Man City odds: Ways to back The Cityzens in the 2026/27 season

The times they are a-changin’ at the Etihad, with legendary manager Pep Guardiola calling time on a trophy-laden decade with the club. Under the Spaniard, Manchester City have been the dominant force in English football, winning the Premier League title six times in ten seasons and 17 domestic trophies in total.

Enzo Maresca takes over, however, with the club having finished 13 and 7 points behind the last two champions – Liverpool and Arsenal – respectively. The Italian has some work to do to bring the Cityzens back to the very top, but looking at the latest Man City odds before the start of the season, the bookies clearly feel they’ll still be firmly in the conversation.

Besides those odds on Man City to win the league, there are plenty of other ways you can back them over the course of the campaign – and we’ll explore some of those in this article.

Odds on Man City to win the league

Heading into the new season, here is lie of the Premier League land according to the bookies:

• Arsenal – 6/5 with BOYLE Sports
• Man City – 7/2 with Betfred 
• Liverpool – 6/1 with Sky Bet
• Man United – 8/1 with bet365
• Chelsea – 9/1 with BetVictor

*Odds correct as of 21st August, and are subject to change.

Defending champions Arsenal are the favourites to defend their title, which they were unable to do on the three previous occasions they won it. The margin is very slight, however.

City were, at one point, threatening to pip them to the crown once again last season – just as they did in 2023 and 2024. The momentum appeared to be with Guardiola’s side after Erling Haaland netted the winner in their summit meeting in mid-April. Dropped points at Everton and Bournemouth later that month however, handed the advantage back to The Gunners, who held their nerve to secure a first title in 22 years.

City’s response, inevitably, was to break their club record transfer fee – splashing £115 million on Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson. Arsenal, however, have also been making moves, with Newcastle’s Bruno Guimarães recently arriving in North London. 

Both squads are looking strong, and both can now boast title-winning know-how. They should, once again, be the main two going the distance. Liverpool, Chelsea and – to a lesser extent – Manchester United are all in a period of transition having also appointed new managers.

In addition, BOYLE Sports are currently offering their customers – both new and existing – an outright offer for the Premier League whereby their pick for the title winner can score them £5 in free bets each time they win a league game in August or September! All you need to do is place a £20 bet on Manchester City to win the league (or any other team) before the season starts.

How Man City can reclaim the Premier League crown

City winning a Premier League title – or indeed any trophy – will never be an outlandish thought given how much they’ve won in recent years and the sheer amount of investment ploughed into them. Here are some of the reasons to believe in them.

Man City’s current squad and manager

When you’ve got Erling Haaland who, in his worst season in England, still scored 22 Premier League goals, you’ve always got a chance. His supporting cast, however, has changed somewhat in the past couple of seasons. 

Jeremy Doku found a rich vein of goalscoring, and goal creating, form at the end of the season, while Antoine Semenyo arrived from Bournemouth in January and took to life in Manchester like a duck to water. 

One player who City seemed to rely on more than most was anchoring midfielder Rodri, who missed almost the entire 2024/25 season with a cruciate ligament tear. City suffered a remarkable collapse after the Spaniard was sidelined.

He also missed several games last season with various knee and hamstring issues, but came back to play a major role in helping his country win the World Cup in the summer – winning the Golden Ball. Now, however, City are having to fend off interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid for his services.  

There is plenty for new manager Enzo Maresca to work with. The Italian was Guardiola’s assistant during the 2022/23 treble-winning season, and has had his eye on this job for some time – which more than likely led to his explosive exit from Chelsea last season. After that success working with Pep, Maresca led Leicester to the Championship title in 2024, before moving to Stamford Bridge.

Fans of those two clubs, however, haven’t always been satisfied with the style of play on show. Here, though, he’ll be working with players he already knows. The transition shouldn’t be too difficult.

Transfer activity – ins and outs

Anderson remains the one truly significant addition so far this summer. French winger Mathys Detourbet was signed from Troyes, and immediately loaned back to a Ligue 1 side – Monaco. 17-year-old Jeremy Monga is an exciting talent, but he is certainly one for the future and will likely also head out on loan a couple of times before getting serious game time at the Etihad.

In terms of outgoings, not only did City say goodbye to their legendary manager, but they have also let go of the man who scored the goal to win them the Champions League in 2023 – Rodri, who has joined Barcelona for a fee in the region of £60-65m.

The Spanish midfielder won the Golden Ball at the World Cup as he led his nation to glory, and even with City’s embarrassment of riches, they have found it impossible to replace him when he’s been out injured in recent seasons.

