Man City get major Premier League fixture boost in Champions League race

Manchester City have claimed pole position in the race for the third Champions League spot and can keep their momentum

It was less than two weeks ago that Manchester City began a match sitting outside of the top five. Their 0-0 derby draw and Newcastle's 3-0 win at Leicester the following night meant that by the time the Blues kicked off against Crystal Palace they were in sixth place.

Goals from Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards threatened to make things even worse for the Premier League champions before a stirring fightback saw them win 5-2. A late show at Everton brought another victory at the weekend and an even later show against Aston Villa saw them score a crucial victory over a direct rival for Champions League qualification.

That victory was important in its own right, but it also gives City a buffer going into their FA Cup semi-final. Helped by the fact that Forest and Villa are also at Wembley this weekend, City's victory over Villa means that they cannot drop out of the top five before they next play in the league despite missing a round of fixtures.

Newcastle and Forest can move back ahead of them if they win their respective games at home to Ipswich and Brentford and Chelsea can move to within a point if they beat Everton, but that will only knock City down to fifth - which would be good enough for a Champions League spot.

City then take on Wolves next Friday night, giving them a chance to move back to third and move further clear of Villa and Chelsea before they play later in the weekend; tricky ties for Newcastle at Brighton and Forest at Palace will test their ability to move back ahead of City.

City once again play first the following week, taking on Southampton at 3pm on Saturday May 10. Villa are at Bournemouth for the evening kick-off, Newcastle take on Chelsea on the Sunday before Forest host Leicester.

You have to get to the penultimate weekend of the season before City do not get a chance to put the early pressure on the rest, and even that may change if the Blues reach the FA Cup final and have to rearrange their home game with Bournemouth. Finally, all teams will play their last match at the same time.

That means that for at least three of City's four remaining fixtures the broadcast schedule allows them to set the pace in the race for a Champions League pace rather than having to respond. Every win that they get not only gets them closer to a qualification spot but ramps up the pressure on the four other teams to respond; if they can't, City's task gets easier.

Of course, it needs City and their players to rise to the challenge rather than slipping up to allow their rivals to take advantage, but it is the position that any of the teams would take to be able to be in front rather than chasing.

Having got their noses to the front of the queue, the remaining fixtures give the Blues the chance to stay in the top five until the end of the season.

-----

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.