Most Manchester City fans will have ruled their team out of the title race on at least one occasions – most notably after their team’s loss at Anfield nearly a month ago which seemed to almost seal the title for Liverpool. Now, in the final game of this turbulent Premier League season, Manuel Pellegrini has the chance to win his first league title in England. West Ham United are the visitors to The Etihad, and The Blues will be ready for this one.
City have got praise in recent days for Manuel Pellegrini’s calmness and humility throughout the season, comparable to the antics of José Mourinho. In some parties, it is thought that The Citizens have gone somewhat unnoticed this year, what with the re-emergence of Liverpool as a title contender and the astuteness of Chelsea on all fronts. Manchester City scored their 100th league goal and 154th in all competitions this season when Aston Villa were the visitors to Manchester on Wednesday night.
The highly-paid stars at City will be raring to go on Sunday afternoon, excited to try and claim the second Premier League title in three years for The Blues. The last was under the tutelage of Roberto Mancini in 2012 before a dip in form last season that saw the Italian sacked. After moving two points clear in the title race against Villa many feel City now have one hand on the trophy, but the job is far from done.
It’d be foolish to think West Ham were going to come and roll over on Sunday. People thought that about QPR at the end of the 2011-12 season and City almost blew their chance. The Hammers will either play a defensive brand of football that City have struggled to break down this season (and is becoming increasingly popular in England), or will try and attack and disrupt The Blues’ title charge. Either way, Sam Allardyce will want to end his season on a high.
Manchester City are set to have a fully-fit squad to choose from in the final game of the Premier League season. They have suffered with injury problems throughout the past nine months but finally look like they’ve passed the worst of it. Sergio Agüero (hamstring) has been one of the worst affected this season, and picked up an injury at Goodison Park last Saturday; however, the Argentine is fit again. Jesús Navas (ankle) has also been injured recently but is expected to return from injury against West Ham. Matija Nastasić (knee) has also been out for months with injury but is back fit to face the West Ham if required. The improved form of Demichelis might mean the Serbian is not required.
For the visitors, they have a short injury list to contend with. January signing Marco Borriello (calf) is definitely out of Sunday’s trip to Manchester and he remains the only player on the injury table for The Hammers. The on-loan Roma forward has made just two appearances since joining on loan.
City fans will be keen not to count their chickens just yet; they know all too well that City have been in situations like this before and messed it up. However, with the heaps of talent in the squad now many will feel those times have passed to a degree and some may even go into Sunday’s game with a glimmer of confidence. Meanwhile, Pellegrini would be quietly satisfied. Two trophies in his first season wouldn’t be too shabby for the man they nickname “The Engineer”.
