Pep Guardiola‘s side have won 10 games, drawn twice and lost twice, amassing a total of 32 points. That’s five fewer than leaders Arsenal, who have won 12 times.
However, our record is identical to this stage last season - when we went on to lift our fourth Premier League title in five seasons.
The Blues are yet to face the Gunners, with the first meeting between the sides postponed in September, but we have notched up several impressive victories perhaps most notably the 6-3 demolition of Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
We won’t play in the league until Wednesday 28 December, so it’s a natural moment to reflect on our title defence up to this point.
Here we take a look at the numbers that have made up our season so far...
Leading scorers
We’ve scored more than anyone else in the country, despite playing a game fewer than many of our rivals.
Our 40 goals in 14 games averages out at 2.86 goals a game. That’s an incredible overperformance in terms of xG, which stands at 1.97 per match.
Those 40 goals have included six-goal hauls against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest as well as three games in which we scored four. We have found the net in all but one of our matches so far, the October trip to Anfield.
Haaland firing on all cylinders
Erling Haaland is by far the league’s leading scorer. The Norwegian has scored 18 times in 14 appearances, including three consecutive home hat-tricks against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and then Manchester United.
Those strikes have come from an xG of 11.1, which show just how prolific Haaland is when presented with an opportunity.
Phil Foden is next in terms of our leading scorers with seven goals, that makes him joint seventh across the division.
Haaland’s nearest challenger is Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, who has scored 12 times.
How may De Bruyne assist you?
Kevin De Bruyne has created more goals than anyone else in the Premier League this season. The Belgian has nine assists to his name so far, having already formed a deadly linkup with Haaland.
He now has 95 Premier League assists in just 224 matches, leaving him just a few away from the century mark that has only previously been reached by Ryan Giggs, Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.
His nearest challenger this season is Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka on six. Then come four players all on five, including our very own Bernardo Silva.
Touch and pass masters
As you’d expect with a Pep Guardiola side, we are comfortably in the lead when it comes to number of passes played.
We have registered a whopping 9,550 passes so far, more than a 1,000 ahead of the next best side Liverpool and just nine short of 2,000 passes ahead of third best Leicester City.
Rodrigo is the league leader in terms of touches, with 1,345 to his name. Joao Cancelo is in third place with 1,259.
Our Spanish midfielder is crucial when it comes to passing the ball too, having amassed 1,203 in total. Only three players across the division have reached four figures this season, while Cancelo is likely to be the next to reach that landmark. He currently sits on 971.
Defensive numbers
Our 14 goals conceded this season places us third in the league for that particular metric. The two tightest defences in the country are Arsenal and Newcastle United, who have let in 11 goals each.
Ederson, who has been an ever-present in the league, has kept six clean sheets so far - behind only Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope, who play for Arsenal and Newcastle.
The Brazilian shared last year’s Golden Glove trophy having won it outright in 2020/21 and will be looking for more shut outs in the second half of the season in order to claim the prestigious prize.
As we tend to enjoy the vast majority of possession, our defenders do not lead when it comes to tackles and clearances.
