Manchester City is on a real high after beating the best team in the world. Now they are playing lowly on a November afternoon in the north of England which should bring the Premier League leaders nicely back to earth. Though Saturday’s home game may look easy and City’s 3-1 win against Barcelona is heroic however midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is warning against complacency.
Tuesday’s stunning victory followed a 4-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion in the league last weekend and as a result this ended a sequence of six matches without a win and Pep Guardiola’s worst run as a manager. De Bruyne told reporters “Obviously everyone will talk about it because it was Barcelona, but if you lose at the weekend it doesn’t matter (what happened in the Champions League),” he further added “We have to do the same as we did in these two games and try to win against Middlesbrough to go into the international break with a good series and try to maintain top spot in the league.”
Inspirational Belgian midfielder added, “It is very difficult. Everybody will give everything they have got against us. We have to do what we know how to do. The game against Middlesbrough is going to be another tough test.”
In the interesting match between Barcelona and Man City it is only the second time in Guardiola’s reign that City had less than 55 percent possession in a game, While his adversary Jose Mourinho at the same time enjoyed each success in trying to exploit opponents errors by allowing them to have the ball for extended periods and playing in such a way which is not normally you would associate with Guardiola.
If this game of Man City will be the Saturday highlight then Chelsea’s home clash with Everton in the late kickoff would also be a sizzler. Another match between the Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is the pick of the Sunday fixtures with both sides as also in the midweek Champions League action while high scoring Liverpool take on Watford at Anfield with a chance to go top if others stumble.
But what matters is how Man City gears up for the next match keeping its momentum and planning its strategies right and then scoring a win which would keep them in the right spot. Fans are eagerly awaiting the action time from their favourite team.
