Man City fixtures: Next six games after Sheffield United win puts champions top

Manchester City were made to fight for all three points against newly promoted Sheffield United on Sunday afternoon.

Erling Haaland did no favours for Pep Guardiola’s health as the absent manager watched his star striker drag a first-half penalty against the post. Haaland eventually forced the ball over the line, nodding in City’s 23rd effort of the match.

The Blades struck back through Jayden Bogle but were level for less than four minutes before Rodri crashed City level.

Here’s what lies ahead for the only Premier League side that still boasts a perfect Premier League record this season.

Manchester City have a positive record against most teams in recent years but their meetings with Fulham have been laughably one-sided of late.

Guardiola’s side have beaten the Cottagers 14 times in a row across all competitions. The last time Fulham emerged with a share of the spoils, there was still a Michael Jackson statue outside Craven Cottage.

Before a ball has been kicked, the pattern of the battle on the pitch and in stands between West Ham United and Manchester City is already clear.

While both sets of supporters revel in the novelty of promoting their status as “Champions of Europe”, West Ham will no doubt cede possession and territory to City, biding their time before striking on the counter. Chelsea and Brighton have already discovered how effective this tactic can be.

Theoretically, Manchester City could be drawn into a Champions League group with Real Madrid – last season’s semi-finalists – Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic, champions of Ukraine and Scotland respectively.

The guesswork can end once the balls have been plucked on 31 August.

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Manchester City’s largest win of the 2022/23 Premier League season coincided with Nottingham Forest’s last visit to the Etihad Stadium.

Steve Cooper’s side were responsible for the worst away record across all four of England’s professional tiers last term. The Tricky Trees gave Manchester United an almighty scare when they visited Old Trafford in August but may also emerge empty-handed from their next trip to Manchester.

Ahead of City’s trip to Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, then-Cherries boss Gary O’Neil joked that he would win a “one-v-one” football joust with Guardiola.

The current Wolverhampton Wanderers incumbent, 12 years Guardiola’s junior, made more than 200 Premier League appearances as a midfielder for the likes of Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and West Ham. While Guardiola won the Champions League and six La Liga titles as a Barcelona player, he is still in the early stages of recovering from back surgery, ruling out any chance of testing O’Neil’s confidence.

Manchester City have progressed from the Champions League group stage in each of the past ten seasons.

Since Guardiola’s arrival, City have lost just one first-round match at the Etihad Stadium, suffering a surprise 2-1 reverse against Lyon in 2018 – in fact, that was the last Champions League home game that City have lost at any stage of the competition.

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