Resurgent Man City resume title quest against Wolves

PEP Guardiola’s rejuvenated Manchester Cit y face a potentia lly trick y challenge at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday as they continue t heir Premier League tit le defence.

But the early days of this year suggest their uncharacteristic December collapse is firmly behind them.

The final month of last year saw Cit y lose successive leag ue games, against relatively modest opposition in both Cr ystal Palace and Leicester Cit y, fol low i ng a n end to t hei r unbeaten domestic start to the campa ig n ea rl ier at t he beg i nning of December.

But a victory over leaders Liverpool to kick off New Year completely rejuvenated the mood at the Etihad Stadium after City had been denied the services of injured playmaker Kevin De Bruyne (pictured, AFP) for most of the first half of the campaign.

And two stunning cup up v ictories in the space of four days – albeit against lower league clubs Rotherham otherham and Burton Albion – suggested ested the t he clinical, cutting edge that characterised Cit y ’s play du r i ng l a st s ea s on’s record-breaking title-winning winning campaign was back.

Cha mpionship side e Rot herha m were swept aside 7-0 at t he Etihad, with third division Burton rton suffering an even more painful l fate in a lopsided f irst leg of League ue Cup semif inal, when Cit y scored ed nine goals wit hout reply.

That latter victory not ot only all but assured City of a place e in the final against Tottenham or Chelsea next month but also indicated cated the demanding Guardiola will not tol- erate any let-up let up in his quest to add more silverware to the club’s trophy cabinet.

It was a mood reflected by De

Bruyne against

Rotherham when he showed visible dissatisfaction at being brought off a f t e r an hour, even though City were already leading by five goals.

S o me r e p o r t s even sug- gested De Bruyne refused to return to the bench to watch the remainder r of the match, remaining, remaining instead, in the City dressing room room.

“No, I didn’t speak w with him,” said City manager G Guardiola curtly, when asked if he had addressed De Bruy Bruyne’s reaction to being replace replaced.

But given the Be Belgian has started just one leagu league game so far this campaign, he is likely to be chomping at the b bit to play from the kick-off against Wolves. Sergio Aguero, too, has returned after being absent since t he Liverpool win due to illness and a inspir a t i on a l c l u b c a pt a i n a nd defender Vincent Kompany Ko is another player wi winning his batt le to be f it for Monday’s match.

The general picture suggests that, having weathered a brief loss of form, City have not only returned to their clinical best but also have a number of key players hitting fitness at the right time, as Guardiola insists his squad can maintain their chase for honours on four fronts.

Even long-term injury victim Benjamin Mendy is making progress and expected to return to the fold shortly.

Meanwhile second-placed City will want to close the seven-point gap at the top of the table created by Liverpool’s 1-0 win away to Brighton on Saturday when they face Wolves.

However Nuno Espirito Santo’s side held City to a creditable 1-1 draw earlier in the season at Molineux and drew 1-1 at the Etihad in last season’s League Cup when they were still a Championship club.