Manchester City FC: Predictions for the Citizens About the Season Ahead

Roberto Mancini's men have started off the season very brightly. Tied for first with local rivals Manchester United, the Blues have been extremely impressive, after having scored several times in only four Premier League games.

Their first win was a fantastic one against Swansea City, where new signing Sergio Aguero scored a brace, and they were top of the table immediately.

The second win was tougher—a 3-2 win away at Bolton, where the game was quite competitive.

The third one, however, was something very special. Away at White Hart Lane, Manchester City absolutely demolished Tottenham in a 5-1 win, with Edin Dzeko scoring four.

And the last win was a 3-0 home result against Wigan, where Sergio Aguero scored a beautiful hat trick.

So that is how things stand for this team right now, and here are some predictions about what will happen later in the season.

New Signings

Owen Hargreaves: The development of wonderfully talented player Owen Hargreaves was stunted as he was plagued by injury at Manchester United. He made his name at Bayern Munich, but upon moving to Old Trafford, he made only 27 appearances in four years. Hopefully for City fans, the Englishman can perform at the Eastlands.

Gael Clichy: Gael Clichy recently moved from Arsenal in a 7 million pound deal that provided Manchester City with a much-needed solid left back. For the Gunners, Clichy was excellent down the left, and provided great crosses, as well as being rock-solid defensively.

Samir Nasri: Nasri is another man who moved from Arsenal to Manchester City. He is one of the best creative midfielders in the EPL, and was nominated for many of last year's Premier League awards. He is a great dribbler, and is very good at finishing.

Sergio Aguero: During this summer's transfer window, Sergio Aguero, a 23-year-old who is considered a player with a bright future, moved to the Eastlands. In his debut with the Citizens, he scored a double. He then scored a hat trick.

Predictions

Hargreaves: Flop

Clichy: Good but not great

Nasri: Great

Aguero: Fantastic

Samir Nasri Will Have the Most Assists in the EPL

Samir Nasri recently moved to the Eastlands from Arsenal, in a deal that caused the Frenchman to go way down in Gooners' minds, due to the lack of respect that Nasri showed towards the Gunners.

At Manchester City, the expectations for him were fairly high, but not really over the top as they have been for several players in the past. However, if the expectations were enormous, they would have been met by Nasri, who is proving to fit in quite well with other City players.

In his first game under Roberto Mancini, which was the one at White Hart Lane, Nasri played a key part in the massacre that took place. Assisting two of Edin Dzeko's four goals and Sergio Aguero's only goal, Nasri must have really enjoyed playing such a huge role in the win, as he was sporting a huge smile throughout the match.

He had another assist against Wigan, as he came on as a sub, and ended up helping Sergio Aguero score a goal.

Of course, he could turn out to only perform well for a few games, but I think that he will prove to be a great signing for many, many matches to come. My prediction is that he will win the non-existant award for most assists in the Premier League.

Champions League

This current Manchester City side has made history, as last year, they finished third after Manchester United and Chelsea to appear in the Champions League for the first time in club history.

They have drawn an extremely tough group—Bayern Munich, Villarreal, and Napoli.

Bayern Munich is the club who made the Champions League final two years ago, after beating Manchester United in the semifinals. Despite the fact that they lost to Internazionale, they proved their quality in that magical run.

Villarreal is considered a second-tier Spanish team, as Real Madrid and Barcelona dominate that league. Villarreal is one of the teams that really play in the shadow of those two, but the players really are very good, after they helped Villarreal finish fourth in La Liga last year.

Napoli proved their worth last season, after finishing third in the Serie A last season. Their great players include Marek Hamsik, Edinson Cavani, and Goran Pandev. They are a very tricky team to face off with.

Even though it will be tough, I think Manchester City will advance into the knockout stages, finishing first in their group.

Sergio Aguero Wins the Golden Boot

Rooney? Van Persie? Tevez? Suarez? Torres? Bent? 

Nope, Sergio Aguero.

This summer transfer window, Roberto Mancini signed Argentinian starlet Sergio Aguero, from Spanish team Atletico Madrid. For Atletico, Aguero really made his name, as he scored 74 goals in 175 appearances.

Aguero is best at playing forward off of the main striker, as he did with Diego Forlan at Atletico Madrid. He is a very speedy player, and he can finish really well. Often likened to compatriots Diego Maradona and Carlos Tevez, "Kun" has something to prove at City.

So far, Aguero has really shown that he is ready to lead the scoring for Manchester City. Scoring a double on his debut against Swansea, one against Tottenham, and three against Wigan, he has really fit in with his new club.

I think that Aguero can continue his goalscoring form throughout the season and, since he's a consistent starter, he will win the EPL Golden Boot.

Edin Dzeko Earns the Reputation of a World Class Striker

Edin Dzeko's move to the Eastlands came with expectations. 

For Wolfsburg, his former team, Dzeko scored 66 goals in 111 appearances, and played a huge role in his team's Champions League success. In fact, he did also win the Bundesliga Players' Footballer of the Year award in 2008-09.

Between January and June of this year, the Bosnian didn't really perform very well. He didn't score too much and he wasn't thought of by Roberto Mancini as a solid starter.

Now, however, Dzeko is off to a great start to the season. As he scored four goals in a game against Tottenham, he showed many qualities that someone must have to prove a good attacker—strength, aerial ability, technique, presence of mind and others.

Maybe he hasn't completely cemented his spot in the Starting 11 for City, but he will definitely start a few matches for them.

Given what he has already shown, I think Dzeko will really prove that he's a fantastic player in the season ahead.

EPL Champions

So far, this team has looked absolutely unstoppable.

Their defense includes Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, and Joleon Lescott. Their midfield and attack have players such as Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Nigel de Jong, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Gareth Barry, and Carlos Tevez.

Joe Hart is solid in goal, too.

In recent years, Manchester City has been a battle of ego, spotlight and selfishness, given that they have so many superstars. Somehow, however, Roberto Mancini has managed to completely turn that around, and now has channeled all of the talent that there is among the superstars into playing together, rather than into fights.

They have started combining as a team, passing very well, and it seems like the relationships within the team have improved a lot.

The other contender for the title is Manchester United, which is coming off 8-2 and 5-0 wins against Arsenal and Bolton, respectively.

After watching them both, though, I think City are the favorite.

They will win the Premier League.

Thoughts?

Those are my predictions for Manchester City's season. Do you agree or disagree with some of them?

How do you think they will do as a team? Do you agree that they will win the Premier League?

Please leave your comments and feedback.