Manchester City are facing the prospect of spending the next two years in the Championship as the Premier League prepares to hand down a severe punishment for breaches of financial rules.
Enzo Maresca's side have made a flawless start to the new domestic season, celebrating a record seventh straight win under their new head coach on Saturday. The impressive run has come amid uncertainty after the club were found guilty last month of over 100 charges relating to breaches of financial rules.
An appeal has already been lodged, with City maintaining they will prove their innocence by presenting what they claim to be 'irrefutable proof' in front of the independent panel.
Points deduction and fine expected
According to the Daily Mail, the Premier League are set to preempt the result of the appeal by handing down a severe punishment for offences committed over a near 10-year period between 2009 and 2018.
Maresca's side will reportedly receive a points deduction so significant that it will guarantee their demotion to the second tier of English football for the first time since 2001. A weighty fine is also anticipated, and it is claimed City could begin the 2027/28 season with a points penalty that would severely limit their chances of an instant return to the Premier League.
EFL ratification and immediate impact
The EFL would need to ratify that punishment, but it is not thought at this stage that they would seek to limit City's handicap. Given the chaos it would cause, City will not instantly be kicked out of the Premier League and would have to complete their remaining fixtures, no matter how futile.
Nor are City likely to face the ultimate ignominy of beginning next season at the bottom of the football pyramid in League Two.
Champions League focus and injury news
City's immediate focus centres on tomorrow night's Champions League game against AEK Athens, ahead of which Maresca confirmed Antoine Semenyo would miss the next two months with a knee injury.
The Ghana international suffered the problem in the latter stages of Saturday's Premier League victory over Ipswich, having only entered the game as a 77th-minute substitute.
Maresca admitted the club were relieved the problem was not more serious, with the issue proving to be collateral damage around the knee rather than a major ligament rupture.
City boss Maresca said: 'In the first moment we expected an even worse injury, so we were more worried, but after the scan we feel much better. It is not so big like we expected. It could be eight weeks. Now the most important thing is to recover it. When he is back, probably around December, we will have a new player.'
