The win at Fulham places our destiny in our own hands in the race for fourth. City have nine games remaining, and six of them are at Eastlands. But how does this compare to our rivals?
City - 9 games, 6 at home. Maximum points achievable: 80.
Spurs - 8 games, 4 at home. Maximum points achievable: 79.
Liverpool - 7 games, 4 at home. Maximum points achievable: 72.
Villa - 9 games, 4 at home. Maximum points achievable: 77.
Promising, particularly in view of our home form, but what are the fixtures like?
City may only have three away games, but all are against teams with something to play for - Burnley and West Ham at the bottom, and Arsenal at the top. At home, the Villa and Spurs games look likely to be the deciding factor. There's also the small matter of a derby.
Spurs face Arsenal (h), Chelsea (h) and United (a) in the space of a week. Like City, they finish the season away to a team currently in the bottom six. Probably the toughest run-in.
Liverpool face only one of the top eight (Chelsea) and three of the current bottom six. Theirs looks to be the easiest run-in. Their continued presence in the Europa League could be a factor; they face Birmingham at St. Andrews on the back of a trip to Lisbon.
Every Villa away fixture is against a team who currently have something to play for, though Bolton may look safe by the time they play Villa, and Portsmouth will almost certainly be down. Like City, they have a derby at home. Chelsea away is their only meeting with a "Big Four" club.
The bookies reckon it'll be City or Spurs, with City now favourites, and shortening. On Betfair, City are 11/8, Spurs 2/1, Liverpool 5/1 and Villa slightly longer than 6/1. Lets hope they are right.
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