The pressure is now hugely weighted on Manchester City. Drawing with Real Madrid in the Champions League and still fighting for fourth place is not what fans had hoped for. Now up against Arsenal, without injury-prone Vincent Kompany, they face what could be a disastrous end to the season.
Manuel Pellegrini has even been concerned over the psychological impact of the media on his players, disregarding teams who are not in the Champions League from February onwards.
Yet in fact, he’s fighting to preserve the dignity of his successor, Pep Guardiola. Having him in the hot-seat without a pass to Europe is unthinkable.
I think this will be quite a tight match, with little goal action. The way to play this one is Under 2.5 Goals, at 2.15.