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Gary Neville: Victory for Manchester City could end Chelsea's title hopes
The former England international believes that defeat for Andre Villas-Boas' men at the Etihad Stadium on Monday night could spell the end of their Premier League title challenge.
11 Dec 2011 14:17:00
By Alex Meyers
Getty Images
Gary Neville says that Monday night's match between Manchester City and Chelsea will go a long way towards deciding the fate of this season’s Premier League title.
The Englishman saw Manchester City crash out of the Champions League this week while Chelsea won their vital clash against Valencia to progress to the knockout stages.
However, the Londoners are currently 10 points adrift of City domestically and know that a defeat will seriously damage their hopes of winning the league title.
“This is as big as it gets in the first half of the season. On a Monday night when no one else is playing, the whole of football will be watching and the spotlight will be on both clubs for different reasons,” Neville wrote in a column for The Mail on Sunday.
“For City, it’s a major question. They’ve gone out of the Champions League and, for the first time in six weeks, United will be just two points behind them, which applies that little bit of pressure going into such a big game, their toughest game of this period.
“You come through major points in the season and this is one of them. If they can win here people will view them even more than before as potential champions.
“But for Chelsea, it’s also as big as it has been this season. If they lose, they’ll be 13 points behind City and it will be difficult to get back in the title race. But if they win, everyone will think they’ve returned to form.”
Neville feels that Chelsea played well in their crucial 3-0 victory against Valencia in the Champions League last Tuesday and that victory in Manchester could reignite their title bid.
“They looked a lot stronger and a lot more compact against Valencia and they’re in a better state of mind to play this game than 10 days ago.
"Their confidence will be up and on Tuesday night the spine of the team in Petr Cech, John Terry and Didier Drogba were all back to their best.
“But can they maintain that compactness against the runs of David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and James Milner?
“If they can continue to play as they did against Valencia, it gives them an opportunity to get back in the title race and force people to view them again as serious contenders.
“The two games they played last week against Newcastle and Valencia represented a return to good results. But a victory in this game would represent a return to form.”
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The Englishman saw Manchester City crash out of the Champions League this week while Chelsea won their vital clash against Valencia to progress to the knockout stages.
However, the Londoners are currently 10 points adrift of City domestically and know that a defeat will seriously damage their hopes of winning the league title.
“This is as big as it gets in the first half of the season. On a Monday night when no one else is playing, the whole of football will be watching and the spotlight will be on both clubs for different reasons,” Neville wrote in a column for The Mail on Sunday.
“For City, it’s a major question. They’ve gone out of the Champions League and, for the first time in six weeks, United will be just two points behind them, which applies that little bit of pressure going into such a big game, their toughest game of this period.
“You come through major points in the season and this is one of them. If they can win here people will view them even more than before as potential champions.
“But for Chelsea, it’s also as big as it has been this season. If they lose, they’ll be 13 points behind City and it will be difficult to get back in the title race. But if they win, everyone will think they’ve returned to form.”
Neville feels that Chelsea played well in their crucial 3-0 victory against Valencia in the Champions League last Tuesday and that victory in Manchester could reignite their title bid.
“They looked a lot stronger and a lot more compact against Valencia and they’re in a better state of mind to play this game than 10 days ago.
"Their confidence will be up and on Tuesday night the spine of the team in Petr Cech, John Terry and Didier Drogba were all back to their best.
“But can they maintain that compactness against the runs of David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and James Milner?
“If they can continue to play as they did against Valencia, it gives them an opportunity to get back in the title race and force people to view them again as serious contenders.
“The two games they played last week against Newcastle and Valencia represented a return to good results. But a victory in this game would represent a return to form.”
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
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