Manchester City are one win away from turning a perfect Premier League start into something properly historic. Seven wins from seven would not just be a tidy little checkpoint; it would be the best opening run in 129 years of the club’s existence. That is the kind of milestone that stops being a hot streak and starts looking like a warning to everybody else.
Saturday’s 15:00 BST kick-off against Ipswich arrives with City still flawless in the league and still carrying the sort of momentum that makes rivals uneasy. They followed last weekend’s 3-0 win over Liverpool with a humbling defeat to Paris St-Germain on Wednesday, but the league record remains pristine. In other words: one competition has been uncomfortable, the other has been ruthless.
That split matters. City have already shown this season that they can land a blow when it counts in the Premier League, and this would be the third league victory of the season in a row if they extend the run again here. For a side already being measured against Chelsea’s 2005 start and Liverpool’s 2019 opening seven, this is no longer about comfort. It is about placing themselves in a very small, very serious historical club.
History says City should fancy this — and history is being rude to Ipswich
Ipswich, though, are not arriving as grateful extras. Their recent form has been built on drama, with late wins over Fulham, Sunderland and Crystal Palace. They have also already matched their previous 90th-minute winner total in six matches this season, which tells you exactly why they are annoying to play against: they hang around, then hit the most painful note at the end.
Still, the broader record here is brutally one-sided. Manchester City scored 10 goals across two meetings with Ipswich in 2024-25, including the 4-1 comeback after Ipswich led 1-0 after seven minutes at the Etihad in August 2024. Ipswich have not won away to City since November 2000 at Maine Road, and City’s last defeat to Ipswich came in May 2001. That is not just a long time ago; it is the sort of statistical distance that makes the fixture feel like a memory rather than a contest.
There is also the larger cloud that hangs over the club, with possible punishment for breaching Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18 still unresolved. Nothing has been decided, and nothing should be invented beyond that. But it is hard to ignore how a team so relentlessly dominant on the pitch continues to be shadowed by bigger questions off it. If you want to dig into the wider argument, our piece on Manchester City Premier League Financial Charges: Rivals Want Past Titles and Future Punishments covers that tension in full.
For now, though, the football keeps dragging the conversation back to the same place: City are on the brink of something no previous version of the club has managed, and Ipswich are the sort of awkward, stubborn opponent who will believe the occasion can tilt if City are even slightly off.
The problem for everyone else is that City rarely stay off for long. Seven from seven would not settle the season, obviously, but it would say something loud and inconvenient about where the title race is heading. This is the stage where good starts become statements. Manchester City are standing at that door.
