Why Manchester City Should Be Eight Points Clear After Super Sunday

Why Manchester City Should Be Eight Points Clear After Super Sunday
11:44, 03 Nov 2017

Rarely do Sky Sports “Super Sundays” deserve their preposterously grandiose billings, but for once this weekend’s triple-header doesn’t look quite so absurd when advertised with blockbuster montages and an overzealous voiceover. It should be a brilliant day of football.

Tottenham Hotspur host Crystal Palace in an intriguing midday kickoff from Wembley, but that feels like little more than undercard. Manchester City host Arsenal in what should be a comfortable – perhaps even humiliating – win for Pep Guardiola’s team, before Manchester United travel to Stamford Bridge where, thankfully, Jose Mourinho won’t be able to risk playing for the draw.

It should be pretty exciting, then, and come 7pm on Sunday we could find Manchester City eight points clear at the top of the table – with Manchester Utd seriously damaged and both Spurs and Chelsea suddenly reinvigorated. It would be a dramatic subversion of the narrative we were left with following last weekend’s action, but it is the most likely outcome.

Firstly, Arsenal should be emphatically beaten, not least because Arsene Wenger is a laissez-faire tactician who rarely – if ever – adapts his system whereas Pep Guardiola will work fastidiously to expose his opponent’s flaws.

Arsenal’s 3-4-2-1 formation means Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey will be left with too many men to mark centrally. Even if the pair successfully cut off passing lines to Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva by sitting on top of them (as they did to Eden Hazard and Pedro recently) then Fernandinho will be left free to roam forward and feed the ball out wide to Leroy Sane. And that’s without contemplating Fabien Delph’s movements into this zone of the pitch. Together, these four will surely overwhelm the Gunners, leading to Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, and Sergio Aguero running rings around a back five that struggle to remain in a straight line at the best of times.

And so when the cameras turn to Stamford Bridge the pressure will be palpable. It might sound premature with so much of the season left to run, but there are very few examples in history of a team winning the title when eight points off the pace; it is becoming increasingly clear that scrapping for draws or gambling on a late winner is not a viable option for Mourinho anymore. This tactic worked when he managed in leagues with just one or two rivals, but in the era of a “big six” he cannot utilise these tactics in 10 out of 38 matches. Not when City are this good.

Both tactically and psychologically Conte might have an advantage. Chelsea’s embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Roma will have led to an angry inquest from the Italian, which should spark a considerably more aggressive performance on Sunday. Coupled with N’Golo Kante’s return from injury, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Chelsea stifle United’s more creative players.

What’s more, the pressure on United to come out and attack will leave them vulnerable to Chelsea’s rapid counters. Eden Hazard and Pedro revel in matches when their team holds less possession, ghosting around on the halfway line before suddenly bursting into life when a move breaks down.

Defeat for United would be incredibly damaging, and yet it is hard to envisage them collecting the three points they so desperately need. By the time Sky Sports’ Super Sunday ends we might, for once, agree with the extravagant nature of their coverage. We might also collectively agree that the 2017/18 title race is all-but over.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.