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Premier League Match Week 26: 5 Things to Watch For

By Afshin Zahraee

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Aug 2, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Manchester City goalie Joe Hart (1) looks on against Olympiakos during the second half at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

2. Manchester City Out of Excuses for Important Match

There is absolutely no doubt that Manchester City face the most pressure heading into their match this week against Newcastle at the Etihad. The Citizens are 7 points behind EPL-leading Chelsea and face a must-win match to stay in contention with the season winding down. In order to keep pace, Manuel Pellegrini’s side needs to stop dropping points at home, and now is as important a time to pick up all 3 points with Chelsea hosting bottom-feeders Burnley.

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Rodri believes City can have even more success this season
Rodri believes City can have even more success this season /

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    • The Manchester club were without Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero for long stretches due to injury. Aditionally, Yaya Toure was away at the African Cup of Nations last month in a string of matches that saw City’s worst run of form in quite a while. Now all three are back, healthy, and in form (especially Aguero). This brings us back to the point that Manchester City have absolutely no excuse to drop any points and Pellegrini knows that to be the case as well:

    "“We cannot drop more points. But the important thing also is, if we win we will have the same amount of points at the same moment as last season. We can’t think about where Chelsea is – it’s important not to drop points and the only way to do it is to play well.”"

    While last season’s champions were vulnerable away from home at times and untouchable at the Etihad, it is their home form this season that has let them down and been the main cause of the gap between themselves and Chelsea. Manchester City only dropped 4 points at home in 18 fixtures last season. This season, in only 12 home matches, they’ve already dropped 12 points! City are 10 points behind Chelsea on home form, who have earned 34 of 36 home points at Stamford Bridge.

    There is no time to cry over spilled milk, though. All the Sky Blues can do at this point is take every point available, and that starts now. Forget draws; they all have to be wins at the Etihad from this point on, otherwise the Manchester outfit will find themselves with the pack battling for top 4 and Champions League spots in a hurry.

    Next: Match of the Week Has Enormous Top 4 Implications

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