Two fellow Pep-era stalwarts have also departed. Centre back John Stones arrived during the same summer as Guardiola, while Bernardo Silva joined the year after.

Stones had fallen down the pecking order at centre back, behind Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol and – more recently – England teammate Marc Guéhi. Silva, meanwhile, had reportedly decided to let his contract run down a couple of years ago. 

Key fixtures in the 2026/27 season

Man City and Arsenal will lock horns in the Community Shield this weekend but after that, City’s campaign will begin against the side who ended their hopes of reclaiming the title just a few months ago – Bournemouth.

We don’t have to wait long for the first Manchester derby of the season, with the Old Trafford leg taking place on 13th September. City lost there in January, and it helped Arsenal open up a significant lead at the top. They then head to Anfield just after the extended international break which was one place where even Guardiola rarely tasted success. 

The games against Arsenal, however, are what fans of both sides will be circling in bright highlighter pen. They meet at the Emirates in late November and at the Etihad in late January in an unusually early return fixture.

Should the title race go the distance, City finish the season hosting Aston Villa and then going on the road to Sunderland with games against Liverpool and at Chelsea just before those. 

Man City odds in other outright markets

Even if Man City don’t end what is a Premier League title drought (by their standards), there are other ways you can back the Cityzens in outright bets this coming season.

Man City trophy multiples

In ten seasons under Pep Guardiola, City went trophyless in just two of them. Last season, they won both domestic cups. That same bet right now yields odds of 20/1! 

At certain bookmakers, you can back Maresca to win any combination of the available trophies in his first season in charge – or simply “to win a trophy” (any one trophy) or none at all.

While I believe Arsenal are rightly favourites for the Premier League heading into the season, and there are a handful of clubs looking a stronger bet for the Champions League, City are certainly hard to eliminate in one-off cup ties. 

I would back the League Cup/FA Cup double of 20/1 for now – seeing as they could win the League Cup (the final is in March) and are likely to still be in the FA Cup at that point (the 5th round will have been played a couple of weeks before). This would at least put the bet on course, and offer a good cash out!

Back Man City to win both the League Cup and FA Cup at 20/1 with bet365

Top on Christmas Day

In the 34 previous seasons of Premier League football – following the rebrand in 1992 – 18 teams who sat top of the tree on Christmas Day have gone on to win the title, including Arsenal last season. While that may only be a slightly better chance than 50/50, it is usually a strong indicator of how the title race is shaping up for the second half of the season.

Man City have made a habit in recent title-winning campaigns of going on long unbeaten streaks in the new year, but it could look a little different this time – City have back-to-back home games against Chelsea and Hull before Santa comes down the chimney.

Tip Man City to be top on Christmas Day at 7/2 with BOYLE Sports

Top North West club

Irrespective of the title race, you can back City in a North West-only race with cross-town rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. 

There is of course a chance that Andoni Iraola gets Liverpool firing immediately, much like his predecessor Arne Slot did. United enjoyed an excellent second half of the season under Michael Carrick. So this isn’t a formality, and therefore returns slightly better than even money heading into the season.

Bet on Man City to finish ahead of their North West rivals at 11/8 with bet365

FAQs about Man City ahead of the 2026/27 season

1. Who are Man City’s key players as they aim to reclaim the Premier League title?

While Man City have always had a star-studded, expensively-assembled squad ever since Sheikh Mansour took over in 2008, it would be fair to say that City’s quest for trophies in this, or any, season relies on the form and fitness of Erling Haaland up top. No player(s) could possibly replace everything that they bring to the team. Elliot Anderson will now be needed to try and fill a Rodri-shaped hole in midfield.

2. Who are likely to be Man City’s main rivals for the Premier League and other domestic competitions?

City are likely to be locked in a title fight with Arsenal once again, but the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea could also be in contention. The so-called “big six” are always expected to go deep in the domestic cups too, but we have also recently seen Newcastle and Crystal Palace win those.

3. When are the best times to lock in the best odds for Man City in the markets mentioned in this article?

When it comes to winning the Premier League and any other trophies, the earlier in the season, the better for securing the best odds – usually. If City find themselves top of the table, or in the latter rounds of one of the cups, their odds will shrink significantly. On the other hand, if they start slow in the league, but you believe they’ll bounce back, you can lock in a larger potential payout.

About the author

Nathan Hill

Nathan Hill is an experienced sports writer who obsessively follows football – both the round ball and American kind – as well as range of other sports including F1, basketball, darts and snooker.

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