How will Pep Guardiola do at Manchester City? Four key questions answered

Guardiola takes charge of Manchester City for the first time on Wednesday night - leading them into battle against, of all people, his former club Bayern Munich.

His first match is brilliantly chosen, of course: nobody could possibly hold a defeat against him, while victory will make him seem like a genius.

How will he get on when the real business begins, however? We've canvassed opinions in the Eurosport UK and Eurosport Germany offices to see how people think he'll get on.

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UK view: It’s big… but not epic. Apart from anything else you have to ask yourself how many people really care about Manchester City. They have loyal local fans, but aren’t widely supported elsewhere around the country - unlike teams such as Man United and Arsenal, who have picked up shameless, glory-hunting supporters from across the country for years.

The hype in England is also tempered by the fact that Guardiola took such an easy job last time he moved clubs (inheriting treble winners at Bayern, for goodness sake!). It was a timid move which tarnished Pep’s reputation somewhat; the fact that he’s not managed to win the Champions League with Bayern didn’t exactly do him any favours either.

In that light, we’ve always wondered if he could do a hard job, rather than an easy one. So people aren’t that excited by it – the main thing that’s really getting people going is the thought of how and when he’ll clash with Jose Mourinho.

German view: Germany is very excited about the Guardiola project at Manchester City, maybe more so than England. All the newspapers and website are currently going crazy for his return to Munich - his homecoming, as it's being called - on Wednesday for the pre-season friendly.

There have also been a lot of comparisons between him and Bayern’s new coach Carlo Ancelotti. The big question on everyone's lips is about the fact that Guardiola is having to build a new team for the first time. So it’s the ultimate question for his career: is he just a good administrator, or is he also a genius designer?

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UK view: All three elements will believe that under Guardiola, City can and should win the title. City’s squad has been amazing for several years, with Pellegrini failing above all in motivation rather than coaching or tactics. Guardiola is widely expected to deliver the missing ingredient – team spirit, an extra 5-10%, the X-factor… whatever you want to call it, it’s been missing. Even in their title-winning seasons, City needed implosions elsewhere (from United in 2011 and Liverpool in 2013) to get over the line. Now they have a chance to take the English game by the scruff of the neck.

German view: We’re not sure if he can win the title in his first season. He has a lot of work on his hands ofr City's players to get the hang of his style. Their poor performances against Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions league showed that dramatically. He's also going to have to deal with the fact that one key new player who could help him, Ilkay Gündogan, is battling with a knee injury.

On top of that there’s much more competition in England than in Germany. Manchester United will be fearsome with Mourinho, Ibrahimovic and probably Pogba on board. Chelsea still have a good squad and, with Antonio Conte, a strong coach again at last. But from Guardiola's second season onwards, Manchester City will be hot favourites to win the title - and they’ll also surely have a good chance to win the Champions League.

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UK view: Not really, but he’ll definitely try. There have always been several styles that have co-existed successfully in English football, and given the struggles that possession-based teams had against counter-attackers at Euro 2016 (or indeed in the Champions League last season) we don’t think Guardiola’s City will exactly take over the footballing landscape.

German view: In Germany, Guardiola's ball possession style influenced not only the Bundesliga but also the German national team. He has done a lot for German football. Joachim Löw took his inspiration from the Catalan because a lot of German internationals played at Bayern, and he also helped players like Jerome Boateng to become among the best in the world. But there aren't many England internationals in the City squad, so it's difficult to see him making a difference on that level.

And as for the rest of the English league? We'd agree, there have always been several styles that have co-existed successfully in English football. Big, proud teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool won’t change their style for Pep.

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UK view: Yes. He's got so much in the way of talent, resources and diligence that it's impossible to see it not bearing fruit. Not that it'll be easy: our columnist Paul Parker put it like this in his piece on Tuesday: "On paper you have to fancy them. But this is the biggest challenge of his career. Things were easier at Barcelona and Bayern Munich given the quality of players at his disposal and it will take time to transform the style. But it will be very intriguing… Guardiola doesn’t just buy stars, he makes them too. He has an incredible work ethic and knows exactly what he wants to achieve."

German view: Yes - though probably not immediately. Guardiola is such a perfectionist and a meticulous worker. He will give everything he has to earn success in England - especially as he knows that this is his biggest challenge so far. He loves challenges and will master this one. And once he's done so, he will leave the club and find something new.

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