Crunch week for Manchester City

Thursday, 15/12/2011

by Caroline Oatway, Shoot's Man City blogger

It hasn’t been a great week for Manchester City. After dropping out of the Champions League last Wednesday, they also suffered their first league loss on Monday night against Chelsea.

And although the Blues are still two points clear of their closest title challengers Man United, everything could change significantly this coming weekend.

The Red Devils face QPR at Loftus Road at lunchtime on Sunday before City take on Arsenal in the afternoon.

With a victory, United could overtake the Blues until at least 6pm and will stay there if City slip up.

Even so, in my opinion the Blues still have the upper hand in the title race.

Before 2012 begins, they will have faced Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and United all away from home (as well as Arsenal at the Ethiad Stadium).

Therefore, four of those sides will have to come to Manchester where the Blues’ record is superb.

United on the other hand, still have to go to Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and City as well as having to face Liverpool at home.

I am not claiming that City will win each of their games and that United will lose each of theirs but with home advantage in the majority, the Blues must still see themselves as title favourites.

Naturally, games against relegation candidates will be just as crucial, but any team challenging for the title should be winning those types of games – and comfortably.

The Blues face a hectic Christmas period. Between December 21 and January 11, they will play no less than six games in close proximity – including the first-leg of a League Cup semi-final and a Manchester derby in the FA Cup third round.

Tiredness and injuries could well be a side effect of the schedule and the loss of Kolo and Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations in January could be potentially damaging.

Yaya in particular is a key component in the Blues’ squad and is usually one of the first names on the team sheet.

Roberto Mancini may have to splash the cash on some back-up in the transfer window – nothing spectacular, just cover for our key men.

We tend to struggle in particular when David Silva is out of action for whatever reason. God forbid anything happens to our mercurial magician, but you never know. He might even want a rest once in a while! So back-up in that position is crucial for me.

Another striker might not go amiss either. Although we have a total of seven on our books, three are currently out on loan and it is very unlikely that Carlos Tevez will ever play for us again. If Edin Džeko, Mario Balotelli or Sergio Aguero cannot play for any reason, we’ll be struggling.

On the defensive front, we should just about be covered.

Onwards and upwards now – the future is still bright. We have a real chance of winning the title, the League Cup and the Europa League; plus, we’re still in the FA Cup too (although it’s a bit early to tell whether or not we can win that!)

Some positive thinking (and a little expenditure) could be the key so keep the faith!

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