Looking ahead tough fixtures are
coming thick and fast. West Ham United at the Etihad is up next and we can ill
afford a defeat. United are four points above us and Liverpool four below. That
leaves us with a bit of wiggle too both
ways. Gone was the five point gap both ways from third and first - now we'd be
lucky to finish in the top three. Bear in mind, though, that Arsenal, Man
United, and Liverpool all have to play Chelsea. Those tough games, paired with
an Arsenal - United fixture, surely can enable City to claw their way back into
second or even third?
The Hammers come into the game off the back of some dreadful form. One win
in their last five has extinguished any early season hopes of European football
and has instead enveloped themselves in a battle with Stoke and Crystal Palace.
Swansea are four points ahead of West Ham, but they lead the aforementioned two
by goal difference and a point, respectively. Considering that both Palace and
Stoke have taken three points of City this term, a victory will go a long ways
in their bid for a top ten spot.
Personally I am caught in between two
minds. Half of me thinks that we can pull this one out of the bag any day, but
the other half of me starts to think about the form we’re in, and the last time
we played them (I’ll talk about that more in a second), and how City do things
the tough way. The optimistic sliver of me thinks that we’ll run out 3-1
winners, while the pessimistic side of me is inclined towards a 1-0 defeat. I
hope we win 3-1, of course!
Last the Blues of Manchester and the
Hammers of London touched bases (sorry for the baseball remark – attempting to
enjoy some M’s games), the Mancs lost 2-1. The Boleyn Ground proved too much
for us to handle, as schoolboy defensive mistakes cost the Citizens two goals.
David Silva pulled one back when we curled one home from the right tip of the
box on his ultra-super-sweet left foot. It was a beauty, but as so many games
this season, our attempts on goal have been too little too late.
What will
three points mean for City on Sunday? Well, it will mean a lot. A lot. We’ve
been in dreadful form recently, losing to the likes of FC Barcelona (twice),
Liverpool, Burnley, Crystal Palace, and Manchester United in our last eight
games. The two wins have been an underwhelming performance at home against
Leicester and against West Brom against 10-men for 90 minutes. The West Brom
game was supposed to lift spirits, but since it came right in front of a
dreaded international break, that came to no frutition.
A win will
mean that City will be en route to our goal of 6 wins out of the last six. (Remember,
a few weeks ago that goal was nine ‘double-u’s out of the last nine). It will
also prove to be a boost in confidence, and with no international break to
speak of until the summer, momentum in any shape or form should be welcome. Practically,
a win will move us to within touching distance of Manchester United and Arsenal
in 3rd and 2nd respectively, with the former losing 1-0
away at Stamford Bridge. That could mean a lot, and pile on the pressure for
both Arsenal and Liverpool, who don’t play this matchweek. A win means we go
seven points inside the Champions League spot having played a game more. Doesn’t
that sound like a nice little hole to be in?
Come on
City!
By Rob Ming
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