Roberto Mancini has been here before. Win and his Manchester City side are right back in the title race. Lose and he may well find himself without a job before his anniversary in charge- such is the lot of any manager with the sort of financial backing that the Italian possesses.
Whilst the perilous nature of Mancini’s position is ludicrous, this game is an important yardstick. Have City learnt how to grind down obdurate opposition? Last week’s display against Fulham suggested that for all the negative coverage, some of City’s expensively assembled squad are gelling, even if others are running for the exit door.
Stoke are really starting to improve. After a distinctly mild autumn, Tony Pulis has turned the heat up on his squad, decent performances and important results have followed. They will certainly challenge City, particularly defensively however I fancy enough lessons have been learnt for Mancini’s men to keep themselves sitting pretty inside the top four.
Prediction: 0-2
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