EPL: Man City are champions in days
06 May 2014 05:23:29
Liverpool's extraordinary 3-3
draw at Crystal Palace
means that Manchester City
can close to within touching
distance of the Premier
League title by beating Aston Villa on
Wednesday.
With the top two neck-and-neck on 80
points and with two games to play each, City
were braced for a repeat of the 2012
campaign, when they pipped Manchester
United to the title on goal difference on the
final day.
However, Liverpool's late capitulation at
Selhurst Park on Monday, when they let a
3-0 lead slip in the last 11 minutes, means
that City now effectively need only four points
to regain the title.
Both their last matches are at home, with
West Ham United following Villa to the Etihad
Stadium on Sunday, and with a goal
difference of +59 to Liverpool's +50, they can
afford to drop two points and still finish on
top.
City midfielder Samir Nasri was unable to
contain his delight at Liverpool's slip-up,
tweeting shortly after the game: "What a
game, what a league. I love Crystal Palace
so much. Now our turn to do the job."
While both Villa and West Ham have nothing
to play for this season, Yaya Toure has
warned his City teammates not to take them
lightly.
"Both Aston Villa and West Ham are sharp
and will come to just enjoy the games, but
we have a league to play for," said the
Ivorian midfielder.
"I hope we complete the job, but it depends
how sharp we are, how we prepare mentally
and physically.
"Our target was always to win something,
but for us the League Cup is not enough. The
Premier League was always our target, so
now we need to be at our optimum levels
when Aston Villa come to our stadium on
Wednesday."
He added: "We definitely expect to win it. As
a team at the top, you always expect to win.
"We have worked so hard this year and, if we
don't win, it would be a massive
disappointment for us, for the fans and for
the club as well."
Toure has declared himself fit after being
substituted during the second half of
Saturday's 3-2 win at Everton.
City also hope that Sergio Aguero will be
able to lead the line against Villa despite
having gone off due to a groin complaint in
the first half of Saturday's game.
The Argentine left the fray in the 28th minute
at Goodison Park, but he subsequently took
to Twitter to reveal that his substitution had
merely been "a precaution".
Villa also have concerns over the fitness of a
key forward, after Gabriel Agbonlahor was
forced off during the 3-1 defeat of Hull City
on Saturday with a knee problem.
Norwich City's 0-0 draw at Chelsea on
Sunday means that Villa are now safe from
relegation, but the club continue to be
dogged by uncertainty over the future of
manager Paul Lambert.
Villa's American owner Randy Lerner is due
to make an announcement on his own
position at the club shortly and Lambert says
that his fate could be closely tied to Lerner's.
Asked if he would be staying at Villa Park,
Lambert replied: "I hope so. That is what I
want to do, but you'll know when the
chairman says what he is going to do.
"The next step is for the chairman to come
out and say. We had to get over the line and
then the chairman will come out and say
what he will.
"You would love to do it. It is a brilliant club
to drive on. That's why I said the most
important thing for this club was to stay in
this league."
Villa won this season's reverse fixture in
September 3-2 thanks to a 75th-minute goal
by Andreas Weimann, but they have not won
at the Etihad in the league since a 2-0
success in April 2007.
© Sapa - AFP
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