The Title Race 2017/18 | Done and dusted.

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Removing the blue glasses for a second, it's undeniably a good thing for Manchester itself to have two clubs at the top and contesting the title in what I believe is the most watched league in the world. I note Sky have subtly shifted the kickoff to 16:30 no doubt to maximise the TV audience, all eyes are going to be on Manchester next weekend (and the rest of the season probably)

/specs firmly back on
 
sk6blue said:
Long way to go though and next Sunday will be a huge game, I think both managers will go for the win.
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Reckon both managers will be more concerned with not losing than winning. It has 0-0 written all over. United will make a push early on, if it doesn't work they'll sit back and wait for half time, then try the same in the second half

City won't even really try to score unless they have to
 
Wayne's World said:
How in the name of feck have they not got one important injury this season? Mendy started well but I wouldn't say he was important in the way City were playing....

Surely it has to take it's toil playing the same team every single week on the players
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I think it have because they have not played that great recently. Granted they are still getting the wins by fighting and late goals. A lot like us under SAF :(.

We seem to be a bit more fresh though and if Mourinho rests the team against CSKA we could use it to our advantage.
 
giorno said:
Reckon both managers will be more concerned with not losing than winning. It has 0-0 written all over. United will make a push early on, if it doesn't work they'll sit back and wait for half time, then try the same in the second half

City won't even really try to score unless they have to
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With how the results have gone and the gap remaining unchanged I just think Mourinho will have a go. Not saying it will be all guns blazing but he'll come up with a plan to try and win rather than opt to "park the bus" for the full 90 as some are suggesting. Conversely I think Pep would've gone more conservative (as he did at the Etihad in April) if the gap had been reduced in the recent games, as it is I think he'll see it as worth the risk and opt to try and play as City did at Stamford Bridge.

Also both will be resting players in the CL this week so expect a high intensity game.
 
Wayne's World said:
How in the name of feck have they not got one important injury this season? Mendy started well but I wouldn't say he was important in the way City were playing....

Surely it has to take it's toil playing the same team every single week on the players
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City with Mendy would be absolutely terrifying. Sane alone causes so much confusion on his wing. Imagine Mendy overlapping Sane... Or even worse (for the opposition ), tucking into the midfield.
 
Jacko21 said:
Reckon the gap will be at 5 points on January 2nd.

I'd take that heading into the back end of the season. Should we find ourselves in with a shout of the title, it'll be a race akin to that of the one 13/14.
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I expect Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool to take points off City next year and Chelsea may fancy chance for getting revenge on City, we'd be ahead of City if they lose all away games to top 6 teams. Hopefully, it will happen *finger crossed* :angel::angel::angel:
 
sk6blue said:
With how the results have gone and the gap remaining unchanged I just think Mourinho will have a go. Not saying it will be all guns blazing but he'll come up with a plan to try and win rather than opt to "park the bus" for the full 90 as some are suggesting. Conversely I think Pep would've gone more conservative (as he did at the Etihad in April) if the gap had been reduced in the recent games, as it is I think he'll see it as worth the risk and opt to try and play as City did at Stamford Bridge.
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Mourinho will try to win -in the one way he's had success with against Guardiola(come out strong, press high in bursts, sit deep and pack the middle for most of the game, looking for counterattacking chances). But he won't risk losing the game. Draw, and they live to fight another day. Lose, and it's top 4 race for them

As for Guardiola, it's all about managing the lead for city now. Avoid defeat and only a major meltdown would see them lose the title.

Guardiola will be more than happy with the draw, and mourinho will try to win but won't risk losing. Unless United score in one of their offensive bursts, the game will see city pass the ball horizontally in midfield for a good 60-70 minutes, with 10-20 minutes of united going for it and City looking to contain(first) and explot(if possible) the gaps

United scores early, and it could become a cracker for a good 30-40 minutes at least. That's the ideal scenario for the neutral

Personally i'm hoping for a 5-0 hammering but that's just not happening :lol:
 
adexkola said:
City with Mendy would be absolutely terrifying. Sane alone causes so much confusion on his wing. Imagine Mendy overlapping Sane... Or even worse (for the opposition ), tucking into the midfield.
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He's also fecking wank defensively though, so it could go both ways.
 
deafepl said:
I expect Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool to take points off City next year and Chelsea may fancy chance for getting revenge on City, we'd be ahead of City if they lose all away games to top 6 teams. Hopefully, it will happen *finger crossed* :angel::angel::angel:
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Assuming you win every single game.
 
