Andy's Monday Tips: City too good
Manchester City's away form has been indifferent of late but a trip to Blackburn provides a great chance to put things right.
Here we have two managers under huge pressure from Boards who have showed a lot of faith in them. Time is running out for them for very different reasons.
The decision to tell Sam Allardyce his time at Ewood Park was up was a very controversial one at the time and it's looking a pretty poor one just now. Blackburn simply cannot buy a win at the moment and we have to go back to late January to find their last one. Steve Kean has experimented with different players and slightly different systems but it's just not happening for him right now. A few weeks ago there were eight or nine sides who could conceivably still go down but as those teams pick up wins towards the end of the season (and Blackburn don't) they pull safe and life just looks gloomier and gloomier for Blackburn fans.
Roberto Mancini is in a very different position of course. His Manchester City side are currently fourth in the Premier League and are in the final of the FA Cup after that brilliant win over United last weekend. If they qualify for the Champions League and beat Stoke at Wembley the City hierarchy will consider he's had a pretty decent season but there's plenty of work to do on both fronts and if he fails to deliver on either or both, all of a sudden it won't look like such a good season after all.
Either way, I think City look good value to win this match. They've had nine days to recover from that draining semi-final and though they're still without Carlos Tevez, other players such as Adam Johnson and Yaya Toure have shown some late-season form. I suspect there will be plenty of changes amongst the playing staff over the summer at Eastlands and everyone will be desperate to show that they're good enough to play for the richest club in the world. City's form in the league isn't great and they haven't won away from home since the turn of the year but they won't have too many better chances than this one to change that.
Recommended Bets:
Back Manchester City to win at 2.04
Back a Manchester City clean sheet at 2.7
Back Under 2.5 goals at 1.97
Published: 25 Apr 2011
Leave a comment