x

Matt Le Tissier Column - Manchester City To Batter Their Way To Double

Matt talks this week about how he believes that Manchester City can batter their way to the double with their goalden goals

Manchester City are favourites to win the Premier League and I wouldn’t bet against them.

I tipped Chelsea at the start of the season and I am still in with a shout.

But the way things are at the minute you would be foolish to back against City with the amount of goals they are scoring.

With their squad anything is possible and my money would now be on them claiming a League and Cup double.

They’ve netted an incredible 106 goals in all competitions this season with 63 scored in the Premier League.

Yaya Torre has got 14 goals this season from midfield and he’s their fourth top scorer!

It’s phenomenal-absolutely incredible.

If he did that at 99 per cent of the other clubs I’m guessing he would be their top goalscorer.

But at City they’ve got Alvaro Negredo on 23 goals and Sergio Aguero on 22 each with Edin Dzeko on 16.

They have just thumped West Ham 9-0 on aggregate in the Capital One Cup to set-up a Wembley showdown with Sunderland.

And it’s all down to the mentality of manager Manuel Pellegrini and the quality of the players he’s got at his disposal.

It’s the coach’s philosophy-he just wants to keep going forward and not sit on a one or two-goal lead as Jose Mourinho might do at Chelsea.

Pellegrini wants to batter teams and he’s got the players to do it and that’s a pretty potent combination.

They must be a nightmare to defend against at the Ethiad Stadium and I just feel for some teams that have to go there.

City are just so difficult to stop. They have got so many difficult angles they can attack you from-so many quality players who can damage you.

And they have been doing this without Aguero, who has only just come back from injury.

They were playing for a few weeks without their most potent striker and they have still been incredible in front of goal.

Fair play to Arsenal, though, for chipping away at getting results. They are still in the lead and haven’t yet been caught.

The Gunners are certainly digging in and it’s going to be a fantastic end to the season.

Chelsea have got an abundance of ability in their squad, too, and it was good to see Samuel E’to’o get his hat-trick against Manchester United.

Liverpool are dangerous with their SAS strike force in Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, who have netted 18 goals between them in nine league games.

They are only eight points off the top but they’ve got three big teams Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea in front of them who won’t slip up many times.

So for me the Premier League title is probably reduced to a three-horse race with free-scoring City in the driving seat.

Win £200 in February by playing for free at www.goaldengoals.co.uk

Matt Le Tissier invites you to sign up for Goalden Goals for free now and win £200 .

What to read next:

Saints Announce Ticket Pricing Information For Play Off Semi Final
The opponents won't be known until Saturday afternoon, but Southampton FC have announced their ticket pricing structure and how the tickets will be sold to give supporters plenty of time to sort their tickets out.
Time For The Spirit Of Southampton Football Club
Recent months have seen a number of events and issues divide opinion and split the supporter base but as we head towards the play offs it is time for everyone at Saints to kick in the same direction.
Should Russell Martin Put Out Another Reserve Side For Leeds United Trip
Against Stoke City Russell martin selected a side that was very much a second string line up, with the play offs looming should the manager repeat this for the trip to take on Leeds on Saturday.
A Rough Guide To Leeds United
A big big game for just Leeds now, although by Saturday the odds on them going up automatically might have changed slightly so here is all the info for those travelling Saints fans who are still going,
Southampton Should Not Fear Anyone In The Play Offs.
The hope of getting back into the Premier League automatically has long gone, but the season is not yet over and we now have a good chance of getting to Wembley and going up through the play offs, here we look at who we could meet.
Southampton V Stoke City The Verdict
This should have been a celebratory day for Saints fans, there should have been a feeling of positivity, but the truth is that the fight has been knocked out of the supporter base and we go into the play offs with confidence both on and off the pitch at a low ebb.
Southampton 0 - 1 Stoke City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Saints V Stoke City A Look Back In Pictures 2
In the second part of our pictorial look back at some of our games against Stoke City from the past, here we look back at more recent games, so most of you would have been at them.
Saints V Stoke City A Look Back In Pictures
We have looked through our photo archives for a look back as some games against Stoke City over the years, what are your memories of these games ?
Southampton V Stoke City The Preview
Saints go into the last two games of the season with their hopes of automatic promotion ended, even the hope of finishing 3rd is only a point away from being ended, but they do have something to play for and that is getting back the togetherness, character & fight Russell Martin has recently be moaned.