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Enzo Maresca, as Pep Guardiola’s successor, will come under immediate pressure to win trophies in 2026-27, Dietmar Hamann has told GOAL. The Italian coach has begun well at the Etihad Stadium, but the former Premier League player is not persuaded that the 46-year-old will go on to be a “successful Manchester City manager”.

Maresca enjoyed success with Leicester and Chelsea

Having previously served as one of Guardiola’s assistants, Maresca received elite coaching education before choosing to strike out on his own. He led Leicester to the Championship title in 2024, before winning the Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea the following year.

His spell at Stamford Bridge ended early in January 2026 after a clash with the Blues board, but his reputation remained strong enough for City to move for him once it became clear that a major vacancy would soon open up in their dugout.

Replacing Guardiola is close to an impossible assignment

Stepping into Guardiola’s shoes could be viewed as an unenviable — and almost impossible — job, but Maresca believes he can keep Manchester City’s success going. City were beaten in the Community Shield curtain-raiser before the 2026-27 season, but they have started that campaign with three straight Premier League victories.

Along with a push for the top-flight title, another Champions League campaign is set to begin against Porto on Tuesday, while challenges in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup also lie ahead. Maresca is expected to deliver at least one major trophy.

Is Maresca under pressure to win silverware in 2027?

When asked whether City’s new manager would face difficult questions if concrete success does not arrive, Hamann — speaking in association with ToonieBet — told GOAL: “Yes, I think he will face pressure. And the other thing is that it got to a stage for City that people just expect it.

“And even with the League Cup or the FA Cup, people say, ‘well, it's City and obviously they spend a lot of money and Pep is there’. But you can't take things for granted because there's another 20 teams, 19 teams in the Premier League that want to knock you off your perch.

“Obviously, in the cup competitions, it's a chance for the lower league teams or some of the teams lower in the division. It's not easy to win trophies. In years gone by, the League Cup was sometimes, for a lot of years, the League Cup was a cup where the second team or the second XI or the bench players played. But it's so hard to win trophies now.

“There was a cup game with Chelsea [against Luton]. Even [Xabi] Alonso, I looked at the line-up and I couldn't believe the line-up he picked because there were probably six, seven, eight of the starters in the Premier League. That's how serious they take it now, so you can't take it for granted.

“And if you follow a manager who's been so influential and for a lot of players, they have to thank him most. It's been fantastic stories. Obviously, there was the odd one like [Jack] Grealish or [Phil] Foden, who probably didn't benefit from Pep as much as they thought they would.”

Former City midfielder Hamann then added, using Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson as cautionary examples for the Etihad Stadium hierarchy: “To follow Guardiola, sometimes it's nearly impossible.

“We've seen what happened in Arsenal with Wenger, we've seen what happened with Fergie at Manchester United. The managers coming after these guys found it really hard. Manchester United, to this day, they haven't found one. We're going back, what, 10 years now?

“Now we see Wenger was different than Arteta, but Arteta was on the verge of getting sacked probably two or three times. Now they've got the ship in order, they're successful. They're not playing well, but they're successful, they're efficient.

“I don't want to say he's on a hiding to nothing, but hugely, if you ask me now, will he be successful? Will he be a successful City manager? I strongly tend towards, unfortunately, no.”

Manchester City fixtures 2026-27: United derby date nearing

City have not exactly swept aside their domestic rivals at the start of the new season — apart from a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. They had to come from behind to beat Bournemouth on the opening weekend, while a lone goal from Erling Haaland was enough to beat Frank Lampard’s Coventry in their most recent outing.

After taking on Portuguese opposition in Europe, the Blues will then travel to Old Trafford on Sunday for the first Manchester derby of 2026-27 against arch-rivals United. That match will hand Maresca another chance to underline his credentials.