One of the great ironies of Manchester City's recent success is that generally speaking they do not start the Premier League season looking like champions.
City have won four of the last five Premier Leagues, but in the past two in particular they have had to work doubly hard further down the line in order to compensate sluggish starts.
In 2020/21 Pep Guardiola's side took just 12 points from a possible 24 in their opening eight league games, a return that left them 11th in the table and eight points off top spot. A 0-2 defeat at Spurs on November 21st was followed by a run of 17 games without defeat, with City eventually winning the title by a 12-point margin.
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Last season began with back-to-back 0-1 defeats to Leicester and Tottenham in the Community Shield and Premier League respectively, with the Blues taking 20 points from a possible opening 30. They then went on a 12-game winning run, before holding off the challenge of Liverpool in the final months of the season.
Players returning late to pre-season due to international commitments, key players starting the campaign injured and other factors contributed to the sluggish starts that City ultimately recovered from. In both seasons City showed that it's not about how you start, but how you finish.
However, if City begin this term in a similar fashion, then it might not be so easy to catch up with the leading pack.
Whereas City had no real title challenger in 2020/21 and only Liverpool last season, this time round there could be at least four sides vying for top spot. Guardiola and Klopp's sides will, of course, be the favourites to go the distance, but Chelsea, Tottenham and
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