Kicking off with Kevin De Bruyne’s belief City can triumph in all competitions this year.
As quoted by Goal, the Belgian – who is in ‘blue hot’ form – insists the Blues have the quality to complete a clean sweep of silverware, as he wishes to add to his Capital One Cup success of 2016.
“I know I can’t win by myself,” he declared. “I can play very good, like I did another season, but I’d prefer even to play less [well] and in the end, have some titles.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve just won a League Cup. It’s time to win something major. My feeling is: we can win everything.
“That’s not to say we’re going to win everything. It’s so hard to do everything, the four competitions.”
Meanwhile, former City defender Sylvinho has told press he has been pleasantly surprised by the Blues’ progress since his spell at the Club.
He explained to Goal: “Manchester City operate in a very complicated competition like the Premier League, where there is a rush to get results.
“What they have done is spectacular because it is a team with a lot of money that has not taken long to understand that money is not everything in football. They have managed to maintain the project over time and they have been growing season by season.
“I did not expect everything to go so well. This team is very serious, that is without question.
“Chelsea were already an impressive team before the arrival of [Roman] Abramovich, there was [Gianluca] Vialli and [Gianfranco] Zola, among many others, and they improved noticeably.
“But City, which was a much more modest club, has experienced remarkable change.
“They are people with patience who understand football. Hopefully they can translate this management into important titles because they deserve it.”
Elsewhere, attentions turn to today’s clash at Huddersfield, as the Manchester Evening News suggest Nicolas Otamendi can assert himself as a leader.
Writes Simon Bajkowski: “For too long, Manchester City have been reliant on Vincent Kompany.
“Understandably so - the captain is so full-blooded in the team that it only takes a few minutes to forget about months of absence, and he is usually needed to return to organise the rest of the defence.
“His presence at Leicester was reassuring, but this winning run may have gone some way to spread the pressure.
“John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi have stepped up in a big way. The Englishman has enjoyed most of the credit as he endured most of the criticism last year, yet Otamendi’s improvement can’t be ignored.
“Against Feyenoord alongside Eliaquim Mangala he led the team as the senior defender in the back four.
“While Pep Guardiola isn’t too fussed over who has the captain’s armband, City could have two leaders in their backline with Otamendi and Kompany together.”
Finally, there’s a snippet of transfer gossip as the Metro report City are to be pipped to the signing of Hamburg starlet Jann-Fiete Arp.
An article reads: “The 17-year-old, who has made four league appearances this term, only signed his first professional deal earlier in the year but is already being tipped for a major move.
“Rated as one of the most promising talents in Germany, he was strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge last summer but eventually decided to stay put to develop his game.
“Premier League champions Chelsea have kept tabs on his performances this season and believe they are closing in a deal for the striker despite strong interest from Arsenal and Man City, according to the Daily Mirror.”
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