Swansea lambs to the slaughter
PEP ON WAY TO HIS FIRST TROPHY IN ENGLAND Chelsea and United have both given up the ghost in title race.
Manchester City look unstoppable in their relentless surge towards the Premier League title, and only have lowly Swansea standing in the way of Pep Guardiola’s men setting a new record of consecutive wins tonight.
City are 11 points clear at the top and the managers of Manchester United and Chelsea both effectively conceded defeat in the title race at the weekend.
Their victory against Jose Mourinho’s United on Sunday was their 14th straight win in the Premier League – a single season record that also equalled the best-ever run Arsenal established over two seasons in 2002.
Yet despite their frightening form, City defender Kyle Walker is urging caution.
“We have to keep our feet on the floor and keep working hard, preparing physically and mentally,” he said.
“We have another important one on Wednesday against Swansea. We have to keep getting three points.”
Guardiola has declared repeatedly that his team will lose a league match at some point this season but few people would expect that to happen at second-from-bottom Swansea.
David Silva is in dazzling form, with goals in each of his past two appearances and a Man-of-theMatch display on Sunday but the Premier League’s leading scorers have an array of talent supporting him.
However there could be consequences on and off the field following derby victory. Captain Vincent Kompany was substituted after an hour with what appeared to be the latest in a sequence of muscle injuries.
With John Stones out until early January with a hamstring injury, it means Guardiola has just two fit senior centrebacks – Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala.
And the Football Association has demanded answers from both United and City following reports of an ugly fracas in the Old Trafford tunnel after the match that reportedly left City assistant coach Mikel Arteta bloodied.
Guardiola must decide whether to recall striker Sergio Aguero, who was an unused substitute on Sunday, after Gabriel Jesus played in a front three against United alongside Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane.
Swansea striker Wilfried Bony may feel he has a point to prove against his former club.
Bony had a disappointing yearand-a-half in a City shirt, scoring just 10 goals in 46 appearances after joining them from Swansea in January 2015. – AFP