Manchester Dan said:
Assuming you win every single game.
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Certainly not top 6 teams but improved massively against rest of bottom 14 teams that we failed to beat last season. if we win City games, we'll have three home games against top 6 teams next year which we will not lose to them. We should aim to win every game against rest of 14 teams in the second of the season. Assuming we beat all teams that finish behind the top 6 teams so it would get us to be ahead of City if City lost all away games to top 6 teams
 
United really need a win but even then -5 would be a comfortable lead for City... it seems a final here, with the trophy being handed at the end of the game... or is the fact this is a derby pumping up the volume?
 
Our next 9 games in 27 days!!!

05th Dec vs CSKA Moscow (H) CL
10th Dec vs Man City (H) PL
13th Dec vs AFC Bournemouth (H) PL
17th Dec vs West Bromwich Albion (A) PL
20th Dec vs Bristol City (A) League Cup
23rd Dec vs Leicester City (A) PL
26th Dec vs Burnley (H) PL
30th Dec vs Southampton (H) PL
01st Jan vs Everton (A) PL
 
Not sure why some people are so defeatist.

Man City have built up a great lead no doubt and are doing well in fairness to them to pick up late points when they're not playing as well as they can but Man Utd are matching them currently and convincingly. You've got an opportunity next week to cut the deficit at home where Mourinho is king.

Lose and then maybe you can start crying about being too far back. As it is, I think you're right in it still and have no reason to give up the chase just yet.
 
giorno said:
Mourinho will try to win -in the one way he's had success with against Guardiola(come out strong, press high in bursts, sit deep and pack the middle for most of the game, looking for counterattacking chances). But he won't risk losing the game. Draw, and they live to fight another day. Lose, and it's top 4 race for them

As for Guardiola, it's all about managing the lead for city now. Avoid defeat and only a major meltdown would see them lose the title.

Guardiola will be more than happy with the draw, and mourinho will try to win but won't risk losing. Unless United score in one of their offensive bursts, the game will see city pass the ball horizontally in midfield for a good 60-70 minutes, with 10-20 minutes of united going for it and City looking to contain(first) and explot(if possible) the gaps

United scores early, and it could become a cracker for a good 30-40 minutes at least. That's the ideal scenario for the neutral

Personally i'm hoping for a 5-0 hammering but that's just not happening :lol:
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This is Pep we're talking about, remember. For better or for worse, I'd be very surprised if he doesn't play to win.

I think the derby will be a close one, decided by a single goal. All depends on the form of each team's front three IMO.
 
giorno said:
Guardiola will be more than happy with the draw, and mourinho will try to win but won't risk losing. Unless United score in one of their offensive bursts, the game will see city pass the ball horizontally in midfield for a good 60-70 minutes, with 10-20 minutes of united going for it and City looking to contain(first) and explot(if possible) the gaps
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I think this summarises pretty well how managers are likely to approach the game. I expect Mourinho to play the same formation as against Arsenal, with 3 at the back, trying to hit City on the break for the first hour. I'd be surprised if Pep plays as attacking as Arsenal did. His natural instincts might be to attack, but I don't think he's an idiot. He won't go all out offence and risk the same fate as Arsenal. He will try controlling the tempo in a Barcelonesque manner by applying steady pressure without over-committing.

An early goal would certainly make the game very interesting. I don't expect either manager to risk too much while the game is at 0-0.
 
Pep is from the dutch school of football, he will play a more patient game and try to hold possession and wait for mistakes in the Utd defence. He cannot be compared to Wenger who is as tactically naive as you can get. Pep prepares for the opponent in his own unconventional way.
 
giorno said:
Reckon both managers will be more concerned with not losing than winning. It has 0-0 written all over. United will make a push early on, if it doesn't work they'll sit back and wait for half time, then try the same in the second half

City won't even really try to score unless they have to
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This. It's gonna be an awful game.
 
