Can City Actually Win the Quadruple & What are the Odds?

No football team in English history has ever before completed the quadruple, with Manchester United coming the closest in 1999, winning three trophies. Their local rivals, Manchester City, have a chance to write history this season, with Pep Guardiola’s side currently priced at 10/1 to pick up the Premier League, Champions League and both domestic cups.

The four-time Premier League champions look certain to add a fifth this year, as they currently boast a 10-point lead over United on an 18-win streak in all competitions. A League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur has also been confirmed, as they look to win the trophy for a fourth season running.

The FA Cup and, more importantly, the Champions League are both reaching their latter stages and with City still firmly in both, many are looking to this squad to cement their names in English football history.

One of the major factors in City’s favour is their ridiculous squad depth. Guardiola has stated in the past that his aim was always to be able to name two starting XIs that could compete, and that is what he has done.

The main focus for most top sides is the league title, then the Champions League. We have seen throughout his career that Guardiola loves to sweep up the domestic cups too, with City winning four League Cups in five years under the Catalan’s leadership. With the Citizens already in the final, they can focus their attention on other competitions, where they face Everton in the FA Cup, after their round of 16 tie against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Their impressive squad depth – which can see the likes of Aymeric Laporte, Bernando Silva and Riyad Mahrez miss out – will give City the opportunity to rotate their side without weakening, which will stand them in good stead as they continue to compete on four fronts. Legendary striker Sergio Aguero has hardly featured this season, with the hope that he could be saved until the run-in, so his return in the big Champions League games, as well as Cup finals will be crucial.

The ultimate expectation when Guardiola was appointed City manager in 2016 was that he would deliver the club their first Champions League title. So far, however, the Sky Blues have failed to even get past the quarter-finals, which should be seen as an underachievement, considering the resources they possess.

In this season's competition, no side has yet staked their claim to being huge favourites, with Paris Saint-Germain’s 4-1 away win over Barcelona the biggest message sent so far. Bayern Munich and Liverpool don’t look as dominant as they did last season, Barcelona and Juventus are on the cusp of a round of 16 exit and Real Madrid look like a shadow of their former selves.

On the contrary, City are now on a run of 19 consecutive wins in all competitions after taking a 2-0 lead in their round of 16 tie with Borussia Monchengladbach and they are currently looking like the best team in Europe. Even when missing their star man, Kevin De Bruyne, the Premier League leaders have managed to maintain this bullish form, with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden stepping up in his absence.

City remain the favourites at 11/4, ahead of the ruthless champions, Bayern Munich.

All hopes of a historic quadruple could be over by the 20th of March, as they face an Everton side who will be boosted by their first win away at Liverpool for 22 years. Of course, there is plenty of time between now and the FA Cup quarter-finals, but the mood at Goodison Park will not have been this high in quite some time, so it is down to the experienced Carlo Ancelotti to channel that into a good run of form going into their clash with City.

Another serial winner that City must conquer on their way to four trophies is Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager has won the competition four times and will be hoping to bring some much-needed silverware to Tottenham, following a poor run of form in the league. Despite City’s quest for the quadruple, this game is more important for Tottenham Hotspur and for Mourinho, who was brought in to bring the north London club trophies, especially with their talismanic striker Harry Kane eager to win his first career honour.

Over in Europe, City are still going to have to potentially meet Bayern, who proved against Lazio that they are still in the red hot form on the continent that won them the treble last year. Whilst Bayern are the second-favourites for the Champions League crown, the likes of Leroy Sane, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and co. are near impossible to beat on top form, and should the two meet at some stage, it'll take a bold man to predict the outcome.

By Luke Feather