Man City's 5-star display against Swansea gets their title party started in style

Man City are 2017/18 Premier League Champions

City's 5-0 thrashing of Swansea City gets their title party started

They are on 90 points in the PL table aiming for the 100 point mark

Gameweek 35

Review

The 2017/18 soon to be PL Champions Manchester City kicked-off their title party in style with a 5-0 demolition of struggling Swansea City.

The newly crowned PL Champions were given their first guard of honor by the visiting side, a humble gesture by Swansea but City showed no mercy in their performance.

David Silva kick-started the celebration in the 12th minute, which was later doubled by Raheem Sterling who scored a career-high 18th league goal this season.

City continued their momentum in the second half as their player of the season Kevin De Bruyne drilled home a fierce drive, scoring their 3rd.

Man City was handed a penalty in the 63rd minute when Raheem Sterling was brought down by Federico Fernandez, but Gabriel Jesus' shot was saved onto the post by Lukasz Fabianski, only for the ball to fall into the path of Bernardo Silva who scored.

Benjamin Mendy, the Man City left-back also made his long-awaited return to the first team after his lengthy knee injury, as another substitute Yaya Toure fed the ball perfectly for Jesus to head in City's 5th on the night and his 11th PL goal this season.

It was more or less a one-sided game, and City who has made the habit of breaking league records have done it yet again.

• They had 83% ball possession, the highest ever recorded in a 90-minute PL game.
• They completed a stunning 1015 passes, another highest ever recorded in a 90-minute PL game.
• Another standout stat was a 93% pass accuracy rate.

They are stunning side to watch whenever they've kicked a football this season and are now chasing a record-breaking points tally to make it to the 100 point mark. 3 wins and a draw would do it, but they would want to make it 4 wins out of 4 to take their points tally to 102.

Preview

Manchester City has finally conquered the English Premier League for the 3rd time in their last 7 seasons and has achieved it in quite sublime fashion, with 5 games still to spare.

They will now focus on finishing the season on a high note and pick up maximum points from their remaining 5 games, which begins with a visit from Swansea City who are fighting relegation.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola will be proud of his side on achieving the PL title with 5 games to spare and will want to give most of his youth team players a chance to impress.

Swansea too has 5 games to play and are 4 points clear of the relegation places and if they manage to win at Etihad, could hand City back-to-back home defeats this season.

Team News:

Man City will be without Sergio Aguero (knee) and Fernandinho (suspended), along with John Stones (muscle injury) who isn't yet ready.

But Benjamin Mendy (knee) could be included in the 18-man squad for the first time since September and may be included in the starting XI, after appearing in the PL2 game on Friday.

Swansea City will be without former Man City striker Wilfried Bony (knee), along with Renato Sanches (hamstring) and Leroy Fer (calf), all long-term injuries and Luciano Narsingh (ankle) have also been ruled out.

But, Sam Clucas may have a chance and return from a knee injury.

Predictions

Man City (3-1) Swansea City

With Aguero ruled out for the remainder of the season, Gabriel Jesus will be the man responsible to find the net, after scoring 10 league goals this season.

Raheem Sterling is also closing in on his best ever season in the PL after already finding the net 17 times this season and would look to make it a phenomenal 20 goals in the remaining games.

Guardiola may also give a first-ever PL start to youth midfielder Phil Foden and start Aymeric Laporte at LCB, a position he would thrive at in the years to come.

Swansea would look to put in their best defensive performance and try to catch City on the counter-attack. But if they wish to go for it, they have to start with 3 of their best attackers in the squad namely Tammy Abraham & the Ayew brothers.

Gameweek 34

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Man City had done their part this week by beating Tottenham at Wembley in emphatic fashion. It was Gabriel Jesus who got the ball rolling after Vincent Kompany found him with a delicious long ball, which was later doubled up Ilkay Gundogan from the penalty spot.

Tottenham did pull one back through Christian Eriksen before the end of the first half, but Raheem Sterling ensured that City was victorious at a top 6 side for the 5th time this season. If United lost at home to West Brom, they clinch their title.

