Manchester City has enjoyed a lot of success in the modern era but they could be on for their greatest accomplishment of all.
Pep Guardiola’s side have 12 games left to create their biggest piece of history as they could win the Treble consisting of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
A victory over Arsenal on Wednesday would see them move into the driving seat in the title race, while they play Manchester United in the FA Cup and are set to face Real Madrid in a rematch of last season’s Champions League semi-finals.
Given their current relentless form in all competitions, it will be a big ask to derail Guardiola’s bullet train.
As high-speed City steam towards the Treble, Mail Sport’s experts ask if anyone or anything can knock them off track, and compare this effort to United’s trophy hat-trick in 1999.
Pep Guardiola’s side are 12 games from making history as they could secure a famous Treble
Mail Sport’s experts give their verdict on if anyone can stop Man City and how a potential Treble would compare to Manchester United’s trophy hat-trick of 1999 (pictured)
CHRIS SUTTON
Will Manchester City win the Treble? Yes. They will beat Arsenal 3-1 on Wednesday and will not look back in the Premier League.
They will dominate Manchester United in the FA Cup final. And I do not see Real Madrid or either of the Milan teams derailing this Guardiola bullet train in the Champions League, to borrow Oliver Holt’s phrase from his match report on Sunday.
The only problem would be if injuries pile up, or if Guardiola tinkers too much, as he has been prone to do.
But it is all clicking for them and as much as I would like to see Arsenal crowned champions so we can experience something new, the Treble beckons for the City class of 2022-23.
Nevertheless, I still think the Manchester United team of 1998-99 is the greatest in the Premier League era. That was in my last season with Blackburn when injuries were holding me back.
I did not particularly like United, but I still marvelled at their majesty. They were swashbuckling in their style under Sir Alex Ferguson and had that mentality where they would always – always – find a way to win.
City are showing that same attitude and at the end of the season, we will be comparing them to that United team. Albeit, I would still rank them second in the list of the Premier League’s most domineering sides.
Chris Sutton believes Manchester City will go on to accomplish the Treble this season
IAN HERBERT
Improbable though it may sound, I think United could derail City at Wembley, where the very prospect of the Treble will bring colossal pressure.
If City do take the Treble, I would not see it comparing with United in ’99.
Much of that United team was built organically, with Neville, Beckham and Butt at its core.
City’s brilliant team is an assembly of the great football talents – beautiful to watch but a demonstration of what money can buy and deliver, with a world class manager.
A football machine. City in 2023 and United in 1999 are two very different entities.
Manchester United will be keen to derail City’s Treble dream at Wembley to stop their local rivals from matching the Red Devils’ famous achievement back in the 1998-99 season
CHRIS WHEELER
It will take something special to stop Manchester City winning the Treble now. Maybe Arsenal, still.
Or Real Madrid. But Manchester United will just be grateful that they have a say in City’s attempt to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson’s heroes of 1999.
The two Manchester clubs collide in the FA Cup final for the first time, and United may well find themselves in the same situation as they did in 1977 when Tommy Docherty’s underdogs won at Wembley to deny Liverpool the Treble.
Form will go out of the window on June 3 – just as it did 46 years ago.
The title race is not over for Arsenal despite Gunners dropping points in last three matches
PETE JENSON
If anyone can stop City’s Treble it is Real Madrid, in the competition they call their own.
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The prospect of a 15th European Cup has been the focus for Carlo Ancelotti’s side for some time now and league games are just being used to keep everyone’s engines purring.
Veterans such as Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric have all timed their physical peaks perfectly. And young guns such as Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga make Madrid the one Spanish team capable of physically matching Premier League rivals.
The fans are confident, but there are concerns over the first leg coming only three days after the Spanish Cup final, and Eder Militao missing it due to suspension.
Man City will have to get past Real Madrid in the Champions League, who have made the competition their own and are hoping to win the trophy for the 15th time this season
DANIEL MATTHEWS
There is perhaps only one scrap of optimism to be found amid the rubble of Arsenal’s collapse: they now head up to Manchester City with clear minds.
Mikel Arteta and his players know that if they are to maintain any realistic hope of winning the title and scupper City’s Treble bid, victory is their only option. That could cripple this young side. Or it could liberate them.
Arteta’s side have to go for it.
LEWIS STEELE
The biggest obstacle for Pep Guardiola now is Pep Guardiola himself.
The Catalan overthinking his tactics has been well documented in recent years. Guardiola did not play a holding midfielder in the 2021 Champions League final despite one of Rodri or Fernandinho playing 59 of 60 City games that season.
Before Saturday, City had also lost three FA Cup semi-finals in a row with rotated squads – so Guardiola was lucky to be drawn against Championship opposition, Sheffield United this time.
City have been close to Trebles going into May in recent seasons but this year feels different.
They are no longer just an attacking monster but now a defensive juggernaut, too.
If City play to the best of their ability, they are favourites for every match… so why not dream?
Guardiola could be his own biggest obstacle after overthinking big games in recent years