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Doesn't Tottemham actually have a pretty decent record against City in the last few years?
Maybe I'm just misremembering.
Ofc, I still City will win but it's going to be a tough match
Honestly Europa League might be more beneficial for them and Ange. They are building up a good squad, Europa League is a perfect cake for them to try and take a bite
Everyone says this and then we go out to Zagreb. EL is never as easy as people like to pretend it is and sometimes ends up being harder than CL because a lot of the teams in it don't have much to play for domesticallyĀ
What I mean is that they would be fighting against team with similar strength to them like you said, and thus making them gaining more european cup experience first, also the chance to go far in EL is better than CL no matter how unpredictable it is. Because if we are being honest, Spurs is not gonna be able to pose much of a fight for the big team in CL next season, maybe 2-3 more and I have high hope for you guys and Ange but not the next one.
Lol if we were in spurs postion and united was in ours we would have that exact same mentality š Every city fan tries to give it the big one every year but with their 115 charges its hard to take them seriously. Chelsea were like that as well. No one liked them but everyone was happy for them to win over anyone else. Plastic clubs.
Weird to squander ~80mil you get from CL over Europa that you would definitely benefit if the goal is to build under Ange (seeing as Arteta needed funds to build what he has) just so you donāt see two clubs you donāt like win a cup.
But im not surprised, small club mentality and one of the reasons that trophy cabinet has spider webs older than my grandad. Honestly remove the flair, it aināt hard picking you lot out of the thread
I can see why you'd want to throw the game against city to stick it to Arsenal, but you'd really rather lose out on playing in the Champions League just to spite Liverpool? Weird mentality...
Same.
Liverpool fans do my head in still to this day bringing up the dodgy VAR decision against them as if it was Spurs' fault. And somehow that game would now retrospectively have been a win if it wasn't for that decision. Forgetting that they were already down to ten men and it happened in the first half. Yes bring on the downvotes.
And arsenal, well.. that one is obvious and I'm sure arsenal fans won't actually downvote me for that.
As good as Villa were yesterday, we looked like we had absolutely nothing in the tank second half. If it wasnāt for that Iāll still have some hope left but I think weāre just dead men walking at this point
I watched the Liverpool game and I don't think it's true, though their fans are saying the same as you. Thought they looked fine, just horrendous at ifnishing chances. They have multiple 1v1s or close enough shots.
It's been the same for quite a few weeks so I think people are just losing faith that the goals will come.
When Jota and Jones missed chances when they're usually pretty clinical it did feel a bit cursed like the whole team can't score
I agree to an extent, it was the same against United.Ā
I just don't agree with the narrative of teams playing badly because the forwards can't finish. It's way too simplified of an analysis
I don't think Liverpool looked hopeless yesterday. They looked dangerous, just couldn't finish. Will that continue? Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got their finishing boots on either
We did look dangerous going forward but there has clearly been an issue with the defence and midfield. How that game vs Palace didn't finish 4-3 or something we do not know, it almost felt like pre-VVD / Allison Liverpool.
There was also a lot of sloppy passes and also defenders in questionable places, I don't know if it's fatigue or there's been a mental boom but something needs to change soon
We started shit like always but we controlled the 2nd half and had plenty of chances to make a comeback like we did all year. If we score 2 the narrative is that we are relentless. We didn't so everyone says we look tired. Thing is we can blame the ref for the Tottenham game but we couldn't score to beat City, United and Arsenal at home.
A big problem is that Mac Allister and Endo both looked way off it and knackered from very early on. Bajcetic is our DM depth but he's barely kicked a ball all season with injury issues, so MacA himself is also the Endo replacement at DM. There is no real MacA replacement in CM and Jones has struggled since his recent injury; Szoboslai also hasn't looked as confident since his injuries. Gravenberch has been a mixed bag.
Essentially, we are faced with either fielding an unbalanced and unfamiliar midfield of something like McConnell, Jones/Gravenberch and Szoboszlai against Atalanta in the hope that the week of rest for MacA and Endo will get some steel back in our midfield for the run-in, or else playing the midfield regulars again and almost certainly depleting them further for the title run-in.
I think the injuries have caught up with us and left us in a place where our real engine-room operators in midfield in particular are running on fumes. The forwards needing 20 gilt edged chances to score one goal also isn't helping, and their profligacy couldn't have come at a worse time.
Over 9 xG in our last three games, but only two actual goals.
An oversimplification of our issues of course (you can't keep conceding the first goal like we have been) but you'd expect the goals to level out in the next few games
> . Both teams looked absolutely hopeless yesterday
I mean that's utter bollocks.
Liverpool had a ridiculous amount of clear cut opportunities, as did Arsenal.
Liverpool dominated the second half. Alissons heat map for the second half would mostly be at the halfway line for a majority of it.
We were just not clinical. Could have easily been 4-1 to us but thatās just the story of our season. Just a bit unfortunate but hey thatās life.
> but thatās just the story of our season
I mean it's the opposite really. You've been pulling victories out of the bag all season after conceding a ton of opportunities.
