Manchester City are back in action after a 3-0 win at Anfield and a 4-2 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Enzo Maresca's first loss as manager raised questions, while the club's appeal against the guilty verdict in the 115-charge case continues. Chief Manchester City writer Simon Bajkowski has answered fan questions on these topics.
Appeal timeline and chances of overturning charges
Regarding the appeal timeline, Bajkowski said it is unclear. This year's Premier League handbook allows 12 weeks for an appeal to be heard and another month for it to be concluded, suggesting a final outcome by the end of January. However, he called that a best-case scenario given the case's enormity and City's likely full-throttle appeal effort. He also noted that since City were charged in the 2022/23 season, the disciplinary process should follow that season's handbook, where the timeline is less defined.
It is also unknown whether a sanctions hearing and any appeal will follow the main appeal or run concurrently, meaning provisional punishment could be announced before the appeal result. The appendices to the 40-page report, containing key evidence, have not yet been published.
Confidence and potential sanctions
On City's confidence, Bajkowski said it does not look like they will win the appeal, though they are confident. He put their chances significantly below 50 per cent because the case will not start fresh and City have already been found guilty. He compared it to VAR, where the original verdict must be respected unless there are clear and significant errors. The players and manager back the club because they trust the chairman and CEO, but Bajkowski said this is just footballers doing their jobs.
On sanctions, Bajkowski said some are certain, as charges for not co-operating are unlikely to be dropped entirely. He expects a heavy points deduction, likely enough to guarantee relegation, plus an enormous fine and possibly a transfer embargo. He noted the commission must be technical and mindful of punishing past behaviour, not recent form. He also said nobody knows the outcome because the situation is unprecedented.
PSG defeat and tactical questions
Bajkowski addressed the PSG game, saying the double pivot gave City more structure in the second half, meaning one of Enzo Fernandez and Rayan Cherki should play rather than both. He said Cherki will not necessarily sit on the bench for every big game. Abdukodir Khusanov showed he is better as a centre-back than a right-back, while Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi were excellent together at Anfield.
On wingers, Antoine Semenyo did not play well and admitted so, but he still produces good chances. Bajkowski said starting Jeremy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye together would be good, but Doku did little against PSG before Ndiaye came on and ran defenders ragged. He concluded that the PSG game raised questions, but it was only one game against opposition better than anything else City will face this season, and Maresca has been almost perfect at picking lineups and subs so far.
