You now have to go back more than 12 months for the last time Manchester City lost a home game in the Premier League, and it’s now 4/6 that they go the rest of the season unbeaten at the Etihad.
There have been blips on City’s record in recent years – losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace and the thrilling 3-2 loss to Tottenham in the 2021/22 season – but by and large they are blips and City are typically imperious at home.
Nevertheless, they’ve only completed one campaign without a home defeat and that was back in 2011/12, long before the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City are one of only six clubs to complete an unbeaten season at home, which has been achieved a total of 17 times by: Tottenham (16/17), Liverpool (2008/09, 2017/18/, 2018/19, 2019/20), Chelsea (2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2014/15), Arsenal (1998/99, 2003/04, 2007/08) and Manchester United, (1995/96, 1999/2000, 2010/11).
City will be favourites for every home game they face and it’s hard not to see them being odds-on. Indeed, they were 7/10 against Liverpool and ought to have won, but even still, never looked like losing.
By the time they face the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal at home, Kevin De Bruyne should be back, and Pep Guardiola will hope to have a fully fit squad to pick from.
Below we look at who’s stopped Guardiola’s men from going an entire season unbeaten at home.
2016/17
Pep Guardiola’s first season was far from the campaign many envisaged. They looked to be a million miles off title challengers, though they would only lose once at home. Taking a 1-0 lead into the break, City would concede goals in the 60th, 70th and 90th minutes as Chelsea – who’d be crowned champions a few months later – ran out 3-1 winners.
2017/18
For a long time, the question wasn’t whether or not City could go a whole league campaign unbeaten at home, but whether they could match Arsenal’s Invincibles of 2003/04.
It took an unforgettable 4-3 defeat at the hands of Liverpool to stop that, but their only home defeat of the season came against Manchester United, when a win would’ve seen them crowned champions. 2-0 up at half time, United looked dead and buried, but two goals from Paul Pogba and a third from Chris Smalling put the champagne on ice and handed City their only home defeat of the season.
2018/19
Arguably the best home campaign any team has ever had, City won 18 of their 19 games, needing to amass 98 points to oust Liverpool by the narrowest of margins.
The only blot on the record came at the hands of Crystal Palace. Andros Townsend scored one of the greatest goals in Premier League history to give the visitors a 2-1 lead with Luka Milivojevic adding a third from the spot.
2019/20
In a season where Liverpool ran away with the title, City would lose their unbeaten home record in early October with two late Adama Traore goals enough to secure a 2-0 win. And as they would the following season, United left the Etihad with all three points.
2020/21
City had enough to recover from a poor star to win the title, but in front of an empty Etihad, would lose four times. First early in the season was the shock 5-2 defeat to Leicester and after five months unbeaten, would fall to a 2-0 defeat to rivals United. 10-man Leeds scored a stoppage time winner to leave Manchester 2-1 winners, while Chelsea did the same through Marcos Alonso in May.
2021/22
An early goal from Wilfried Zaha and a late goal from Conor Gallagher with an Aymeric Laporte red card in between was enough for Crystal Palace to beat City 2-0 in October 2021, and just as it seemed City had rescued a point in stoppage time against Tottenham, Harry Kane popped up in the 95th minute to secure a 3-2 win for the visiting Spurs.
2022/23
Brentford was the only slip-up last season, but it was a game in which Guardiola could have had few complaints with the result. City were miles below their best in the final game before the World Cup and were routinely hit on the break by Brentford who snatched a winner deep into stoppage time and could – and should – have even added one more.
There was a surprise draw with Everton, but by and large, City coasted through their home fixtures.
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