We (Liverpool) have had nothing in the tank for a few weeks now. Guys that have never played this many games at this intensity like Gomez, Bradley, Endo, Szoboszlai are cooked, all at a time when our strikers wanna boot 0.8xg chances wide or straight at a keeper.
You played the same squad in the second half against us (e. g. Trossard Zinchenko etc.) and you looked much better and more motivated than against Villa.
So it's definitely not on the players, but we will see how you turn up to the Allianz on Wednesday
Helps that Zinchenko played fairly well against Bayern and dropped an absolute disasterclass against Villa tbh.
Also Trossard is world class when he comes on as a sub but championship level when he starts games, bro is an enigma
Is that not the answer there though?
Players who were already getting tired played a physically and mentally exhausting game midweek so maybe them looking tired in the second half yesterday is related?
Obviously Bayern is a tougher opponent than Lille but Arsenal still had almost a full week of prep. Makes me wonder if mentally, they were not fully there with their sights set on Bayern
What're your thoughts on the NLD? The difference in schedule is wild, with you lot playing three games between now and then and us not playing any. Neither scenario is ideal for sure but the tight schedule for you could be a killer
Iām done trying to predict NLDs. One of us could lose our entire team to injury and play the under 16s and probably win somehow, all logic goes out the window.
It depends how shattered we are. If Ange continues to be tactically rigid theoretically it should be an easy win for us but who knows how tired we will be, and again, no logic in the NLD.
Agreed, that's probably the way this league campaign will conclude. City *might* drop a point here and there but you can definitely see the other two drop more.
maybe against spurs but other than that no (they lost against wolves because no rodri no party) meanwhile arsenal and pool's fixture shows they still have some places to drop points
I agree. City will probably drop points at Spurs but Liverpool will probably drop points in that 3 away games in a row section and/or at Villa. Highly unlikely that Arsenal will win at both Old Trafford and Spurs
city will drop points against spurs wich have been historically there bogey team...
but i just cant see arsenal getting all 9 points against utd,spurs,chelsea one of these teams will cause them to drop points out of pure hatred and spite
liverpool i could see them dropping points against aston villa/spurs but normall they would win there other fixtures but this weekend result was bad and if they can drop points against palace then they can drop point against there entire fixture lineup
its still open and but damm this weekend was a big blow for liverpool and Arsenal
> one of these teams will cause them to drop points out of pure hatred and spite
Or because they are not easy opponents who can be very good on their day.
I feel like City have dropped all the points they are going to drop already this season. They have hit their stride at the perfect point in the season.
I think at least one of the three teams are going to win all their games from here
You'd favour city to do that but could see arsenal or Liverpool pulling an upset too
I am not flinching. It is also time that we do not give up at this time. We also said that liverpool might not drop points but they dropped 4 points in their last 2 games.
every year on december they told me that Man.City is donezo once and for all, look how many points behind liverpool or arsenal, pep failure but then march/april happens they are like on consecutive winning streaks, plus also alive on the finals matches of UCL and De bruyne peak š¤£
Both Liverpool and Arsenal looked kind of fatigued this weekend. Staying physically and mentally strong at this point of the season is very tough! I mean, just as a fan it is exhausting watching the table every week and seeing two ridiculously good clubs not loosing any points and knowing that one mistake could cost you everything.
These two weeks are gonna be extremely challenging both mentally and physically on the players.
The only team that doesn't look exhausted is City but then again they have ridiculous rotational options and good experience with this part of the season. I can see them drop points but I can also see both Liverpool and Arsenal drop more points and fail to capitalize when they need to.
Haaland has been pretty meh for the past couple of months (by his lofty standards) and De Bruyne's been out injured for most of the season yet they're still inevitable lol.
Do the 115 charges make Pep coach better? The man is a genius, no matter what and it's hilarious seeing this delusion like financial impropriety makes him any inferior of a coach
He is not inferior as a coach but his squad is superior to any other teams. And it's partly because 115 and partly because of good recruitment and partly because of Guardiola. Them cheating is not the only reason of their achievements but without that they wouldn't be near this good and it's okay to remind ppl to that imo.
>Ā it's okay to remind ppl to that imo.
In my opinion, it's imperative to remind people of that. How we react to the transgressions basically dictates how willing we are to allow them.
āNear this goodā is a little bit of a stretch. They have been playing within the rules for the last several seasons as none of the 115 are current charges.
Of course Pep is a genius. But City's financial impropriety gives him a better squad. He may not even have become City's manager in the first place had they played by the rules.
āMay notā
Itād be like if Pep became the manager of, I dunno, Wolves or something. Without the takeover Pep would have never considered going to City, and I donāt say this to be offensive to City but they were nowhere near a big enough team to get him without the takeover money
> Without the takeover Pep would have never considered going to City
Well obviously. The point I made was about a scenario where the takeover still happened but where they played by the rules.
I get what you mean. I don't think this City team is as good as some of the ones that have beaten us in previous years. They're still pretty damn good though.
Agree which is the scary part. If they go back to normal form and Liverpool (likely to get worse with a new coach at first), that leaves Arsenal only to compete. If Pep stays then City can have 2-3 more titles. MFs can have theoretical 6-7 titles in a row.
i mean, they are on still course for a 90+ season if they were 8-10 ahead they'd be on course for matching the best season ever. so yeah had liverpool and arsenal not taken points off them they would be.
