Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce could give debuts to defender Lamine Kone, midfielder Wahbi Khazri and striker Dame N’Doye on Tuesday.
Sebastian Coates has joined Sporting Lisbon on loan.
Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph misses out after suffering a calf injury in the win over Aston Villa.
Aleksandar Kolarov is fit again for City, who are still without Kevin de Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala, Wilfried Bony and Samir Nasri.
Editor’s Note: So Football’s biggest secret is finally out of the bag, Manchester City have secured the services of Pep Guardiola for next season and beyond. The question now is can Manuel Pellegrini motivate his players enough to deliver a Premier League title before his departure
When the news that Pep Guardiola was going to take over at Bayern broke, Jupp Heynckes still managed to lead his side to a Treble so it’s not to say that the City players are just going to down tools straight away but Pellegrini is going to have to make sure the intensity from the squad doesn’t drop between now and May, after all they still have to chase Leicester down first.
As for matters on the pitch, City made easy work of Aston Villa in the F.A Cup on Saturday with Kelechi Ihenacho getting his first ever Senior Hat -Trick for the club but it’s the stuttering League form which has prevented them from being on top spot.
It’s unbeaten in the last 6 matches for City but 3 of those have been draws and in that period of 6 matches they haven’t managed to win two in a row. They were also lucky to come away with a point at West Ham last time around as a mixture of Sergio Aguero’s late equaliser and West Ham hitting the bar with the last chance of the game meant it was just a point at Upton Park
They already have booked their place in the Capital One Cup Final but it has come at a heavy cost as Kevin De Bruyne is now ruled out for 10 weeks so an even greater onus will be placed on Sergio Aguero and his Goals if City are to have any chance of capturing a 3rd Premier League title in 5 seasons.
Tonight they travel to Sunderland who are unbeaten in their last two matches but find themselves 4 points from safety. Sam Allardyce has been particularly busy in the January Transfer Window and 3 of those signings could make their bow Tonight.
Last time out they drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at Home a result that was probably better for Bournemouth than it was Sunderland. Allardyce knows that a draw here and there won’t be enough to keep them up at the end of the season, his Black Cats side need to start picking more regular wins.
Although Sunderland are well rested after having no Cup action, unfortunately for them I can’t see a win happening for them tonight. City to show that they are still ready and willing to fight for Manuel Pellegrini and come away with all 3 points. An away win for me.
