Man City are one fixture away from their first defining week of the season

The first truly big week of Manchester City's season is beginning to take shape. As we head into a new campaign, there are more questions around Pep Guardiola's side than there have been for a long time.

Their third-place finish last term, defeats to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and Al Hilal in the Club World Cup, and eight new signings in 2025 bring plenty of uncertainty heading into a campaign in which the bookmakers can't really separate Liverpool, Arsenal, and City.

We will get a better understanding of City's state from their opening-day trip to face Wolves at Molineux, and games against Tottenham at the Etihad and Brighton at the Amex will also be good gauges. But then it's worth remembering that City looked good in their first three games in the Club World Cup before collapsing against the Saudi Pro League side.

Every Premier League season has weeks that look defining, at least when the fixtures are announced, and if we want a true assessment of the strength of this City side, then it might come in the middle of September.

On Sunday, September 14, they welcome Manchester United to the Etihad, a fixture that will bring back unwelcome memories from last season. In December, they led Ruben Amorim's ramshackle side 1-0 in the final couple of minutes but conspired to lose the game. It was a sign that the rot had set in deep.

There are even more questions around United than City this season after their dismal campaign last year. They will be without European football, and there might be an expectation they will be more settled in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system, but this game feels like a sizeable litmus test for both teams.

The Champions League returns midweek. As with last season, the first set of league phase games