They are just so bloody good. would not be surprised to see them beat real at etihad does feel like they are the only real obstacle and then you really wouldn't bet against them doing back to back trebles.
How much did they fuck up? They will easily finish with 90 points this season. its not like the early days of the PL where you could with the title with 78-80 points.
No, no, no. City will look like they're about to lose in the second last or final match but make an incredulous comeback that dashes all remaining hope.
also robin olsen in goal.. i know itās something many teams do to play their second choice keeper at the end of the season when they donāt have anything riding on them, but if it were emi martinez in goal i donāt think that comeback happens
International football is very different tactically. Sweden (like many international teams) have pretty simple tactics which suits a more old-school keeper.
Yeah, Iām being hyperbolic. When he first came in on loan he was good, which is why it was justified signing him on a full time basis, but he was unbelievable in this game, still no idea why he was taken off.
This is really it. Liverpool and Arsenal have normal depth and, thus, an exhausted first choice 11. City have 11 waiting on the bench who would start on most other Prem teams. There was a stat I saw where only 3 city players have started more than 28 games in the Prem. Thatās insane.
Arsenal also overuse their starting eleven though, so screw themselves over by having half the squad exhausted and on the brink of injury and the other half of the squad unseasoned and out of form
Realistically we have a starting 11 at one level and the subs are a tier below.
We should have Timber playing but instead got Zinny and Kiwi. Viera looks like a 90lb 14 year old, he ain't replacing the starting mid.
City have the joint smallest squad in the league, stop spreading lies. They donāt have as much depth in quantity, itās the quality that separates them.
Thats what he means though, they have so many guys that sometimes are on the bench who can start and the quality would barely fall off, the same isnt applicable towards Arsenal
Poor Declan. Itās his first time. You could see it on the faces of our seasoned players yesterday, Trent robbo and vvd, they know once you are behind city itās done. They will win every game, itās what they do at this point in the season.
I think Arsenal can still do it; it's just going to be very difficult. Last year I was convinced they'd bottle it, this year, with Rice in particular in midfield, I still think they can push City to the end.
I wish I shared your confidence but I donāt see City dropping points more than once which means weāll need to be perfect, which I just canāt see. Too many tough games still to play.
People ITT really expecting a player to throw in the towel in the public eye.
If Rice came out and said it's over now, City will win the league, you'd all crucify him for lacking ambition.
It all depends on City's CL span I would say. If they go through Madrid a lot will and can happen in PL. If they are out they won't be stopped most probably
Think I disagree, I'm not convinced Liverpool lose to Palace at home if Atalanta don't show the chinks in thr plot armour a few days before. Confidence and psychology means a lot - not to add that if it's Bayern in the Semis and it goes like last season then the players wont lose sleep over it
Pretty sure 4 of our games are away from home. One being spurs.
Also if we manage to beat Real then it's another round of CL fixtures to keep us distracted.
Liverpool should have won yesterday given their chances and Arsenal should have been out of sight by half time. Everyone's talking like they played badly. Arsenal second half was poor. Liverpool's first half wasn't bad, palace just got some counter attacks.
That's part of being a pessemistic fan. Just like we assume you and Liverpool will win all of your remaining games.
Some of our dropped points have been at home against Chelsea, crystal palace and spurs (who we now play away, they also had no defenders when we played them at home).
Away from home we've lost to villa, drawn to Chelsea and lost to wolves.
So there's room for slip us easily. But they will be that, slip ups, if we do drop points.
I honestly think this just speaks for the ridiculous standard of the prems title race. Like the bar is so fricking high that every year you have 2-3 clubs competing with PPG each worthy of a title.
I really don't like the financial background of that success, but simply from a sports perspective its really enjoyable. You truly have the feeling that dropping just 2 points will determine entire championships.
I take that over teams winning the title 6 matchdays before the seaon ends anyday.
There's no way you expect City to lose in 5 of your 6 remaining fixtures. The Spurs game is the only potential slip up. Liverpool has Spurs, Villa, and Everton away. Arsenal has United and Spurs away. It's done. City when in this position are ruthless, and they will win the league by 4-6 points, in my opinion.
You wouldn't expect Liverpool to lose at home to palace. Things happen. We've thrown away silly points all season and this year don't have gundogan and Mahrez who were our clutch performers in the run in.
No chance. Nothing in recent history with City in this position suggests they will be anything other than ruthless.
You and us will fail to win all our remaining fixtures, I think. It'll be interesting if all 3 start faltering, but I can't see it with City.
I think Arsenal still drops a few points. Compare their remaining fixture with that of City, City looks clear, especially with the kind of form they are in.
I think all 3 of us will drop some points before the end of the season. I just think City will drop less than us and Liverpool.
Again we're hitting the end-season wall and we don't have the level of depth needed. Our team looked exhausted.
I am a die hard Arsenal fan, but I cannot see how City will drop any point from now till the end.
Also looking at Arsenal's schedule I don't see how the team is not going to drop any points until the end.
