A fresh report has suggested the Premier League want Manchester City’s punishment made public before their appeal is heard to its conclusion.

The charges were first brought in February 2023, and City have consistently maintained their innocence throughout the case. Even after the official verdict, which the club dismissed as an “opinion” tied to a “Premier League conspiracy theory”, they continue to contest the damage to their name.

Their appeal rests on what has been described as a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence.” It is understood that a wide set of Abu Dhabi government documents forms the basis of the argument, which says the “artificially inflated” revenue streams were boosted by state funding rather than by City’s owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

The process is still ongoing. Under the Premier League’s newer rules, a three-person panel must hear the case within 12 weeks of the appeal being lodged, which in this instance lands on Christmas Eve. A ruling must then follow within 30 days, taking the matter into the third week of January. City may also argue that no deadline should apply because those rules were introduced after the period in question.

According to the Daily Mail, the Premier League are pressing for the scale of any punishment to be announced before the appeal is settled. That would not be without precedent, with Everton having first been hit with a 10-point deduction in November 2023 before it was later reduced to six points the following February.

The same report says City’s most likely sanction is a “swingeing” points deduction severe enough to all but ensure relegation. Opta’s supercomputer suggests that could mean around 60 points, based on the start made by Enzo Maresca’s side this season.

The report also claims the punishment may not stop there. If City were to drop into England’s second tier, another points penalty could follow to keep them out of promotion contention, although the size of that sanction would be unclear and would depend on the English Football League accepting any Premier League involvement.

Enzo Maresca has revealed that Erling Haaland faces a late check before Tuesday’s Champions League clash with AEK Athens, while Antoine Semenyo is set for an extended spell out after sustaining a foot injury.

The Manchester City manager struck a cautiously upbeat note on Haaland, though he made clear there are still doubts over the striker’s availability.

“He can be available,” Maresca said optimistically. “We will see. We have some doubts. He was quite good yesterday.”

The mood shifted when the discussion moved to Semenyo. The winger came on in Saturday’s match for the final 13 minutes, only to finish the game injured. The expectation now is that he will miss around eight weeks.

“In the first moment, we expected a worse injury, after yesterday’s scan, we feel better,” Maresca admitted. “It will be eight weeks, so when he is back in December, it will be like a new player. To lose Antoine, or any player, is not good.

“In terms of Erling, we said we can use Antoine as a 9 but we have different players to try. We will see, at the moment it is Erling, we don’t need to think about another one.”

The issue for City is that the squad does not include another natural striker, leaving Maresca with limited straightforward alternatives if Haaland is ruled out. That problem is made more acute by the fact that Julián Alvarez and Omar Marmoush have both already been tried as backup options in recent seasons, with the latter moved on to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer after confidence that Semenyo could cover centrally when required.

If Haaland is unavailable against AEK Athens, or later when City go to Aston Villa on Saturday, Maresca may need to rely on a less conventional solution. Phil Foden is one possibility, having spent significant time in a central role during the 2021–22 season.

“For sure he can be one of the solutions,” Maresca said of Foden. “He has played there in the past.”

It is the kind of start every manager hopes for after a summer of preparation: momentum, control and a perfect record to open a Premier League season. Since the competition began in 1992, several sides have produced dream runs that hinted at title glory, only for history to remind everyone that August and September do not decide championships.

One of the most recent examples came from Manchester City in 2023-24. Rodri’s late goal at newly promoted Sheffield United kept their start on track after opening with two wins, and Pep Guardiola’s team then beat Burnley and Newcastle United without conceding before overcoming Fulham and West Ham United. Their run ended at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 7, with Arsenal defeating them the following week as well. Even so, City then went on a remarkable 23-match unbeaten stretch, including 11 straight victories to close the season and claim a fourth successive title.

Liverpool’s 2018-19 start under Jürgen Klopp carried similar promise. With Alisson and Fabinho arriving in the summer, the Reds won their first six league matches, including victories over West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion without conceding. A statement win at Tottenham Hotspur followed before Chelsea ended the perfect start at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool would not lose again until Jan. 3, yet a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium proved decisive, and they finished on 97 points without the title.

Guardiola’s first Manchester City campaign also featured six straight wins, although doubts soon surfaced. Their record included just one clean sheet, and a 2-0 defeat at Spurs pointed to problems that later showed up regularly. City dropped as low as fifth in January before recovering to third and securing Champions League qualification, setting the stage for the ‘Centurions.’

Chelsea’s early run under Carlo Ancelotti was built on a similar pattern of fast starts and later pressure. Didier Drogba’s strike helped them beat Hull City on opening weekend, and they followed with six straight victories, capped by a familiar win over Spurs at the Bridge. After two defeats in their next three matches and a draw with Blackburn Rovers in March, seven wins from the next eight, including a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, carried them to the title by a single point.

Newcastle United’s 1994-95 season under Kevin Keegan was explosive from the outset. They scored 22 times across their first six wins and remained unbeaten until Gameweek 12, with the ‘Entertainers’ capturing the imagination even if the finish fell away. A miserable winter followed, and Newcastle ended the campaign in sixth.

This season, another perfect start has arrived at Manchester City. With seven wins from seven, including victories at Man Utd and Liverpool and high-scoring wins over Sunderland and Ipswich Town, they have again set the early pace, even with off-field scrutiny hanging over them.