UNEARTHS SOME WEEKEND STONKERS... AND STINKERS Pep’s made the Etihad a play ground
GET your skates on for fun times at Manchester City this afternoon – the forecast is for flurries of goals.
Probably no snow concerns at the Etihad (4pm), where they know how to spend – and that goes for the pitch too.
Every night each blade of grass is washed, massaged with essential oils, and zipped into a tiny little onesie, designed by Stella McCartney.
That’s proper investment in the perfect stage for scoring – and it’s paying off.
The long list of sides who have got goals at City this season includes West Ham, Southampton, Burnley and Newcastle – four of the most harmless attacks in the top tier.
Even Stoke put two in the back of City’s net. And they had only one shot on target.
Antonio Conte doesn’t need to rely on statistical anomalies to ruffle the feathers of Pep Guardiola (right) – he’s got a Chelsea squad studded with goalscoring talent.
How far they’ll be let off the leash on this occasion is the yellow snow in our garden of delight – but the stats in the book say “pish” to the doubters.
Guardiola’s 22-legged sunshine machine have won 18 of 20 home games this season, and only bothered to collect eight clean sheets in the process.
Contrast this hot-blooded, puppyish THE ‘next Arsenal manager’ betting list is making me feel confused and thirsty.
I thought ‘Andries Jonker’ (33/1) was an Austrian tenor from the golden age of gramophone. And didn’t ‘Ralf Rangnick’ (66/1) play the dad in the Rockford Files? How that qualifies either to manage a top-flight club is a mystery.
‘Thierry Henry’ (6/1) rings a bell, but it can’t be the one who’s only been Belgium assistant coach in charge of moisturising (left), for about an hour, so I’m stumped. EMPTY seats at the Emirates against Manchester City pretty clearly stated where many Arsenal fans were ‘at’ on Thursday night. ‘At’ home, crying angry tears into their Michael Thomas commemorative duvet sets.
But today could be exactly the right moment to give the leaky, streaky Gunners another chance. I don’t mean ‘to win’ at 5/6 for the trip to Brighton (1.30pm). Let’s keep our heads.
But against an outgoing home team, secondbest in every position and weak against set-pieces, the Gunners’ ducks are in a row.
Nacho Monreal (left) ‘anytime’ is huge at 14/1 (888sport) on his potential here — even the 9/1 (Paddy) High Street best is worth a nibble.