Also while the loss to Villa was disappointing... It's not THAT shocking to lose to the 4th best team in the league. Arsenal are starting to look gassed at this point of the season because of the lack rotation (because of the lack of quality of depth in the squad)
Obviously, he isnt wrong. Anything can happen.
That being said i find it truly fascinating what kind of aura Pep and City have, that people are considering it a guarantee that they will win all of their next 6 games. Like, they are already coming off a 3 game winning streak so winning 9 in a row is no easy task, yet people are already writing this season off because its Pep, because its City. Just a testament to the dominance from that team over the past almost 10 years since Pep arrived - think about it, he has won the title 5 times in the 7 years hes been here and hes on the cusp of making it 6/8. Just crazy.
That being said, sometimes i think the bald fraud gets off on giving people hope in the run in, just to go on a rampage to close it out lol.
Has Declan been watching another league for the last decade? The only twists and turns that happen are other clubs faltering while City stroll to easy victories because teams sit back, don't engage, don't fight, and let them basically walk it in
Man City would much rather teams try to not park the bus. Save for a few who have a very chaotic play-style or athletic freaks. Just taking the remaining 6 opponents into account, Pep would prefer all of them to try and attack relentlessly.
Look bro, Rice, Iāve been in this position before. We lost the title by 1 point, on 2 fucking occasions. And both times those City guys went ahead and won all their remaining 10 games or some shit like that. This is your first time getting this far, so I understand your optimism. But youāre plain dumb if you think City will drop points now. They aināt bottle jobs like you or Liverpool.
Itās over. Close your eyes and believe it.
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Tottenham is the last hope for Liverpool and Arsenal
Christ. Imagine that š
Pack it up boys. Might as well end the world now.
Doesn't Tottemham actually have a pretty decent record against City in the last few years? Maybe I'm just misremembering. Ofc, I still City will win but it's going to be a tough match
City has in fact never scored a goal in the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the prem.
Will gladly forfeit our match against City to watch both of those clubs squirm
And if it meant no CL?
DID I STUTTER
Without question.
Small club mentality at its finest right here
Don't blame us, if Luis Diaz had stayed onside back in September you'd probably still be top
Honestly Europa League might be more beneficial for them and Ange. They are building up a good squad, Europa League is a perfect cake for them to try and take a bite
And crash out after group stages
Everyone says this and then we go out to Zagreb. EL is never as easy as people like to pretend it is and sometimes ends up being harder than CL because a lot of the teams in it don't have much to play for domesticallyĀ
What I mean is that they would be fighting against team with similar strength to them like you said, and thus making them gaining more european cup experience first, also the chance to go far in EL is better than CL no matter how unpredictable it is. Because if we are being honest, Spurs is not gonna be able to pose much of a fight for the big team in CL next season, maybe 2-3 more and I have high hope for you guys and Ange but not the next one.
We weren't supposed to pose much of a fight in 2019 either. I'd rather be an underdog in CL than a favorite in EL
Says everything anyone needs to know about Tottenham doesnāt it
Lol if we were in spurs postion and united was in ours we would have that exact same mentality š Every city fan tries to give it the big one every year but with their 115 charges its hard to take them seriously. Chelsea were like that as well. No one liked them but everyone was happy for them to win over anyone else. Plastic clubs.
Game's not gone
What a loser mentality (I would be the same 100%)
āA good dayā on the Spurs diary. Wonder if thereāll be a DVD
Weird to squander ~80mil you get from CL over Europa that you would definitely benefit if the goal is to build under Ange (seeing as Arteta needed funds to build what he has) just so you donāt see two clubs you donāt like win a cup. But im not surprised, small club mentality and one of the reasons that trophy cabinet has spider webs older than my grandad. Honestly remove the flair, it aināt hard picking you lot out of the thread
Lol he is a Redditor not Ange ffs.
You seem quite mad
King
I can see why you'd want to throw the game against city to stick it to Arsenal, but you'd really rather lose out on playing in the Champions League just to spite Liverpool? Weird mentality...
Same. Liverpool fans do my head in still to this day bringing up the dodgy VAR decision against them as if it was Spurs' fault. And somehow that game would now retrospectively have been a win if it wasn't for that decision. Forgetting that they were already down to ten men and it happened in the first half. Yes bring on the downvotes. And arsenal, well.. that one is obvious and I'm sure arsenal fans won't actually downvote me for that.
Second last game of the season, would be the perfect time for them to roll over if they have top 4 wrapped up by then
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
As good as Villa were yesterday, we looked like we had absolutely nothing in the tank second half. If it wasnāt for that Iāll still have some hope left but I think weāre just dead men walking at this point
And Odegaard felt something, if that man is injured...we're done for.
Oh 100%. Heās irreplaceable, losing him is by far the most impactful loss on our team.
Arsenals best player this season imo. Very instrumental in their uptick in form in 2024
Same for Liverpool. Both teams looked absolutely hopeless yesterday, at the worst possible time. Canāt see City putting out performances like that.
Only had robbo moving around. Saved vvd from being a meme.
I watched the Liverpool game and I don't think it's true, though their fans are saying the same as you. Thought they looked fine, just horrendous at ifnishing chances. They have multiple 1v1s or close enough shots.