And the unthinkable did happen as United suffered a shock loss to bottom side West Brom as Jay Rodriguez scored the decisive goal. 

Hearing the final whistle, everyone associated with Man City was sent into overdrive as it meant clinching their inevitable title this season and now await an imminent coronation. 

How has City fared this season?

Man City have by-far been the greatest PL team to have won the title in quite some time and claim it in the way they have, with 5 games still to play. 

Pep Guardiola and all of his players have rightly deserved every bit of it! 

It's a first for many summer recruits including Kyle Walker, a former Spurs player, Leroy Sane who is a likely candidate to win PFA Young Player of the Year and former Liverpool player Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne, City's most influential player, and creator in chief this season.

But, for a few, it's a record  3rd PL title as David Silva, Sergio Aguero and captain Vincent Kompany who have all been at their very best this season.

But, City would still have loved to have any involvement in the UCL campaign this season. For their remaining 5 PL games, City will often field most of their youth players including Phil Foden, Brahim Diaz, and Tosin Adarabioyo along with a few of the old boys namely Yaya Toure.

But, by far a brilliant achievement from a team who has been at their very best week in week out, even when the results hadn't been going their way, they stuck together and regrouped for next week's game to ensure that they don't repeat the same mistake.

Their title coronation is expected on the 6th of May, their final home game against Huddersfield Town with the party continuing.

Where does City's triumph now lead United?

If United had to go on and win the PL this season, they sure weren't going to win it playing the football they have done this season. They have been brilliant against most of the so-called top clubs but against lower opposition, on some occasions, they have been dreadful.

Earning a derby victory last weekend was a roadblock to City's title coronation, but losing to a team who is 20th at home is a huge downfall and level of inconsistency which has to be rectified by United if they are to have any title challenge next season.

When odds are stacked against United, they come up with a fighting challenge but when they aren't they are casual on the pitch and cannot even put a worthy attempt on the opposition goal. 

Alexis Sanchez, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard all went missing in their game against the Baggies, and when Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial did come on it was too late for them to make an impact.

United now have to focus on their FA Cup campaign especially as it is their last hope to win a trophy this season. They have to treat their game against Spurs as a cup final, especially as the game is being played at Wembley, Tottenham's home ground this season.

However, United do play a league game once again this week, traveling to Bournemouth where the majority of their first team players will be rested. This isn't with Spurs' game in mind, but the fact that they were dreadful against West Brom.  

Preview:

Tottenham Hotspur Vs Manchester City

Gameweek 34 in the English Premier League arrives with a few questions that need to be answered and with a cracker of a fixture at Wembley, whilst a few teams play twice before the next game week arrives. Let's get straight to the questions then.

The late kick-off this coming Saturday sees a crunch tie as inevitable EPL champions Manchester City take on the in-form Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

Man City have endured a torrid number of games previously played. They were outclassed by Liverpool in both of their UCL Quarterfinal legs, losing 5-1 on aggregate. 

Their last game in the PL came with a shock defeat to bitter rivals Man United after losing a 2-goal advantage to lose 3-2. This kept them from clinching the PL title and still await their coronation. They will want to get back to winning ways soon.

Tottenham had just secured their 6th consecutive EPL victory in a row and are unbeaten this calendar year. They are on course to record a top 4 finish and are also battling for the FA Cup title. They would also love to keep City waiting for their title and secure a famous victory.

Predicted Formations

• Spurs will be without Danny Rose, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Harry Winks.
• Their expected formation could be a 4-5-1 with a few players predictable to make the starting XI.
• The only doubt would be on the Right back slot with Serge Aurier and Kieran Trippier both vying for a place. But, Trippier can keep track of Leroy Sane and keep him calm throughout the game.

• Man City will have to start strong and with the best possible formation, they have to offer which can provide balance at all positions.
• Fernandinho is suspended, Sergio Aguero and John Stones are injured along with Benjamin Mendy.
• Ilkay Gundogan could once again be handed the central midfield role and needs to keep track of first protecting his center-backs before going to attack.
• Another major call needs to be made at the left back position and Fabian Delph should be given the nod ahead of Danilo, Laporte, and Zinchenko.
• Pep Guardiola should consider starting both Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero up front in a 4-4-2 formation.

