, though we have missed a talented and charismatic coach that we consider one of our own, how he picks up the pieces of owner Todd Boehly’s reckless first season in charge remains to be seen. Pochettino is a football manager, not a magician.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will not lack for enthusiasm but must contend with the Europa League

Erik ten Hag looks like a manager who knows what he is doing but may need more than two outfield signings

Mauricio Pochettino will make his Premier League return for Chelsea as they face Liverpool

Similarly, Ange Postecoglou has puzzles to solve in his first season at Tottenham. It will be interesting to see how the gifted midfielder James Maddison takes to a step up in level, but that signing will need to be supplemented by two or three more if Harry Kane does indeed leave for Bayern Munich. If Postecoglou manages to get Tottenham back into the top four, it will be some achievement.

At least it is not that short-term megalomaniac Antonio Conte at the wheel, though. Anything must be better than that. As always at this time of year, we look for signs of somebody breaking from the pack. 

Aston Villa and Brighton seem best placed for that. Unai Emery’s fine work at Villa last season has been rewarded not only by what seems like the green light to choose his own sporting director — the Spaniard Monchi arriving from Emery’s former club Sevilla — but also by three significant signings, the most intriguing being the ball-playing defender Pau Torres from Villarreal.

Rob Edwards’ Luton Town look ill-equipped to survive in the Premier League after promotion

Roy Hodgson is back in charge of Crystal Palace, which could see little change at Selhurst Park

Man City could become the first team in history to win four Premier Leagues on the trot

Brighton, meanwhile, have spent the summer fighting off interest in their best players. There is nothing new in that, however, and in Roberto De Zerbi they have one of the smartest coaches in the Premier League. Further down, it is hard not to fear for the likes of Everton and West Ham, while we feel we know what we will get from Crystal Palace now that Roy Hodgson is back. Pencil them in for 14th already.

Could Everton go down at last? They really could. Their squad is no better than last season. West Ham, meanwhile, will be in all sorts of trouble if tensions surrounding manager David Moyes are not resolved.

The good news for those already fretting about their team’s Premier League safety is that two of the promoted teams — Luton and Sheffield United — look ill-equipped to survive. We can expect both of those two to go down and, at a squeeze, Manchester City to win the league once more.

It is tough finding the energy to go again after Treble success but, as Yorke and United showed all those years ago, it helps when your team and your manager are a good bit better than everybody else’s.

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