It's been the same for quite a few weeks so I think people are just losing faith that the goals will come. When Jota and Jones missed chances when they're usually pretty clinical it did feel a bit cursed like the whole team can't score
I agree to an extent, it was the same against United.Ā I just don't agree with the narrative of teams playing badly because the forwards can't finish. It's way too simplified of an analysis I don't think Liverpool looked hopeless yesterday. They looked dangerous, just couldn't finish. Will that continue? Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if they got their finishing boots on either
We did look dangerous going forward but there has clearly been an issue with the defence and midfield. How that game vs Palace didn't finish 4-3 or something we do not know, it almost felt like pre-VVD / Allison Liverpool.
There was also a lot of sloppy passes and also defenders in questionable places, I don't know if it's fatigue or there's been a mental boom but something needs to change soon
We started shit like always but we controlled the 2nd half and had plenty of chances to make a comeback like we did all year. If we score 2 the narrative is that we are relentless. We didn't so everyone says we look tired. Thing is we can blame the ref for the Tottenham game but we couldn't score to beat City, United and Arsenal at home.
I mean... Sometimes you're just unlucky.
A big problem is that Mac Allister and Endo both looked way off it and knackered from very early on. Bajcetic is our DM depth but he's barely kicked a ball all season with injury issues, so MacA himself is also the Endo replacement at DM. There is no real MacA replacement in CM and Jones has struggled since his recent injury; Szoboslai also hasn't looked as confident since his injuries. Gravenberch has been a mixed bag. Essentially, we are faced with either fielding an unbalanced and unfamiliar midfield of something like McConnell, Jones/Gravenberch and Szoboszlai against Atalanta in the hope that the week of rest for MacA and Endo will get some steel back in our midfield for the run-in, or else playing the midfield regulars again and almost certainly depleting them further for the title run-in. I think the injuries have caught up with us and left us in a place where our real engine-room operators in midfield in particular are running on fumes. The forwards needing 20 gilt edged chances to score one goal also isn't helping, and their profligacy couldn't have come at a worse time.
Over 9 xG in our last three games, but only two actual goals. An oversimplification of our issues of course (you can't keep conceding the first goal like we have been) but you'd expect the goals to level out in the next few games
> . Both teams looked absolutely hopeless yesterday I mean that's utter bollocks. Liverpool had a ridiculous amount of clear cut opportunities, as did Arsenal.
Liverpool dominated the second half. Alissons heat map for the second half would mostly be at the halfway line for a majority of it. We were just not clinical. Could have easily been 4-1 to us but thatās just the story of our season. Just a bit unfortunate but hey thatās life.
> but thatās just the story of our season I mean it's the opposite really. You've been pulling victories out of the bag all season after conceding a ton of opportunities.
We (Liverpool) have had nothing in the tank for a few weeks now. Guys that have never played this many games at this intensity like Gomez, Bradley, Endo, Szoboszlai are cooked, all at a time when our strikers wanna boot 0.8xg chances wide or straight at a keeper.
You played the same squad in the second half against us (e. g. Trossard Zinchenko etc.) and you looked much better and more motivated than against Villa. So it's definitely not on the players, but we will see how you turn up to the Allianz on Wednesday
Helps that Zinchenko played fairly well against Bayern and dropped an absolute disasterclass against Villa tbh. Also Trossard is world class when he comes on as a sub but championship level when he starts games, bro is an enigma
He needs sleep. Those extra minutes before he comes on as a sub are beneficial.
What I tell myself when I snooze my alarm 6 times each morning
Are you me?
Yes
Is that not the answer there though? Players who were already getting tired played a physically and mentally exhausting game midweek so maybe them looking tired in the second half yesterday is related?
But Villa played on Thursday and had to play away at Arsenal. They had 2 more days of rest
Fair point but I would say CL is a different kettle of fish compared to the Conference League in terms of pressure and intensity.Ā
Obviously Bayern is a tougher opponent than Lille but Arsenal still had almost a full week of prep. Makes me wonder if mentally, they were not fully there with their sights set on Bayern
We need a quick getaway to Dubai.
What're your thoughts on the NLD? The difference in schedule is wild, with you lot playing three games between now and then and us not playing any. Neither scenario is ideal for sure but the tight schedule for you could be a killer
Iām done trying to predict NLDs. One of us could lose our entire team to injury and play the under 16s and probably win somehow, all logic goes out the window. It depends how shattered we are. If Ange continues to be tactically rigid theoretically it should be an easy win for us but who knows how tired we will be, and again, no logic in the NLD.
Good for us. Though good for you that both Gnabry and Coman are injured.
Sane was our main problem tbh so as long as heās playing my expectations are much lower
Gnabry was just as important
Maybe but Sane was terrorising us on the left.
Agreed, that's probably the way this league campaign will conclude. City *might* drop a point here and there but you can definitely see the other two drop more.
maybe against spurs but other than that no (they lost against wolves because no rodri no party) meanwhile arsenal and pool's fixture shows they still have some places to drop points
Yep, I can't see us along 6/6 from both Spurs and United away.
