City start tough run against Chelsea, Spurs aim to halt slide
- 5 hours ago
Manchester City have no time to lick their wounds after another bruising Champions League defeat as Chelsea prepare to visit the Etihad, with both clubs battling for a top-four finish.
Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, both looking to upset the established order by qualifying for next season’s Champions League, meet at the Vitality Stadium in an intriguing match-up between two in-form teams.
At the other end of the table, beleaguered Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou badly needs a win against relegation-threatened Leicester as he seeks to keep Spurs clear of danger.
City’s 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich last weekend suggested they might have recovered their mojo but that optimism was swept away in a four-goal blitz from Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday to leave Pep Guardiola’s men on the brink of an embarrassing early exit in Europe.
A five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League has brought City back into the race for a top-four finish after a terrible run of results.
The English champions sit fifth and would leapfrog fourth-placed Chelsea with victory at the Etihad on Saturday.
However, their upturn coincided with a gentle run of fixtures and their collapse from 2-0 up to lose 4-2 at PSG showed the frailties that tougher opposition could expose.
City face Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Tottenham in their following four Premier League games.
The club’s slump, exacerbated by injuries, has forced them to be unusually active in the January transfer market.
Guardiola has admitted Manchester City’s injury woes and dismal form this season forced the club to start an overhaul of his squad sooner than expected.
After winning the Premier League six times in the past seven seasons, City’s bid for a fifth successive title has crumbled in shocking fashion.
City’s astonishing decline has prompted Guardiola and the club’s hierarchy to launch a comprehensive rebuild of his team in a bid to get back on track.
Normally cautious spenders in the January transfer window, City have signed Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens, teenaged Brazilian defender Vitor Reis from Palmeiras and Egypt forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt.
That trio cost around £123 million ($152 million) in combined transfer fees and opened the door for unsettled City right-back Kyle Walker’s imminent loan move to AC Milan.
“Last season, we didn’t do much (in the transfer market) with the exceptional qualities of this team,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“Normally we would wait three or four months, but we decided to do it here with the amount of injuries and problems we have.
“They will make us strong and I’m pretty sure that the club decided for these prospective players for the future and many years.”
Forest are on course for a stunning return to Europe’s elite competition, starting the weekend level on points with second-placed Arsenal and six clear of City and Newcastle.
Qualification for the Champions League would be an astonishing achievement for Forest, who were crowned European champions in 1979 and 1980 under the management of Brian Clough.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men face a stern test of their ambitions on Saturday against a Bournemouth side that are unbeaten in a club-record 10 Premier League games.
The Cherries shrugged off a mounting injury list to put Newcastle to the sword in an impressive 4-1 win at St James’ Park last weekend, with Justin Kluivert scoring a hat-trick.
Bournemouth have never qualified for European competition but sit seventh, just three points off the top four.
“I like the fans to dream,” said captain Lewis Cook. “Why not get excited?”
Bournemouth fans’ joy might be tempered by links suggesting Tottenham could come calling for their manager Andoni Iraola if Ange Postecoglou fails to save Spurs’ sorry season.
Injury-ravaged Tottenham have lost seven of their past nine Premier League games to slide to 15th in the table.
But fears that they will be sucked into a relegation battle have so far been tempered by the terrible form of the bottom three.
Agence France-Presse
