The last few weeks didn’t exactly go to plan for the Sky Blues; dropping 4 points out of a possible six in the league, losing their remarkable home record and failing to score in two consecutive games. Plus, the lost to Barca last night won’t have helped any matters.
However, City put their goal drought to bed and got their revenge on Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday with a rather complete performance from all areas of the pitch.
Overall, the 2-0 score line was a fair result. City’s defence looked solid as Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott controlled the play allowing the pacy Gael Clichy and Pablo Zabaleta to venture on into Chelsea’s territory.
David Silva and Yaya Toure were a step above the rest of Chelsea’s midfield as they dominated in the centre of the park. It was a good job City players got on the score-sheet today as The Sky Blues haven’t gone without scoring in 3 games in a row for an incredible 6 years! Jovetic carried a constant threat upfront and would have played a near perfect game if it wasn’t for his stupid dive.
With their recent performance over a strong Chelsea outfit and their star man Aguero nearly fit and rearing to go it begs the question: can City achieve the quadruple? Here’s my views on their chances in each competition:
Premier League:
The Premier League is the one City will most want to win over all the other trophies. It’s so tight this year with three teams (possibly a fourth in Liverpool) in the running for glory come May. This means it’s a tough one to call. If City win their game in hand they’ll sit in the top spot above Mourinho’s men on goal difference and that’s always a risky place to be.
There’s still 12 games remaining and with the twists and turns we usually see in the EPL, expect one or two upsets around the top spot. Overall I think it’ll come down to a two horse race between City and Chelsea and from then on your guess is as the next football fan. One week I think Chelsea are looking like favourites and then City go and change my mind. That’s the beauty of the English game!
Likeliness: 8/10
FA Cup:
They’ll be on the hunt for revenge over Wigan in the quarter finals in a repeat of last year’s cup final and this time I’m almost certain it will be a different result, with Wigan now in the championship and having lost their inspirational manager Roberto Martinez to Everton. But, anything can happen in the FA Cup!
Plus, it was the perfect draw for city. All the championship sides got drawn with one another and the two other strongest competitors in the competition, Arsenal and Everton, have also been drawn with each other.
Likeliness: 8/10
League Cup:
This has to be City’s most likely shot at silverware: a cup final against The Black Cats. Now although the League Cup is deemed as the trophy which means very little, City will still be hoping to add this trophy to their trophy cabinet. But, they shouldn’t start celebrating just yet. Their recent performances against Sunderland have been disastrous, as they’ve lost their last two games against them. There’s no reason an upset can’t happen once more…
Likeliness: 9/10
Champions League:
Even with tons of money and a class squad, I think winning the Champions League looks optimistic. Especially after being outplayed and outclassed in the first leg against Barcalona at the Eithad. Turning around a 0-2 deficit against any team would be tough, but against arguably the world’s best team and the Nou Camp is near to impossible.
Take nothing away from City though, they managed to finish 2nd in a tough group stage this year and managed to conjure up a few good chances in the first leg. With Aguero making a return in time for the return fixture it’ll certainly be an exciting game. Even if they do manage to get past the Spanish Giants, they could possibly be drawn against the world’s best – clubs such as Bayern Munich and PSG who will seem like a massive brick wall for City in their quest for victory.
Likeliness: 5/10
Overall, City certainly carry the quality and, with the position they’re in and the money they possess, any less than two trophies would be viewed as an under par season (unless it was the BPL). The quadruple looks unlikely with odds placed at 33/1, but remember anything can happen in football!
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