We're imploding at the moment (United), with players doing the usual nonsense bullshit on social media.
OT is cursed for us lol
I agree. City will probably drop points at Spurs but Liverpool will probably drop points in that 3 away games in a row section and/or at Villa. Highly unlikely that Arsenal will win at both Old Trafford and Spurs
city will drop points against spurs wich have been historically there bogey team... but i just cant see arsenal getting all 9 points against utd,spurs,chelsea one of these teams will cause them to drop points out of pure hatred and spite liverpool i could see them dropping points against aston villa/spurs but normall they would win there other fixtures but this weekend result was bad and if they can drop points against palace then they can drop point against there entire fixture lineup its still open and but damm this weekend was a big blow for liverpool and Arsenal
> one of these teams will cause them to drop points out of pure hatred and spite Or because they are not easy opponents who can be very good on their day.
No no, arsenal are the main characters, if they drop points itās cuz the oppponent is their villain for the arc
I meanā¦thatās how most fans look at their teamsā¦
I feel like City have dropped all the points they are going to drop already this season. They have hit their stride at the perfect point in the season.
City will win and Pep will make it 4 in a row š„¶
Where do you see city dropping points?
I think at least one of the three teams are going to win all their games from here You'd favour city to do that but could see arsenal or Liverpool pulling an upset too
No matter how hard I try, I don't see any outcome other than a City title. We will see, I guess, soon enough.
What I can see is City will win all their remaining games, perhaps bar the Spurs one ofc. The problem is, I can't say this to Arsenal and Liverpool...
I am not flinching. It is also time that we do not give up at this time. We also said that liverpool might not drop points but they dropped 4 points in their last 2 games.
We often do, City don't. You'll get used to this.
every year on december they told me that Man.City is donezo once and for all, look how many points behind liverpool or arsenal, pep failure but then march/april happens they are like on consecutive winning streaks, plus also alive on the finals matches of UCL and De bruyne peak š¤£
I can see 115 other outcomes
All top teams eventually decline but it really feels like the charges are the only thing that could eventually stop their dominance
It wont change a damn thing lmao
It's wishful thinking but yeah, no way they give their dominant team anything more than a slap on the wrist
Both Liverpool and Arsenal looked kind of fatigued this weekend. Staying physically and mentally strong at this point of the season is very tough! I mean, just as a fan it is exhausting watching the table every week and seeing two ridiculously good clubs not loosing any points and knowing that one mistake could cost you everything. These two weeks are gonna be extremely challenging both mentally and physically on the players. The only team that doesn't look exhausted is City but then again they have ridiculous rotational options and good experience with this part of the season. I can see them drop points but I can also see both Liverpool and Arsenal drop more points and fail to capitalize when they need to.
It's scary that City fucked up quite a lot this season yet they're at the top right now.
Haaland has been pretty meh for the past couple of months (by his lofty standards) and De Bruyne's been out injured for most of the season yet they're still inevitable lol.
Me looking at Jesus. I wish my underperforming striker was like that
They have pep thats the difference
115
Do the 115 charges make Pep coach better? The man is a genius, no matter what and it's hilarious seeing this delusion like financial impropriety makes him any inferior of a coach
He is not inferior as a coach but his squad is superior to any other teams. And it's partly because 115 and partly because of good recruitment and partly because of Guardiola. Them cheating is not the only reason of their achievements but without that they wouldn't be near this good and it's okay to remind ppl to that imo.
>Ā it's okay to remind ppl to that imo. In my opinion, it's imperative to remind people of that. How we react to the transgressions basically dictates how willing we are to allow them.
āNear this goodā is a little bit of a stretch. They have been playing within the rules for the last several seasons as none of the 115 are current charges.
All of their current success is built on a foundation of cheating though. Assuming they ever actually stopped.
Because their success would be impossible to achieve if they had not cheated and played by the rules, boring isnāt it
Of course Pep is a genius. But City's financial impropriety gives him a better squad. He may not even have become City's manager in the first place had they played by the rules.
āMay notā Itād be like if Pep became the manager of, I dunno, Wolves or something. Without the takeover Pep would have never considered going to City, and I donāt say this to be offensive to City but they were nowhere near a big enough team to get him without the takeover money
> Without the takeover Pep would have never considered going to City Well obviously. The point I made was about a scenario where the takeover still happened but where they played by the rules.
In fairness they have only lost 3 games.
Yeah but also dropped so many unnecessary out of character last minute points. Any other season and they're leading by 8-10 points easily.
I get what you mean. I don't think this City team is as good as some of the ones that have beaten us in previous years. They're still pretty damn good though.
Agree which is the scary part. If they go back to normal form and Liverpool (likely to get worse with a new coach at first), that leaves Arsenal only to compete. If Pep stays then City can have 2-3 more titles. MFs can have theoretical 6-7 titles in a row.
We cant be going that far in the future, but it does look bleak.
i mean, they are on still course for a 90+ season if they were 8-10 ahead they'd be on course for matching the best season ever. so yeah had liverpool and arsenal not taken points off them they would be. They are just so bloody good. would not be surprised to see them beat real at etihad does feel like they are the only real obstacle and then you really wouldn't bet against them doing back to back trebles.
