Soccer
Club legend has high hopes for Manchester City at FIFA Club World Cup
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Manchester City can put their trophyless season behind them this week when they kick off their .
Pep Guardiola's side head into the newly revamped competition not only as the holders, having won the competition in its previous guise, but also as one of the favourites to take home the trophy this time around.
It's a view shared by former City hero Paul Dickov, who spoke exclusively to DAZN News courtesy of BestBettingSites.com.
Dickov is expecting Guardiola's men to do very well out there, but knows it won't be easy given the calibre of sides involved.
Pep Guardiola's side head into the newly revamped competition not only as the holders, having won the competition in its previous guise, but also as one of the favourites to take home the trophy this time around.
It's a view shared by former City hero Paul Dickov, who spoke exclusively to DAZN News courtesy of BestBettingSites.com.
Dickov is expecting Guardiola's men to do very well out there, but knows it won't be easy given the calibre of sides involved.
He said, "I've obviously got my blue-tinted glasses on. I'm hoping they do very well. If you look at them from the start of the year, if they'd done a league table from January to the last game of the season, Man City would have been top.
"People talk about what a poor season they’ve had, and generally it’s not been great, but they’ve been in much better form of late. Added to that, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias will be coming in on a high from winning the Nations League.
"Hopefully, there'll be the three new signings, and then the players on international duty will be fresh and raring to go. The squad's going to be looking really strong, and there's no reason why they can't go out and win it, but it's going to be tough.
"Look, we've got Real Madrid in there. You've got PSG, Inter Milan - Champions League finalists. You put Chelsea in there as well. There's a long list of top teams in there that could possibly win it. But if you're asking me, can Man City go and win it, 100 per cent they can."
Since the end of the season, City have already drafted in four new faces as they look to freshen up a squad that fell short last season. With Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli all signed in time to play in the States.
Now the tournament gives Manchester City a final shot at a trophy in 2025, and despite some concerns about how the manager may treat the Club World Cup, Dickov believes that the Spaniard will be raring to go when they kick off against Wydad next week.
Adding, "Pep wants to win every single tournament he's involved in, whether that be the Carabao Cup, the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League. He's a serial winner. He's a born winner. I think, especially after not winning anything last season, going into the Club World Cup, there's a real opportunity to win a trophy.
"It's the first one there's ever been with this extended format, so we could create history again, which they've done a lot over the last few years. At the same time as well, it'll give them a massive boost of confidence going into the new season. So when they're out there, Man City will want to win it, 100 per cent. The players are winners themselves.
"They're all disappointed they didn't win anything last season and this gives them a chance to get another medal, another trophy on the board, which is what they want."
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