City cannot afford to slip up now as the end of the Premier
League season draws near. Find out if we like them to take care of business
against Sunderland this weekend.
Well, it's a two-horse race in England and both stables reside
in Manchester.
City now has to be practically faultless going forward, with Manchester United looking stronger than ever and gaining all of the momentum.
This weekend the Citizens host Martin O'Neill's Sunderland
side and are the huge favorites to win once more at Etihad Stadium. City can be
backed at -418 at Pinnacle, while the visitors are as high as +1406 in the
soccer odds to score the shock win.
Win or go home
A draw last weekend was disastrous to Roberto Mancini's side
as United went three points clear at the top. City actually looked destined to
lose following Peter Crouch's stunner early in the second half, but Yaya Toure
was able to grasp the equalizer.
The Black Cats had their heads held high after topping QPR
3-1 at home in the league, but then suffered heartbreak in the F.A. Cup
quarter-final replay.
After earning themselves a chance for a rematch at the
Stadium of Light, Sunderland was outmatched by Everton and lost 2-0.
Maybe the Black Cats will look back to January 1 and remember
their 1-0 triumph over City to remind them of the good times.
That game looked to be ending at a 0-0 deadlock, but
substitute Ji Dong-won had other ideas, netting the match-winner in stoppage
time to send Sunderland fans into raptures.
Now Manchester City gets their chance at a little redemption.
Considering the Citizens only have to worry about the
Premier League after crashing out of every other competition, they are going to
put everything they have into this match.
City look for payback
Mancini's men have played 15 league matches at home and have
won all 15. They've scored 44 goals and allowed only seven in those games. It
doesn't really get any better than that.
Sunderland has looked much-improved under O'Neill since he
took over the reigns of the club, but he simply has nowhere near the same
talent level at his disposal as does Mancini.
David Silva was untouchable to begin the season, yet has
faded out a little bit over the past month or no. He's no longer dominating the
flow of a game as he once was and you can see that City is suffering because of
it. Silva was furious to be taken off early in the second half against Stoke,
but it was deserved.
Thing is, even if Silva or a couple others are off their
game, there's plenty who can fill the gap. Sergio Aguero has six goals over his
last seven appearances and Samir Nasri is playing perhaps the best he has all
season.
Form may be temporary, but class is permanent and the
Citizens have it in spades.
City essentially has to pick up every point available and,
while I do expect a fortuitous effort from the Black Cats, I see the hosts
securing yet another home victory to keep the pressure alive on their
Manchester rivals.
FREE Pick: Manchester City 2 Sunderland 0