Julius OkoriePep Guardiola led Manchester City may have crashed out of Champions League after 6-3 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid, but the Premier League champions are contenders in three other prestigious departments.
These include, defence of their league title, which appears to be slipping by the day as they Etihad landlords currently occupy the 5th position on the log with 48 points in 29 matches.
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There is a whopping 22 points gap between the Citizens and table toppers Liverpool who appear to be cruising home for the title. The Reds who never walk alone need 16 more points to clinch the title.
Whether Manchester City will eventually end up in the top four where Arsenal, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest are consolidating with tremendous alacrity is left to the be seen.
8th FA Cup Title A Possibility:
Aside from the Premier league and Champions League slot against next season pursuit, Pep and his boys are equally seeking their 8th FA Cup title and there appears to be hope in this regard after the zoomed into semi-final at the expense of follow premier league side, Bournemouth on Sunday.
That feat however came at a price, leaving City talisman Erling Haaland injured. It turned out that it is not a slight injury but one that may keep him away for the rest of the season.
This certainly ins a huge blow, for City who are equally contenders in this year’s FIFA club World Cup holding in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025.
Re-enacting Club World Cup Feat:
Manchester City are reigning champions of the Club World Cup thus the pressure of defending the title they won in 2023 beating Fluminese 4-0 on that occasion.
City have been grouped with Juventus, as well as UAE side Al Ain and Moroccan team Wydad AC in Group G.
The new-look Club World Cup will feature 32 teams and will be played every four years from the summer of 2025. It is an expansion of the previous version of the tournament, which took place every year and involved just seven teams from around the world.
READ ALSO:Champions League Defeat: Manchester City Not Stable, Says Guardiola
One lucrative championship that guarantees the winner £97m ($125m) .
The worst that can happen to a team with this hydra-headed chase for titles at this time is to have injury worries. This explains why Pep is a worried man following the Haaland and other injuries. Haaland could be out for up to seven weeks with an ankle injury, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed
A club statement on Monday evening said the Norway international would see a specialist, but they were hopeful he would return before the end of the season.
Guardiola went further to add a timescale to any potential absence, telling a pre-Leicester press conference: “The doctors told me between five and seven weeks, so hopefully the end of the season and Club World Cup, he’ll be ready.
Not Funny Without Haaland:
“Sometimes there are years that these things happen – it’s happened all season. It could have been different if it was the end of the season [before the Club World Cup]. With all the injuries we have this season, I’m sorry for them and for Erling as well. Hopefully the recovery is as speedy as possible and he can come back.
“We don’t have another player with his skills or specific qualities, but we have to adapt. For many years, we played with different ways up front. It depends on the quality of the players. We are going to try and find a solution.”
When asked how his team will cope without Haaland, Guardiola replied: “We need players with other qualities and bring other players closer to the box.
“Erling’s numbers have been exceptional and are our incredible threat on many things, but we have to adjust in our players.
“I know the players who have a sense of goal more than the other ones. We have to bring them closer to the box.”
Haaland’s absence adds to already lengthy injury list for Man City this season, with the striker joining Rodri, Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji on the treatment table.
More Headaches:
Ahead of Man City’s game against Leicester on Wednesday, fans are planning to protest after the club announced they had partnered with a third-party ticketing website.
Fan groups have called on supporters to stay outside of the ground for the first nine minutes of the match, but for Pep Guardiola, the fans are part of the game and should not even be missing from the first blast of the whistle.
When asked about the protests, Guardiola replied: “Of course I have sympathy when the fans can express their feelings in good and bad moments, it’s because the team and club is alive.
“The worst is when you cannot express. This is a club where people can express and we are in touch with the fans and the club.
“I can only say we need them since minute one. We are playing for next season to be in the Champions League and we need them.
“I know how tough Leicester are. I’m impressed with how they’ve played the last two games. They played well against Chelsea and Aston Villa.
“We need them [the fans] desperately to achieve our success to be in the Champions League again.”
Injuries at any time of contests is not a good report card, and as for Manchester City, this is the wrong time for Haaland and others to be injured but like hard fight Pep said, the battles will not be postponed, “we just have to adapt”
Can City End Up With Three Out Of Three?
Fans of the club will no doubt feel like heading for the moon should Manchester city in spite of the challenges that they had to jump including the divorce saga that hit pep Guardiola, clinch FA Cup title, a slot in the Champions League and of course another Club World Cup title. But like they say, only time will tell!
Man City’s Upcoming Fixtures:
April 2: Leicester (h)
April 6: Man Utd (a)
April 12: Crystal Palace (h)
April 19: Everton (a)
April 26: Nottm Forest (n) – FA Cup semi-final
May 2: Wolves (h)
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
