Man City season preview 2024-25: 115 FFP charges threaten to overshadow what's happening on the pitch - but champions still have the hunger to make it five titles in a row

The summer after City won the treble, there was a feeling of both loss and renewal, as Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez departed but a whole wave of new signings arrived. But as the new season dawns upon the Etihad Stadium, there is a sense that little has changed since the end of the last campaign.

Savinho is the only new face, and arguably the club's biggest achievements of the summer have been to keep hold of Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson, who both looked likely to leave for Saudi Arabia.

It could well be the last dance for Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne and Kyle Walker, and indeed for Guardiola. And unless City spend some of the money they earned from the Alvarez sale, there is bound to be some trepidation ahead of the new campaign.

There is also some dismay among fans about the hearing over the 115 charges being brought forward. City's results will be questioned with even more fervour than before, while the battle in the courtroom could gain more attention than the action on the pitch.

However, many supporters also relish being the team that everyone loves to hate. If City can win yet another title amid all the noise around them, they will be more than happy.

City have made just one signing so far, bringing in winger Savinho from fellow CFG club Troyes for £31m ($40m). The Brazilian propelled Girona to finish third in La Liga with nine goals and 10 assists and will provide extra competition for Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku on the left wing, although he can also play on the right, as he does for Brazil.

It has been a busy summer of departures. Julian Alvarez has joined Atletico Madrid in a stunning £82m ($105m) move which should lead to City making further signings before the transfer window shuts. Tommy Doyle has joined Wolves permanently for £4m ($5m) after spending last season on loan there.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis has also made a permanent move to Southampton, with City pocketing £20m ($25m) from the deal. Sergio Gomez has moved to Real Sociedad permanently for £8.4m ($10.8m) and Yan Couto, who was on loan at Girona last season, has gone out on loan to Borussia Dortmund.

Kalvin Phillips has joined Ipswich on loan while it remains to be seen whether Joao Cancelo makes another loan move or tries to mend his broken relationship with Guardiola.

City returned to the United States for their pre-season tour looking to capitalise on their stunning growth in North America in recent years as well as warm up for the new campaign.

They were left without many of their first team regulars due to the Copa America and European Championship, leaving Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish as the star attractions. On the pitch, the tour was a mixed bag of results.

City were surprisingly beaten 4-3 by Celtic in their opening game in Chapel Hill, with Haaland scoring but the team looking vulnerable defensively, particularly on the counterattack. Haaland struck again against AC Milan but City were on the losing side once more, going down 3-2 after a sloppy display by Ederson.

Grealish scored and looked lively when City drew 1-1 against Barcelona in Florida before losing on penalties. The tour, at this point, threatened to be a bit of a letdown but City salvaged it by hammering Chelsea 4-2, with Haaland scoring a hat-trick.

City then warmed up for the new season by beating Manchester United on penalties to win the Community Shield after Bernardo Silva had snatched a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

While other football dynasties' lust for winning eventually burns out, Guardiola keeps finding new ways of motivating his players, and keeps on innovating tactically. Last season he reinvented Phil Foden in midfield and turned centre-back Josko Gvardiol into a marauding, free-scoring full-back.

It will be intriguing to see whether he tweaks Erling Haaland's role in the team and asks for him to get more involved in the build-up, as the Norwegian looked static and blunt against the top opponents last season, drawing blanks against Arsenal, Real Madrid and in the FA Cup final defeat by Manchester United.

Guardiola also must find a solution to the departure of Alvarez, who filled in as back-up to Haaland and De Bruyne. There is no clear candidate currently in the squad to take the baton from the Argentine as second striker, although Savinho could be deployed there as City are already well stocked when it comes to left wingers.

Guardiola's use of Grealish will also be one to watch. The coach warned the England winger that he cannot afford another season in the wilderness and he faces fresh competition from Savinho as well as Doku.

City lost just three Premier League games last season and there was a common denominator in each of them: Rodri wasn't playing.

City are blessed with many talismanic players but they have managed to keep winning when the likes of De Bruyne or Haaland have been injured. But when Rodri is missing, they are ever so slightly vulnerable.

The FA Cup final was the first match in any competition that City lost with Rodri in the team for more than 18 months. He performs a twin role of protecting the defence and dictating the team's play. He is also remarkably productive for a defensive midfielder, scoring eight goals and setting up nine in the Premier League last season.

The Spaniard rounded off an incredible season by leading Spain to European Championship glory and he will miss the opening game against Chelsea as a result. But once he returns, City will feel invincible again.

Oscar Bobb looked certain for a big role after a stunning pre-season campaign but hopes that he could become the team's latest emerging star have been rocked by him suffering a bone fracture in his leg and missing up to four months.

Bobb's injury opens up an opportunity for James McAtee to make his name at the club where he has spent half his life. McAtee has been on loan at Sheffield United since 2022 but he had a promising pre-season campaign, scoring against AC Milan and playing well in the Community Shield, hitting the post.

Guardiola expects a lot from him, and told him so. And that is why he has denied him a third loan spell and requested that he stays. "The first games [of pre-season] I didn’t like it much and I told him, 'your impact is not big and I want more'. He is a player who comes from the academy," the coach said.

"He knows all the process and how he moves in the pockets. When you find players in the small spaces that attack the final thirds, have a sense of goal, it is difficult to find these sorts of players.

"McAtee has that quality That’s why I said to [sporting director] Txiki [Begiristain] in the beginning of the season I don't want to loan him or sell him. I need him because I have a specific quality in the small space and McAtee has this ability."

Now McAtee must try and make the most of a bad situation for his team and seize his chance while Bobb is away.

Given how high City have set the bar, anything less than another Premier League title will naturally be seen as a disappointment. But missing out on the crown they have monopolised over the last eight years will be forgiven if City win the Champions League.

It should not be forgotten that they remained unbeaten in the competition, only being knocked out by Real Madrid on penalties in yet another agonising elimination for Guardiola.

Madrid's eventual victory in the final saw Carlo Ancelotti extend his record as the most successful manager in Champions League history with five crowns, two more than Guardiola.

If this is to prove to be the Catalan's final year with City, then he must add another triumph in Europe's top competition to his collection. Just one win in nine seasons with City, with all their wealth and talent, will feel like short change.

Player of the Season: Rodri. The midfield lynchpin is still in a league of his own.

Biggest disappointment: Jack Grealish. There is huge pressure on his shoulders to make things right at City but injuries and relentless competition look like being his undoing again.

Best signing: Savinho. It helps that he is the only signing so far but even so, the Brazilian looks to be a steal.

Top scorer: Erling Haaland. The Norwegian hitman should bag a third consecutive Golden Boot but even if that evades his grasp, no one at his club can come close to his scoring numbers.

European fate: Semi-finals, beaten by Real Madrid again. Los Blancos are City's only real match in the competition but history is always on their side.

League position: First. City just know better than anyone else how to peak at the right time and how to get over the line first.