Bepi said:
United really need a win but even then -5 would be a comfortable lead for City... it seems a final here, with the trophy being handed at the end of the game... or is the fact this is a derby pumping up the volume?
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Ending their unbeaten run opens confidence for the entire league to say you know what, we can beat these.

-5 is not insurmountable, -5 at Xmas is nothing. But I’m not convinced we’ll win this game or the league because I think City are unfortunately that good this year.
 
MadMike said:
I think this summarises pretty well how managers are likely to approach the game. I expect Mourinho to play the same formation as against Arsenal, with 3 at the back, trying to hit City on the break for the first hour. I'd be surprised if Pep plays as attacking as Arsenal did. His natural instincts might be to attack, but I don't think he's an idiot. He won't go all out offence and risk the same fate as Arsenal. He will try controlling the tempo in a Barcelonesque manner by applying steady pressure without over-committing.

An early goal would certainly make the game very interesting. I don't expect either manager to risk too much while the game is at 0-0.
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I, for once in a big game, just can't see 0-0.
 
If we win and cut gap to 5, I would be supremely confident that on January 1st that gap would be narrower again. If city win, despite the early time of year, I think only a brave man would bet on anything other than city title.
 
In theory we should have the things that City should struggle against, but it's to be seen if that will materialize. I think Pogba will be a big miss.. I'm also not sure whether or not José will go three at the back. Does he drop Lindelof or Rojo and play both Herrera & Fellaini? It'll be an interesting game. In reality I think we pretty much have to win, but if City win I think that's it done with. A draw.. Maybe, but then I'd imagine beating them away would be an even more crucial game.
 
The one time we have a full strength team against a good side, we win. That is now taken away from us again due to the ridiculous bad luck of Bellerin collapsing in front of Pogba.

Going to be a really big test for us and we need a good start, there's no way we can allow them to have a comfortable tippy tappy start.
 
Santi_Mesut_Alexis_87 said:
6 games in 27 days so 1 game every 4 days. Gonna be so demanding.
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Nah, not so much. We've CSKA tomorrow where we will see a host of changes - Romero, Blind, Darmian, McTominay, Rashford, Ibra, Herrera will all start. And then, in a few weeks, we have the league cup game against that lower league team (Bristol?) so we'll play a third string in that one.
 
The psychological effect of the 3 victories of City with a last minute goal is quite bad for United. Can it be countered with the effect of winning 2 away games including at the Emirates with superb counter attacking football? Maybe. The only way to make this City team doubt is to make them think any counter attacking opportunity given to United will result in a goal scoring opportunity, or even worse, a goal. And it should make them focus on not losing the ball instead of trying to penetrate and score.

That's obviously not an easy task. We have to be ready to see a very difficult game. Jose will simply try to press high and intense in the first 20mn max, and if it doesn't lead to a goal, we're definitely going back to a defending mode and waiting for some opportunity. City will end up crossing a lot and our team has to be more focused than against Arsenal or it will lead to a goal, with or without a deflection. But it's gonna be key to kill any through passes KDB or Silva make and force them to wander on the side very quickly.
 
BluesJr said:
The one time we have a full strength team against a good side, we win. That is now taken away from us again due to the ridiculous bad luck of Bellerin collapsing in front of Pogba.
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What? Pogba stamped on Bellerin. Pogba is to blame, no one else.
 
BlueMoonOutcast said:
What? Pogba stamped on Bellerin. Pogba is to blame, no one else.
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Either you haven't seen the incident, or your bias is clouding your judgment.

No one is to blame for the red, it's just a very unfortunate situation whereby Pogba's momentum is why he planted his foot on Bellerin. "Stamped on" implies it was intentional, and it clearly wasn't. In real time Pogba has barely any time to think.

I do think it's a red card by the way because of the end result.
 
Di Maria's angel said:
Nah, not so much. We've CSKA tomorrow where we will see a host of changes - Romero, Blind, Darmian, McTominay, Rashford, Ibra, Herrera will all start. And then, in a few weeks, we have the league cup game against that lower league team (Bristol?) so we'll play a third string in that one.
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I only counter the Premier League games :D
 
If we play 3 at the back, I can see City spanking us big time by drawing our CBs out of position. Really want to see Matic-Herrera-Fellaini trio at the middle of the park with Jesse, Martial, and Lukaku doing their thing upfront.
 
