5 Key Fixtures for Man City Fans to Focus on in 2016/17 Premier League Season

It feels like a new era at Manchester City. The club are profitable and therefore self-sustainable. They are returning to a circular badge based on more traditional imagery. And, most crucially, they have a new manager.

Pep Guardiola has established a reputation as a winner. Twenty-one major trophies in seven seasons with Barcelona and Bayern Munich are testament to his unrivalled ability. The fact that City’s leadership team have managed to entice him is a huge statement of intent and perhaps marks the most important moment in the club’s recent history.

The excitement in the city has soared, particularly given the appointment of Jose Mourinho at cross-town rivals Manchester United.

Mourinho, another serial trophy-gatherer, is likely to restore United’s winning mentality after three seasons of chronic underachievement. Manchester looks likely to be the centre of attention this season with two great managers reviving their rivalry in search of dominance.

For Guardiola, his task is to return City to the summit of the English game, while at the same time helping them move closer to their dream of Champions League success. His contract is for three seasons, but he will perhaps need longer to establish the team as one of Europe’s elite sides. It's going to be fascinating watching him impose his methods at the Etihad Stadium.

Wednesday saw the release of the Premier League fixtures for the Catalan’s first season; the difficulties he faces in English football are now laid bare.

All your City #PremierLeagueFixtures for next season #MCFC pic.twitter.com/tLa0EmzOJs

— Manchester City News (@ManCityMEN) June 15, 2016

There are no easy games, and each fixture represents the same three-points-for-a-win scenario, but there are some matches that jump out as vitally important. He we take a look at five key fixtures for City in 2016/17.

Guardiola and Mourinho don’t have long to wait before they come head-to-head. City travel to Old Trafford for the first Manchester derby of the the Catalan's era on September 10—the fourth game of the season.

It comes directly after an international break—always a nervous time for a manager—and represents an opportunity for Guardiola to lay down a marker. The confidence in the United squad has appeared fragile for some time and defeat to City certainly wouldn’t help.

The derby is always hugely anticipated. What better way for Guardiola to build some momentum than with a win at Old Trafford early in his City career.

WATCH: @MarioMelchiot assesses the rivalry between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola: https://t.co/Ty9xXsQbO8  https://t.co/cWc9v49KNP

— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) June 15, 2016

Last season was hugely disappointing for City in the Premier League. To finish fourth having suffered 10 defeats given the quality of their squad wasn’t good enough.

Perhaps the most alarming development, though, was their tendency to get battered. City have lost plenty of games since Roberto Mancini delivered the FA Cup in 2011—their first major trophy in 35 years—but they were rarely outplayed until last season.

Liverpool (twice), Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and Leicester City all managed it. The comprehensive nature of those defeats must have sent shockwaves through the City boardroom.

Their defeat 3-0 defeat at Anfield in March was perhaps the most soul-destroying. City had just won comfortably in Kiev and were on the brink of their first-ever Champions League quarter-final, before beating Liverpool in the Capital One Cup final. Their title hopes weren’t extinguished at this stage, and it seemed as though they were getting their act together.

But they were ripped apart by Liverpool from start to finish at Anfield, their Premier League hopes evaporating with a whimper.

The intensity Guardiola’s sides play with should ensure a defeat like that doesn’t happen again this season.

The return Manchester derby comes in late February. The pain of the 1-0 defeat Marcus Rashford’s goal inflicted on City last season has barely dulled. The City fans will want revenge.

By this stage of the season, Guardiola’s ideas are likely to be embedded. City will be playing quicker, more intense football than they managed during last season’s insipid campaign.

The Manchester derbies are always highly anticipated, but there was a feeling last season’s versions were about as damp as they’ve ever been. There’s no chance of that being the case this term.

City’s final six matches of the season look appealing. If they can get themselves in a position where they are still in the race for the title by that stage, they will fancy their chances of getting over the line.

City’s final seven games:

Hull City (home)

Southampton (away)

West Brom (home)

Middlesbrough (away)

Crystal Palace (home)

Leicester City (home)

Watford (away)

Before that run, however, they face two tough away trips, starting with a game at Arsenal on April 1. City have a questionable record in this fixture, with just one win in north London in the Premier League era.

One of the biggest failings of the Manuel Pellegrini era was his record against title rivals. Last season, City managed just one win against top-eight sides.

Guardiola must change City’s big-game mentality.

To say Chelsea underwhelmed last season would be an understatement. Their 10th-place finish in the Premier League was remarkable. Few saw it coming given the ease with which they had won the title in the previous season.

Things had gone stale under Mourinho, for whatever reason. Their squad looked tired, both physically and mentally, and in need of new direction.

The appointment of Antonio Conte is expected to bring the kind of organisation and togetherness that was lost during Mourinho’s tenure.

Conte’s record at Juventus is superb, and the way his Italy side performed against Belgium in their first game at the 2016 UEFA European Championship this week was impressive.

Expect a very different Chelsea this season.