10 Things for Manchester City Fans to Look Forward to in 2015
Manchester City supporters may complain a lot, but if they're being honest with themselves, they have to admit that 2014 was a pretty exceptional year.
It seems like forever ago, but City claimed the League Cup last March to secure manager Manuel Pellegrini's first trophy as City boss.
It took fewer than three months for Pellegrini to grab his second, and what a moment it was.
The new year is barely underway, and City fans have a great deal to look forward to.
Here are 10 things City fans should watch for in 2015.
The January Transfer Window
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As transfer windows go at Manchester City, last summer's was relatively dull.
City did spend a lot of money, but the majority of it was used on one player. Eliaquim Mangala's £32 million transfer to fill the hole next to City captain Vincent Kompany at centre-back has worked out, but only part of the time. Fernando has been a far better value for the £12 million he cost.
Injuries to City's three strikers (Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic) may force the club to shop for another in January transfer window.
Rumors continue to swirl around Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony. "European Cup holders Real Madrid are the latest club to be linked with the Ivory Coast striker, who is also interesting champions Manchester City," wrote Neil McLeman in the Mirror.
Whether it is Bony or someone else, City can be counted on to address the striker shortfall left by Alvaro Negredo's departure.
And don't be stunned if City end up buying another defender, either.
Sergio Aguero's Quest to Lead the Premier League in Goals
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Through 20 matches of 38 in the Premier League season, Manchester City and Chelsea are level on points and on goals scored.
In a related story, City's Sergio Aguero and Chelsea's Diego Costa are tied atop the league leaders in goals with 14 apiece.
Richard Jolly of ESPN FC recently reported that "Sergio Aguero is on course to make his Manchester City comeback against Arsenal" on Jan. 18.
Jolly also noted that "Edin Dzeko will alleviate City's striking injury crisis by returning sooner, for the trip to Everton on Jan. 10."
Aguero can only benefit from having Dzeko available to do two important things: take some of the scoring load off his shoulders and eat up some of the playing time so Aguero can be at his best.
The Chance to Bury the 'Goodison Park Is a Bogey Ground' Myth 20 Feet Deep
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It looks to be an optimal time for Manchester City to be heading to Goodison Park to take on Everton. The Toffees are in disarray, and the seat under manager Roberto Martinez is heating up quickly.
"The Everton manager is under growing pressure and scrutiny after four straight Premier League losses, which has seen the team drop to 13th in the table, just four points above the relegation zone," wrote Jason Burt in The Telegraph.
If Everton are to turn it around soon, it will happen without first-choice goalkeeper Tim Howard, who is out with a calf injury until sometime in February, per a Fox Sports report.
City won their last match at Goodison, but before that, their form away to Everton was all kinds of sorry.
If City claim three points against the Toffees on Jan. 10, the trepidation about playing at Goodison should abate significantly.
Another Tricky Encounter with Arsenal, Who Are Due to Beat Manchester City
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Arsenal will go to the Etihad on Jan. 18 with the knowledge they have not beaten City since the spring of 2012.
In the five Premier League encounters between the clubs since then, City have won two and drawn three. Arsenal are a particularly dangerous opponent these days because their grasp on a Champions League place is even more slippery than normal.
Arsenal are looking up at both Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in their quest to win another of Wenger's coveted fourth-place trophies. The Gunners' recent trip to St. Mary's didn't help that cause.
Still, Arsenal are due to squeeze a result from a tussle with City. Aren't they?
The Biggest Match of the Season, Until the Next One of Course
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The stories surrounding Manchester City's trip to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the last day of January are too numerous to mention here, but here a few:
- The way City lost at the Bridge in the fall of 2013
- The antipathy between City manager Manuel Pellegrini and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho
- Frank Lampard's rebirth at City after being tossed aside by Mourinho
- The idea the result of this match might decide the 2014/15 Premier League title
They are all great storylines, and the match should be a fantastic watch as Chelsea, for once, will probably open up and try to beat City rather than sit back and hope to counter if City make a mistake coming forward.
But whatever the result on Jan. 31, both clubs will have about a third of the league season left to play.
It is only one match, and any suggestion that any match in late January can win or lose the league title is insane.
Revenge Game No. 1
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Manchester City lost only twice in the first 19 matches of their Premier League season. The first came very early to a club City had no business losing to.
Much less at the Etihad.
Mame Biram Diouf's strike for Stoke City cost City all three points and began the early-season struggles that ultimately built Chelsea's lead over City in the league table to eight points.
Chelsea's lead is gone now, and City will go to the Britannia on Feb. 11 with both revenge and the need to keep pace with Chelsea on their mind.
Second Verse, Same as the First
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Manchester City made it way too interesting in the doing, but the end result was the Sky Blues making it back into the Champions League knockout rounds.
And there is a familiar foe waiting for them.
City were thoroughly beaten by Lionel Messi and Barcelona last spring. It is tempting for City supporters to say that Martin Demichelis' red card at the Etihad gave Barcelona too great an advantage, but the truth is Barcelona were running the Citzens around at will even before Demichelis hacked Messi down.
At least City did not draw either of the Madrid clubs, but they might have preferred to avoid Spain altogether in this round.
The tie begins at the Etihad on Feb. 24.
More Easy Points!
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Just seeing if the Manchester United fans (the few who remain) are paying attention.
Manchester City will return to Old Trafford to play the Red Devils on Apr. 11 having won six of the last seven Premier League derbies.
Wait. That can't be right, can it? Six out of seven over United? But it says so right here.
And apparently, City have not lost at Old Trafford in the league since the spring of 2011.
So no need to watch that match, then. Just read the write-up in the newspaper the next day—those three points are bought and bagged.
Revenge Game No. 2
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The second of Manchester City's two Premier League losses this season came at Upton Park. Those were heady days for West Ham United and their chatty manager, Sam Allardyce.
“We made some outstanding chances and we took Manchester City’s back four to task and in my opinion they didn’t hold up," woofed Allardyce in October after the Hammers' win over City, according to Paul Doyle in The Guardian. "And I think they didn’t hold up because of the quality of our play.”
West Ham were surprise contenders for a Champions League place then. Now, they are outside the European places looking in, and it remains to be seen whether Big Sam has any more trumps left to play.
However West Ham are doing when they come to the Etihad on Apr. 18, though, City boss Manuel Pellegrini will surely want to serve Allardyce some humble pie.
Game 39?
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There are many things that still could happen to Manchester City in the 2014/15 season.
City will very probably finish in the top three in the Premier League table, punching their ticket to Champions League football again in the fall of 2015.
This season's Champions League efforts are still not over, and if City somehow find their way past Barcelona, well, as long as they avoid Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, they should be competitive.
But of all the things that could happen, the best to this correspondent's mind would be the scenario that would unfold should the Premier League table stand as it does right now, with City and Chelsea level on points and goal difference.
"It all [raises] the question—just what would happen if the two teams were locked together with identical records at the end of the season?" That question was recently posed by The Telegraph.
"The answer is that they would be forced to play a one-off game on neutral territory to determine the fate of the league championship," the report continued.
That match might break the Premier League.