BluesJr said:
The one time we have a full strength team against a good side, we win. That is now taken away from us again due to the ridiculous bad luck of Bellerin collapsing in front of Pogba.

Going to be a really big test for us and we need a good start, there's no way we can allow them to have a comfortable tippy tappy start.
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Are you for real. he clearly stepped on the back of his calf. He overstretched, studs showing right down where he could have broke a bone. Intentional? No, stone wall red card? Absolutely. The attitude to blame Bellerin. I'd love to see you or any of the others blaming Bellerin for Pogba overreaching take that on the calf and not collapse. It was the very embodiment of unintentional dangerous play.
 
padr81 said:
Are you for real. he clearly stepped on the back of his ankle/lower calf. He overstretched, studs showing right down where he could have broke a bone. Intentional? No, stone wall red card? Absolutely. The attitude to blame Bellerin. I'd love to see you or any of the others blaming Bellerin for Pogba overreaching take that on the ankle and not collapse. It was the very embodiment of unintentional dangerous play.
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Did I say he didn't step on him? That's all it was though, not a stamp. It was a red card, but only because Bellerin put his body in an absolutely ridiculous position and there was absolutely nothing Pogba could do at the speed he was travelling. It's an unfortunate incident which resulted in the correct decision, but I don't blame Pogba at all.
 
BluesJr said:
Did I say he didn't step on him? That's all it was though, not a stamp. It was a red card, but only because Bellerin put his body in an absolutely ridiculous position and there was absolutely nothing Pogba could do at the speed he was travelling. It's an unfortunate incident which resulted in the correct decision, but I don't blame Pogba at all.
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Its a hard one to call but completely not Bellerin's fault. I agree on Pogba not wanting to hurt him but he accidentally stamped down on him as he caught him. I also have no clue what Bellerin was trying to do, looked like Pogba took his leg like we do in martial arts completely unintentionally caught him on the calf and pushed into the back of his knee as he was folding. Made Bellerin look like he was ducking or something. Could PP have pulled out? I think he possibly could have but its hard to judge and I'd give him the benefit of the doubt as he doesn't seem a dirty player.
 
padr81 said:
Its a hard one to call but completely not Bellerin's fault. I agree on Pogba not wanting to hurt him but he accidentally stamped down on him as he caught him. I also have no clue what Bellerin was trying to do, looked like Pogba took his leg like we do in martial arts completely unintentionally caught him on the calf and pushed into the back of his knee as he was folding. Made Bellerin look like he was ducking or something. Could PP have pulled out? I think he possibly could have but its hard to judge and I'd give him the benefit of the doubt as he doesn't seem a dirty player.
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The last thing Pogba is, is dirty. He's an absolute baller who's only interested in playing football. It's a situation where I believe the only punishment should have been being sent off for the rest of the game, without any ban afterwards. These kind of situations should be dealt with and looked at with common sense applied, not a strict rigid rule of an automatic 3 game ban. Common sense of any kind never really seems to apply to the authorities in any walk of life :)
 
padr81 said:
Its a hard one to call but completely not Bellerin's fault. I agree on Pogba not wanting to hurt him but he accidentally stamped down on him as he caught him. I also have no clue what Bellerin was trying to do, looked like Pogba took his leg like we do in martial arts completely unintentionally caught him on the calf and pushed into the back of his knee as he was folding. Made Bellerin look like he was ducking or something. Could PP have pulled out? I think he possibly could have but its hard to judge and I'd give him the benefit of the doubt as he doesn't seem a dirty player.
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No chance. He went to chase the ball, a ball he initially played. He followed through with his pass, it was Bellerin who came in to challenge the ball, basically threw himself under Pogba as he was basically beaten (a Pogba whose feet were now off the ground as he played the ball past Bellerin and was running centrally from the left). If you look at the video, Bellerin's position literally covers almost everywhere that Pogba can plant his feet. This being said, this is also all in real time. Reacting that fast in less than a second is almost impossible, especially with there being limited - if any areas to place your feet.

There's absolutely no chance Pogba would genuinely try and injure a player when we were 2-0 up away from home.
 
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