Pressure on Pep, Mou to deliver
A year ago, the buzz around the Premier League was focused on the arrival in Manchester of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho as managers of City and United.
The buzz may have gone but the biggest question before the coming season remains whether two of the highest-profile managers in the world can deliver on all the hype surrounding them.
The focus may have been on Manchester last season, but the title went to the capital and the run-in was a battle between two London clubs. Third-place City finished 15 points behind champions Chelsea, with Tottenham Hotspur in second place.
Both Guardiola and Mourinho could argue that their first seasons were transitional campaigns. New faces had to settle in and the legacy players had to get used to the methods of their high-profile bosses.
But after a close-season in which both managers have invested heavily in new players, United are now Mourinho’s team and City have been created by Guardiola. No excuses will be accepted by successhungry fans - silverware is now expected.
United, without a league title since 2013, certainly appear to have filled important gaps in their squad.