Wilfried Bony Hitting Top Form at Perfect Time for Manchester City

Manchester City are approaching a crucial stretch in their season, with their Premier League title chase very much still on and a massive Champions League tie on the horizon. As such, it's crucial that their key players can hit top form sooner rather than later.

January signing Wilfried Bony is but one of these players.

Since completing his move to the Etihad, the 26-year-old has been unavailable for selection for Manuel Pellegrini due to the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. However, he is picking up his form in the competition, helping guide Les Elephants to the final.

Bony bagged a brace in the quarterfinals against fellow tournament favorite Algeria, guiding his side to a 3-1 victory. He also showcased quite a nice piece of skill earlier in the tournament:

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ICYMI, here's another chance to see Wilfried Bony's insane elastico nutmeg on loop: http://t.co/dJDwYUda8y http://t.co/WRxSxZbWDc

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 26, 2015"

In Wednesday's semifinal match en route to another 3-1 victory—this one over DR Congo—Bony laid on a pair of assists, including one for fellow City man Yaya Toure:

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Yaya Toure with an absolute smashing goal gives Ivory Coast a 1-0 lead. #beINAFCON http://t.co/tPPqAJKa8M

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 4, 2015"

With long-lost AFCON glory on the line, expect City's new Ivorian hit to go all-out for glory. And when he returns to England—for the first time as a City player—it should be no different.

City have hit a bit of a rough patch of late, winning none of their last four competitive fixtures. They've been dumped from the FA Cup and earned just two points from league matches against Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea. They've also scored just two goals in that span.

Bringing in Bony adds a dynamic new dimension to the City attack, perhaps something that has been missing since Alvaro Negredo's departure.

On that note, Stevan Jovetic is rather unfortunate to lose his spot in City's Champions League squad to Bony, per Goal. Like Negredo, the Montenegrin is the latest victim of UEFA's restrictions placed on the club, cutting the size of their squad.

As it stands, though, Jovetic just hasn't been getting the job done. As noted on WhoScored, Jovetic has scored just five goals in all competitions, spanning 19 appearances. He has failed to soften the blow left by Sergio Aguero's injury troubles, and it's cost him a place in the squad.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Bony can more than make up for Jovetic's absence. His multi-faceted game suits him well for City, as they found out in November when he put Swansea up by a goal in their Premier League clash at the Etihad.

He made a clever, unmarked run into the box and stroked home confidently, while a delightful chipped pass from a deeper position was unfortunate not to be finished by Bafetimbi Gomis late on. That mistake allowed City to hang on to a 2-1 win.

Bony has a bit of everything—movement, strength, aerial ability—but most importantly knows how to find the back of the net. Thirty-one league goals in 30 games for Vitesse in 2012/13 can attest to that (via Transfermarkt). A record of 35 goals in 70 games for Swansea is nothing to sneeze at, either.

He's also shown he has a good eye for an assist, with 18 in his time at Vitesse and 11 with the Swans. He laid on a pair in the 3-1 win over DR Congo, and the ball against City was yet another example of his well-rounded game.

With the AFCON final set for Sunday, Bony will miss Saturday's Premier League clash with Hull City and would more than likely be rested for the midweek fixture at Stoke City. But he could debut against Newcastle United on the 21st and should be favored to start against Barcelona on the 24th.

The Catalan giants have not been the old dominant force they once were over the last couple of years. A 7-0 aggregate semifinal humbling from Bayern Munich was followed by last season's quarterfinal exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid. Could City push them out another round earlier this time?

Last season's 4-1 aggregate victory for Barcelona was City's first venture into the round of 16, and it showed. But they've certainly gained a lot from that experience, as well as their miraculous group-stage turnaround this season.

Adding Bony to the equation gives Pellegrini a new threat to utilize against a Barcelona defense that has allowed just 11 league goals thus far, per their website. But that back line has shown in the past how it can be vulnerable. Combining an in-form Bony with the likes of Aguero, David Silva, Samir Nasri and James Milner could cause Luis Enrique a lot of problems.

With Bony hitting top form, not only is the title chase still very much alive—as B/R's Rob Pollard rightly suggests—but the Champions League dream is not out of the picture, either.

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