CITY BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS...How it all adds up for Pep Guardiola

Those are the three magic numbers that have delivered four consecutive Premier League titles for City.

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

For all the artistry that Pep Guardiola's side can show on the pitch, a new book charting City's rise tells how behind the scenes everyone is working to a number-crunching masterplan.

The Blueprint details how City's performance team have 87 points as the marker needed to win the league based on recent seasons, and it is expected that a minimum of 27 wins will be needed to reach that target leaving space for six draws and five defeats from the remaining matches.

In working out how to reach those targets, City analysts found that expected goals (xG) was the key.