PRECARIOUS MANCHESTER CITY

Hi everyone,
By now, I guess it's no news that Manchester City lost last night to Luis Enrique's PSG, 4–2, in France. Both sides weren't in good stead on the table, so it was a huge match. City were 24th with 8 points, occupying the last qualifying spot, while PSG were 26th, with 7 points, meaning they were in the elimination zone.

With that painful loss, PSG arose to 22nd on the log and Manchester City descended to 25th- just outside the qualification spot.

What's Next?

Manchester City host Club Brugge in their final league phase match. That's a very winnable match for City and that should mean that, they will qualify for the Playoff stage.

However, there's a big picture to this matter. Guardiola is set to face a very demanding fixture line over the next 40 days, which will be crucial for City's season and could possibly have a say in Guardiola's future with the team.

Firstly as said above, it is certain that Manchester City will play a "Playoff" round(of 2 matches) if they qualify from the Champions League, league phase.
It is also certain that, if they do qualify for the Playoff their position in the log will be low, meaning by the structure, they will face one of the top-ranked teams among those advancing to the Playoff round.

This means that in February Manchester City will face teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Atalanta. That's some serious work.

Furthermore

But that's not the only challenge. The real heavy burden is that the Playoff matches will be sandwiched by a tough run of Premier League fixtures.

Starting from the very next Premier League match, Manchester City will face Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Nottingham Forest consecutively. All these matches will take place between January 25 and March 8, with the Champions League Playoff matches in between.

In clear terms, below is Manchester City's schedule from January 25 to March 8:

• January 25 - Chelsea (Premier League)
• February 2 - Arsenal (Premier League)
• February 11/12 - Champions League
• February 15 - Newcastle (Premier League)
• February 18/19 - Champions League
• February 23 - Liverpool (Premier League)
• February 26 - Tottenham (Premier League)
• March 8 - Nottingham Forest (Premier League)

Now one understands better why City is frantically signing quality players this January. It's going to be a very heated period for them.

Indeed it's such a trying moment for City now. What a precarious position they find themselves in right now. The genius of Pep Guardiola must have to come to the fore right now.

Thanks