The Manchester Title Race

City have a pretty difficult run in mind. It's whether or not we can play through February and still keep in touch with City. If we can stick with them for the next month then we'll have a very good chance.
 
I thought it was all over yesterday to be honest until we scored the winner. We've got a more difficult run than them, but that isn't to say they're going to win every single game of theirs from now til the end.
 
Everton away isnt going to be easy for them. Hope they drop points there because they wont in the next 2 games which we'l find very tough to get 6 points from ours.
 
Everton away is one of the games where we really need them to drop points in, that and Stoke away are probably City's two toughest away games between now and the end of the season (a far cry from our upcoming trip to Chelsea and of course the Derby at their place)
 
If we can stay close to them though the pressure will build on them, so it wont just be the difficult games on paper that become potential banana skins. Lets not forget this is the first title chase they have been in for a long time. A lot is made of our experience in these situations and hopefully it will help us as the pressure builds.
 
We're not dealing with an Arsenal type side full of kids though are we, City are full of players who have won major honours; Silva/World Cup & Euro Championship, Y.Toure/Champions Leagues & La Liga, Balotelli/Serie A, Kompany/Belgian league title & cups

I dont think we have as big an experience edge over City and people think
 
I don't think anybody expects them to do an Arsenal and go through a proper meltdown.

But if we can stay right there behind them, hopefully the pressure and the knowledge that they were so good for the first half of the season yet still haven't pulled away will get to them and have a little slump.
 
Exactly. City have a great amount of expectation. Most of them may have won things, but not the EPL. They dont have the manager we do. We have some cold, depressing, difficult months ahead, which some of their expensive foreigners may not fancy. I am not talking about a full on, Arsenal style, whoops-someone-appears-to-have-stolen-my-balls collapse. Im just talking about struggling to get over the line, the way Liverpool have and Newcastle have and other teams we have had title races with sometimes have.

Im holding onto that possibility as a source of hope because its really the main advantage we have over them now. Well, its a collection of advantages lumped together, but SAF being better than Mancini and our experience as the main two.
 
United
Stoke (H)
Chelsea (A)
Liverpool (H)

It's always hard to predict, but 7 points out of these three would be great although I think we have overcome our Stamford Bridge syndrom as shown last season. Hopefully, we won't have too many injuries and Chelsea's team (defence) will still be all over the place.

City
Everton (A)
Fulham (H)
Villa (A)

Expect City to beat Fulham at home, no doubt. Everton and Villa are tricky so an Everton win and a draw at Villa would be great, which would see us either level on points or - in the best circumstances - two ahead.

A lot of speculation here, I know, but I have a feeling that Everton and Villa will get something out of their games against City.
 
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Thank God for Everton beating City tonight. Good job. Finally we are back on level terms with them.
 
Still tough fixtures for us in next weeks, but City's result makes me less nervous.
 
If we can get through the next two games with 6 points we're in a really strong position.
 
They're still in a strong position. We have Chelsea away, Liverpool and then Spurs away. And also we still have to go their place. It is going to be very close.
 
Hellboy said:
They're still in a strong position. We have Chelsea away, Liverpool and then Spurs away. And also we still have to go their place. It is going to be very close.
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Our away form this season has been fantastic though, we've won the most games away in the league. It's a tough fixture list but we don't have any cup runs now (well, Europa I guess) so we can concentrate on it fully. I think we can get a result in most of those games... it will be close but I think we've got an excellent chance of it now.

Surprised we're still 6 GD points behind though, that's bloody annoying, superior GD is another point.
 
That's another massive game with City inevitably being handed three points by Fulham the day before. A win would look brilliant, dropping points would be difficult with Liverpool next week.

However if we can win it, we can put big pressure on City if we could beat the scousers at home the following week, with them travelling to Villa the day after.

Many twists and turns still to come.
 
