Manchester City has spent more than $500 million over the past 12 months to overhaul an aging squad in a bid to regain the team's status as the best in England.
On current evidence, it won't be a quick fix.
A 2-0 derby loss at Manchester United on Saturday was followed by a surprising 3-1 defeat at Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday. Both matches exposed the deficiencies in City's squad despite the club's remarkable spending spree that has continued in January with the arrival of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi.
Sure, injuries aren't helping. Pep Guardiola has, for example, been robbed of his entire first-choice defense, with center backs Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones currently injured.
Yet, there are still flaws.
There's still no real backup to striker Erling Haaland, who might be showing the effects of barely missing a game. He has scored one goal in his last eight matches — and that was a penalty.
Despite all the arrivals, City hasn't signed a right back to replace Kyle Walker so has been relying on midfielder Matheus Nunes to fill in there. Nunes has done a good job — he is one of City's most improved players — but is unlikely to be the long-term solution.
Guardiola's decision to play virtually the same team for the final weeks of 2025 also highlighted his lack of faith in his back-ups, some of whom — like Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri, for example — were bought as part of the expensive rebuild.
It all means City's home match against a last-place Wolverhampton team with just one win all season in the Premier League is no longer a gimme. How could it be given City's performances over the last week that might rank as among the worst in Guardiola's decade at the club?
While City has won just two of its last seven matches in all competitions, Wolves is improving and unbeaten in its last five matches.
City starts the league's 23rd round of games in second place and seven points behind Arsenal, which — in drawing its last two league games against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest — has failed to take full advantage of City's recent issues.
On Sunday, Arsenal hosts Manchester United, which will look to back up its impressive performance against City and is again likely to play on the counterattack at Emirates Stadium.
Third-place Aston Villa, which is level on points with Man City, travels to Newcastle.
Liverpool is seven points behind City and Villa in fourth place ahead of a trip to Bournemouth.
Because of Man City's defensive crisis, Marc Guehi is set to be selected for his debut against Wolves. Max Alleyne, a 20-year-old center back brought back from a loan spell at second-tier Watford, should make way.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta must decide who to play up front out of fit-again Gabriel Jesus and summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, who has been the starting striker so far this season, against United. Both scored in the Champions League win over Inter Milan on Tuesday.
Aston Villa's unlikely title ambitions — or even its attempts to qualify for the Champions League — have been hit by a knee injury to Boubacar Kamara that could keep the defensive midfielder out for the rest of the season.
The France international is an unsung star for Villa, which badly missed Kamara when he tore his ACL in February 2024, keeping him out for eight months and forcing him to miss the European Championship.
Everton winger Jack Grealish is being assessed because of a foot injury that could reportedly keep him out for three months, which would be a blow to his hopes of getting back in the England squad ahead of the World Cup.
There was some respite for Tottenham manager Thomas Frank this week with a win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Before that, fans had expressed their unhappiness with Frank by taunting him with songs calling for his departure during a 2-1 loss to West Ham in the league last weekend.
Losing at next-to-last Burnley on Saturday would likely revive complaints about the Danish coach, who has only been in charge for seven months but has been criticized for his pragmatic tactics.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Everton's Jack Grealish celebrates after the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Everton in Birmingham, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Manchester City in Manchester, England, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola attends a press conference in Bodo, Norway, Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, ahead the Champions League soccer match against Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB Scanpix via AP)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Europe is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday following a dramatic reversal by U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland the day before at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland.
Trump said there is a new framework with NATO on Arctic security without the U.S. using force to take over Greenland. Still, there were many unanswered questions about what the Greenland deal means.
Here is the latest:
Asian shares mostly advanced on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, after Trump walked back from imposing tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland and ruled out using military force to take control of the territory.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.4% on Thursday, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9% to 53,760.85, with technology stocks among those leading the gain. SoftBank Group jumped 11% and chipmaker Tokyo Electron rose 3.7%.
The NATO chief is urging allies to “keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine” after a standoff over Greenland that rattled the alliance appeared to ease a day earlier.
Rutte, speaking at the Ukraine breakfast, didn’t address a question about whether Greenland, which Trump has coveted, would remain a part of Denmark under the “framework of a future deal” announced by the president.
Rutte noted European plans to free up funds for Ukraine’s defense and U.S.-led talks about a peace deal, but said those efforts wouldn’t bear fruit immediately and Russia continues to launch drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
“What we need is to keep our eyes on the ball of Ukraine. Let’s not drop that ball,” Rutte said.
Trump wants to spotlight his proposed "Board of Peace" at Davos on Thursday, looking to create momentum for a project that has been overshadowed this week by Greenland.
The new board initially was envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more ambitious. Skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some traditional U.S. allies to take a pass so far.
Trump expressed confidence in his idea ahead of what the White House said would be a “charter announcement” on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss Alps.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday that her country can’t negotiate on its sovereignty.
She has been “informed that this has not been the case” following the announcement of a new framework with NATO on Arctic security without the U.S. using force to take over Greenland.
In a statement, the Danish leader said security in the Arctic is a matter for all of NATO and “good and natural” that it be discussed between the U.S. president and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Frederiksen said she has spoken with Rutte “on an ongoing basis,” including before and after he met Trump in Davos.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Trump is considering ideas like a “tariff-free zone” for Ukraine that could help industry develop in the war-torn country.
“The president has talked about a tariff free zone from Ukraine that I think would be game changing,” Witkoff told the Ukraine breakfast on the sidelines of Davos.
Witkoff made the comments before heading later Thursday to Moscow, where the administration has been working to wrest a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff said he would travel next to Abu Dhabi, where there would be working groups on issues like “military-to-military” and “prosperity” discussions.
Europe is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday following a dramatic reversal by U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland the day before at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland.
Trump said there is a new framework with NATO on Arctic security without the U.S. using force to take over Greenland. Still, there were many unanswered questions about what this Greenland deal means.
The Associated Press was inside an event Thursday morning billed as a breakfast discussing the war in Ukraine and featuring NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
AP World Economic Forum: https://apnews.com/hub/world-economic-forum
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio walks down stairs after a meeting during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
President Donald Trump, center right, meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, center left, during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump, right, meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump reacts after a meeting during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