Tottenham (2-2) Man City

It is important to first find out what kind of Man City team will turn up at Wembley. They will surely be focused to wrap up the title ASAP but it is very difficult to see them win against Spurs, especially without Fernandinho.

Spurs also need to be ready for the threat that City are going to show in front of goal and try their best to get past their defense.

Will Manchester City win the title this week?

The answer is NO. City did have a chance to win it last week but their loss to United means that the gap has been reduced from 16 points to 13 points.

This means that City needs to win any two games from their remaining six which will be achieved but it would be difficult to ensure that happening this week as they travel for a tough encounter to Tottenham.

But if United win their upcoming two games this game week and City fail to pick up a single point, then the gap would reduce from 13 points to 7 points.

But if City wins this week, then they would need just one more victory which mathematically guarantees them the title this season.

Who will finish in the top four?

Man City will be finishing top of the Premier League and win the title, and thus will gain qualification to next season's UCL Group Stages.

Man United are expected to finish in the top 4, mainly in the runners-up spot. They have a few tricky games upcoming, at home against Arsenal and away games at Bournemouth, West Ham, and Brighton, all vying for survival for next season's campaign.

Liverpool has a decent set of fixtures which they would be expected to win, excluding one away at Chelsea. So, 12 points from 15 are possible. 

Tottenham is the team in form in the top 4 and can even finish higher than 4th, especially with their unbeaten run this year. 

Chelsea's dropped points last week have relatively ruled them out of securing qualification into the UCL and Arsenal have an outside chance of winning the UEL this season and gaining automatic progress.

Gameweek 33 Review

Manchester United's resilience in the Manchester Derby paid off after they fought their way to come back from two goals down and win 3-2. Not only was it a historic win, but they also spoilt Man City's chances of getting one over their rivals and clinching the PL title.

Man City will eventually claim the title as they need just two wins from their remaining six games now that the gap between them and United has reduced to 13 points.

Man United will look to finish strongly in 2nd place in the PL and are also strong contenders to win the FA Cup. They have won their last 5 games in a row.

Liverpool sits in 3rd with 67 points after their draw in the Merseyside derby last week. But, they are high on confidence after progressing into the semi-finals of the UCL with a handsome victory over Man City. 

Tottenham too is locked on 67 points and sit in 4th place after winning their last six consecutive PL games in a row and are unbeaten in the PL this calendar year.

Let's review how these four sides performed last weekend.

Manchester City Vs Manchester United

Man United came back from 2-goals down to claim a stunning 3-2 victory at The Etihad stadium against rivals Man City stopping them from claiming the inevitable league title.

City took the lead through captain Vincent Kompany's powerful header which was followed up by Ilkay Gundogan's clever low shot past David De Gea to double the lead to end the 1st half.

But United was a different side in the 2nd half and rallied through a rejuvenated Paul Pogba who scored the first through a clever pass by Ander Herrera and his second coming through a clever header from Alexis Sanchez' cross.

The comeback was complete when Sachez once again crossed in the perfect ball to find Chris Smalling who fired United into the lead. 

David De Gea making a fingertip save from Sergio Aguero's header

Everton Vs Liverpool

With one eye on gaining progress to the semi-final stage of the UCL, Liverpool and their fierce rivals, Everton ended with honors even in the Merseyside Derby.

Everton created the best chances throughout the game through Cenk Tosun and Dominic Calvert-Lewin which were squandered away. 

Liverpool did progress into the Semi-final stages but as far as the league is concerned, they are now 4 points behind 2nd place United having played a game more and are level on 67 points with 4th placed Tottenham.

Stoke City V Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham secured their 6th straight league victory in a row after edging past Stoke City to move level on 67 points with 3rd placed Liverpool.

A goalless first half led to Christian Eriksen breaking the deadlock after Dele Alli's cutback pass. 

Minutes later, Mame Biram Diouf leveled the game after a collision with Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris saw him put the ball in the back of the net.

But the returning Harry Kane was awarded the winning goal after Eriksen's free-kick glanced off of him.