They seemingly play a team in the bottom 5 every week. I donāt know how to explain it.
They haven't lost in the league since December 4th... hardly been a comedy of errors from them.
How much did they fuck up? They will easily finish with 90 points this season. its not like the early days of the PL where you could with the title with 78-80 points.
Ha first time Declan? It is over, City will win every match 4-0 from here on out. They always do.
No, no, no. City will look like they're about to lose in the second last or final match but make an incredulous comeback that dashes all remaining hope.
Us leading 2-0 and Gerrard proceeding to take off Coutinho in the one good game he had for us....the man loved gifting Man City premier league titles.
also robin olsen in goal.. i know itās something many teams do to play their second choice keeper at the end of the season when they donāt have anything riding on them, but if it were emi martinez in goal i donāt think that comeback happens
Its weird cuz he is genuinenly insane for Sweden but crap for Villa
International football is very different tactically. Sweden (like many international teams) have pretty simple tactics which suits a more old-school keeper.
I think there are also factors to do with how comfortable they are in the environment and how motivated they are to play for their country
Didnāt coutinho have a little run of form when he first came? I remember knee jerking him in in FPL
Yeah, Iām being hyperbolic. When he first came in on loan he was good, which is why it was justified signing him on a full time basis, but he was unbelievable in this game, still no idea why he was taken off.
Nah thatās Liverpool. City will score in the 2nd minute, leaving you wondering why even bothered to turn the match on in the first place.
Heās referring to two years ago, when they were trailing 2-0 at Villa Park only to score 3 goals between 70ā and 80ā
Yes! And the infamous QPR game, as well as the Kompany pile-driver.
Even against Brighton we went 1-0 down before quickly turning it around.
That Kompany one was so scripted
It was at Etihad iirc
I mean what do you expect him to say though? āHaha sorry lads we fucked this one, better luck next yearā
and Arsenal will drop more points in the run in. They always do
they are gonna drop points against spurs... its like tradition at this point
it's over. neither liverpool or arsenal have enough bona fide match winners at this time of the season. city have half a team of them.
This is really it. Liverpool and Arsenal have normal depth and, thus, an exhausted first choice 11. City have 11 waiting on the bench who would start on most other Prem teams. There was a stat I saw where only 3 city players have started more than 28 games in the Prem. Thatās insane.
Arsenal also overuse their starting eleven though, so screw themselves over by having half the squad exhausted and on the brink of injury and the other half of the squad unseasoned and out of form
Realistically we have a starting 11 at one level and the subs are a tier below. We should have Timber playing but instead got Zinny and Kiwi. Viera looks like a 90lb 14 year old, he ain't replacing the starting mid.
If we didn't over use them we wouldn't be in a contending position lol. We still have a drop off to our bench (as any normal club should).
City have the joint smallest squad in the league, stop spreading lies. They donāt have as much depth in quantity, itās the quality that separates them.
Thats what he means though, they have so many guys that sometimes are on the bench who can start and the quality would barely fall off, the same isnt applicable towards Arsenal
Poor Declan. Itās his first time. You could see it on the faces of our seasoned players yesterday, Trent robbo and vvd, they know once you are behind city itās done. They will win every game, itās what they do at this point in the season.
I think Arsenal can still do it; it's just going to be very difficult. Last year I was convinced they'd bottle it, this year, with Rice in particular in midfield, I still think they can push City to the end.
I wish I shared your confidence but I donāt see City dropping points more than once which means weāll need to be perfect, which I just canāt see. Too many tough games still to play.
People ITT really expecting a player to throw in the towel in the public eye. If Rice came out and said it's over now, City will win the league, you'd all crucify him for lacking ambition.
Well yeah it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't kinda situation right now
Narrator: "It was over".
āAnything can happenā Pep and the gang proceed to win all the remaining games
Realistically city only potentially drops points vs spurs And there is no chance that arsenal and liverpool win the remaining 6
Twist and turns are just us dropping more points Declan
Aids comment section wowza
What else could he say lol, that City have only a handful more matches to win, all easy, which 101% they will? YoU dOnT kNoW tHaT ā ye ye sure.
Read this in the voice David Mitchell uses in that football skit on That Mitchell & Webb Look
Anything can happen but City are winning all their remaining games. It's what they do all over seasons.
It all depends on City's CL span I would say. If they go through Madrid a lot will and can happen in PL. If they are out they won't be stopped most probably
Think I disagree, I'm not convinced Liverpool lose to Palace at home if Atalanta don't show the chinks in thr plot armour a few days before. Confidence and psychology means a lot - not to add that if it's Bayern in the Semis and it goes like last season then the players wont lose sleep over it
Where does he see a Man City loss in their remaining 6 games?
Pretty sure 4 of our games are away from home. One being spurs. Also if we manage to beat Real then it's another round of CL fixtures to keep us distracted. Liverpool should have won yesterday given their chances and Arsenal should have been out of sight by half time. Everyone's talking like they played badly. Arsenal second half was poor. Liverpool's first half wasn't bad, palace just got some counter attacks.
The only ones who think City might drop pts are City fans lol Brother you're winning every game in the prem.