So, despite hammering both of their title rivals, City's away form is actually pretty uninpsiring. Six wins, three draws and three defeats. And their remaining away fixtures aren't exactly a walk in the park:

Villa
Swansea
Stoke
Arsenal
Wolves
Norwich
Newcastle

We can expect them to win most of their home games, but on the other hand you can say the same of us. If we can get four points from the two trips to London then I'd have us as favourites.

Of course you can look it another way, which is that if our home form wasn't so spackered this season we'd be strolling to the title.
 
Everytime I get excited about our position/standing in the league we do something spastic like lose to Blackburn. I think we're in a good position but there'll be twists every single week and just a point or two in it either way at the end of the season.
 
I think it's fair to say that Tottenham (middle finger up the the title) are back in it, depending on a victory vs Liverpool at the weekend.

I really feel sorry for spurs, if they win the league it will be one of the greatest achievements of the Premier League era.
 
City still strong favourites, but United still in there. Incredible that they are considering all the injuries.
Chelsea match is huge, obviously.
 
We have some tough games coming up and City a rather easy fixture - but I am confident that we get the points that we need and maybe City will crumble once they get a bit closer
 
Plechazunga said:
:confused:
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You don't agree? The where desperately unlucky vs City away, they started the season late, the games against us and City at the start of the season where almost walkovers, perhaps due to Modric's in and out status, and because the two Manchester clubs had started the season 3 weeks before...

And yet they are still in it! They are still battling away, doing what they shouldn't be. If we beat them they have given their two rivals 6 points head starts each, and yet could still win the thing.
 
I don't really see that they've been unluckier than anyone else, overall

I also don't really think they're still in it. They've done well, but they've got the harder run-in and need BOTH us AND City to drop six, in all likelihood seven points more than them. Not going to happen.
 
That is why this weekend is so important for them. If results go the right way they will be in it. If they go the wrong way they are out of it.
 
rcoobc said:
You don't agree? The where desperately unlucky vs City away, they started the season late, the games against us and City at the start of the season where almost walkovers, perhaps due to Modric's in and out status, and because the two Manchester clubs had started the season 3 weeks before...

And yet they are still in it! They are still battling away, doing what they shouldn't be. If we beat them they have given their two rivals 6 points head starts each, and yet could still win the thing.
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Who cares though? Is it not more fortunate for us to be in it and challenging so heavily at this point with one team spending all the money under the sun on a super-team, and us having to deal with most of our first team getting injured at some point or other. I'd say we have been very unlucky here, and yet have still managed to keep the race open and mount a proper challenge.
 
I reckon Spurs will finish at the very least 10 points behind the winners, I can't see them having a real challenge, a collapse is due.
 
Only 3 wins out of 9 for City in all competitions. If this is there blip and it is to continue we need to take full advantage.

Fairly confident we can take 4 points and maybe even all 6 from Chelsea and Liverpool. If we can do that we are in a fantastic position.
 
Hectic said:
Who cares though? Is it not more fortunate for us to be in it and challenging so heavily at this point with one team spending all the money under the sun on a super-team, and us having to deal with most of our first team getting injured at some point or other. I'd say we have been very unlucky here, and yet have still managed to keep the race open and mount a proper challenge.
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We will never get the plaudits we deserve this season unfortunately. What you say is true, although other people will argue that the only reason we have coped in any competition is because of our very large man squad. Had Aston Villa or Tottenham perhaps had half their team injured they would have been relegation fodder or mid table respectively.

I think this season is going to be looked back on as being very strange. Man City barely managing to stay ahead despite the traditional top 4 all imploding for one reason or another. Arsenal and Chelsea left flying the flag for English football in the Champions League.

Its a mixed bag
 
Hectic said:
Who cares though? Is it not more fortunate for us to be in it and challenging so heavily at this point with one team spending all the money under the sun on a super-team, and us having to deal with most of our first team getting injured at some point or other. I'd say we have been very unlucky here, and yet have still managed to keep the race open and mount a proper challenge.
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See a good decision here and there and we would some 5-6 points better off. it doens't matter really but IMO Fergie has been managing this team (in every aspect) very well
 
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