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First things first - Finally! We got to see a display by our City squad that feels like it was normal. Even though it was against Leeds United, a Championship side, it was still a great result. Yaya Toure was perfectly on the same page as dangerous David Silva, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, and James Milner.
Our movement was great, and our defense was superb. Kolo Toure showed one more time how good he can be at the back. I'm seriously having a hard time remembering why we start Lescott at the back. With Vincent Kompany reportedly out of the lineup again, i hope that it will be Toure and Matija Nastasic at the back.
There were some simply amazing interviews done with Roberto Mancini this week. He showed exactly the kind of mental toughness that he will need to have to steer City to another Premier League title. I think that Bob will be totally unafraid of benching any player that he feels isn't playing up to the right standards (this means Nasri).
Finishing the season - With United's victory over QPR yesterday, they currently sit 15 points ahead in the table. Problem is, we are only 6 points clear of 5th, making us much much closer to being out of the Champion's League than from being able to win the Premier League.
The key for the rest of the season is to stay ahead of the rest of the pack. If we keep our current run of form (and with Yaya back, Aguero in form, Milner and Silva playing good football we should be able to do so), then we can lock up the 2nd place spot. As Bob pointed out the other day, it is pretty amazing that City have finished 2nd, 1st, and (aiming for) 2nd in 3 successive years.
We all want to win the title, but losing this season will be a huge benefit for City. It pushed Brian Marwood out of control, and brought in Begiristain and Soriano to head up things. Those two know how to get things done. They've done it before, and I fully expect them to do it again here. We have a lot to look forward to this summer, and next season will be a good one.
Three keys for the game
Containing Mata - It will be a long day at the office for whoever is tasked with tracking Juan Mata. It will probably be a combination of Nastasic, Kolo Toure, and Javi Garcia. Mata has been incredible over the past few weeks, and if he gets loose between the lines, it could be a long game.
Nastasic + Kolo - These two will also have to deal with the tricky Eden Hazard, powerful Demba Ba, and fat Frank Lampard. If they can play off each other as well as they did against Leeds United, it should be a good result for City.
Aguero and Tevez - With Edin Dzeko seemingly on the way out the door at the end of the season, Carlos Tevez will have a great chance to show that he should get an extension on his contract, or prove his worth to any potential buyers. He has been great lately, and continues to partner up well with Sergio Aguero.