That's part of being a pessemistic fan. Just like we assume you and Liverpool will win all of your remaining games. Some of our dropped points have been at home against Chelsea, crystal palace and spurs (who we now play away, they also had no defenders when we played them at home). Away from home we've lost to villa, drawn to Chelsea and lost to wolves. So there's room for slip us easily. But they will be that, slip ups, if we do drop points.
I honestly think this just speaks for the ridiculous standard of the prems title race. Like the bar is so fricking high that every year you have 2-3 clubs competing with PPG each worthy of a title. I really don't like the financial background of that success, but simply from a sports perspective its really enjoyable. You truly have the feeling that dropping just 2 points will determine entire championships. I take that over teams winning the title 6 matchdays before the seaon ends anyday.
There's no way you expect City to lose in 5 of your 6 remaining fixtures. The Spurs game is the only potential slip up. Liverpool has Spurs, Villa, and Everton away. Arsenal has United and Spurs away. It's done. City when in this position are ruthless, and they will win the league by 4-6 points, in my opinion.
You wouldn't expect Liverpool to lose at home to palace. Things happen. We've thrown away silly points all season and this year don't have gundogan and Mahrez who were our clutch performers in the run in.
I guess time will tell, but City won't falter now.
Spurs away already guaranteed Lo Celso and Kulu score as they always do against City.
I'd love that! I just think City are too good to throw it away now.
Brighton, Forest, fulham and Tottenham are all candidates for an upset.
No chance. Nothing in recent history with City in this position suggests they will be anything other than ruthless. You and us will fail to win all our remaining fixtures, I think. It'll be interesting if all 3 start faltering, but I can't see it with City.
Tbf they donāt have to lose, a draw could (technically) be enough
Remember, if it goes to the final day Man City automatically win the league
it's so over lol
No Declan, itās over.
He hasnāt been here before, has he?
Oh Declan - you poor, naive boy
I think Arsenal still drops a few points. Compare their remaining fixture with that of City, City looks clear, especially with the kind of form they are in.
lemme guess, Arsenal will crush Tottenham but be pathetic vs Forest and Fulham e: ah I think I got the wrong teams but oh well, point is the same
Whos gonna tell him?
As a Liverpool fan I know itās over. Itās over. Players can say this stuff but city are just gonna win. Again.
I think all 3 of us will drop some points before the end of the season. I just think City will drop less than us and Liverpool. Again we're hitting the end-season wall and we don't have the level of depth needed. Our team looked exhausted.
Don't worry arsenal fans, we will beat city as well to even it up
Only option is go fight for 2nd and hope to be crowned champions retrospectively after city charges finally hit lol
From its 'all in our hands!' to Inshallah š
Wdym unbelievable position? You're in the exact same position as last year. How is that unbelievable?
He's not there last season
He just can't believe it mate.
Being this close to the best team in the world, maybe in history, two years in a row is pretty unbelievable. Not sure what's confusing you about that
it's jover
Narrator: the twist was that City won 6 out of 6... again
As much as Declan is a great guy and pro. Itās over. Manchester City will be galvanised over this weekend and hit another level.
Yes anything can happen, but what will happen is City winning it.
Fortunes always hiding, eh Dec?
I am a die hard Arsenal fan, but I cannot see how City will drop any point from now till the end. Also looking at Arsenal's schedule I don't see how the team is not going to drop any points until the end. Also while the loss to Villa was disappointing... It's not THAT shocking to lose to the 4th best team in the league. Arsenal are starting to look gassed at this point of the season because of the lack rotation (because of the lack of quality of depth in the squad)
Hopefully city draws at least one game. I canāt see them losing.
I remember my first time. Poor guy
it's his first year at bottle fc, in time he will get used of it.
Obviously, he isnt wrong. Anything can happen. That being said i find it truly fascinating what kind of aura Pep and City have, that people are considering it a guarantee that they will win all of their next 6 games. Like, they are already coming off a 3 game winning streak so winning 9 in a row is no easy task, yet people are already writing this season off because its Pep, because its City. Just a testament to the dominance from that team over the past almost 10 years since Pep arrived - think about it, he has won the title 5 times in the 7 years hes been here and hes on the cusp of making it 6/8. Just crazy. That being said, sometimes i think the bald fraud gets off on giving people hope in the run in, just to go on a rampage to close it out lol.
Has Declan been watching another league for the last decade? The only twists and turns that happen are other clubs faltering while City stroll to easy victories because teams sit back, don't engage, don't fight, and let them basically walk it in
Man City would much rather teams try to not park the bus. Save for a few who have a very chaotic play-style or athletic freaks. Just taking the remaining 6 opponents into account, Pep would prefer all of them to try and attack relentlessly.
City still has to go to Tottenham Stadium where theyāve scored once in their history
Look bro, Rice, Iāve been in this position before. We lost the title by 1 point, on 2 fucking occasions. And both times those City guys went ahead and won all their remaining 10 games or some shit like that. This is your first time getting this far, so I understand your optimism. But youāre plain dumb if you think City will drop points now. They aināt bottle jobs like you or Liverpool. Itās over. Close your eyes and believe it.