The battle for 4th place

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Not going to look too much in to the Bournemouth result. We've not won back to back League games since October!

Solar powered players turn up in April. Last seen at the beginning of October ;)
 
MSM said:
Newcastle away is a dangerous game for us.
They are way overdue a result and it would be no surprise for them to achieve it when we rock up.
That with Chelsea away along with Southampton and Arsenal also it is doubtful we will finish in 4th spot.
Sad but true.
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I see us beating Newcastle.

Chelsea, Southampton and Arsenal are the ones we will struggle in, Particularly the last one. With Arsenal's fixtures, if they can beat West Ham then I don't think they are totally out of the picture for the title. It would be a long shot but I think other than us and West Ham, they will easily win the other 5 games. They could be coming to us with a chance I think although it is still Leicester's to lose. I cant see Spurs winning it with the games they have.
 
Pablo1 said:
Yeah I know we've been getting points on the board against the lower placed teams. I meant more in the manner we played, with KDB back in the fold it opens up our game much more than we've been able the last 10 weeks.
It really does come down to keeping everyone fit for the remainder of the season.
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He was fit and playing from Sept-Jan so difficult to tell if he will make the difference as he played in some awful performances during that period.
 
Pablo1 said:
He was, but if we're talking about the next 6/7 games then the Bournmouth game was a useful start.
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The way we have been playing, his return is a bonus. No doubt about that. I am more confident of top 4 with him in the side but still rate our chances as no better than 50/50.
 
For what it's worth, here are the remaining fixtures for ourselves, Arsenal, United, and West Ham.

City:
West Brom (H)
Chelsea (A)
Newcastle (A)
Stoke (H)
Southampton (A)
Arsenal (H)
Swansea (A)

Arsenal:
West Ham (A)
Palace (H)
West Brom (H)
Sunderland (A)
Norwich (H)
City (A)
Villa (H)

United:
Spurs (A)
Villa (H)
Palace (H)
Leicester (H)
Norwich (A)
West Ham (A)
Bournemouth (H)

West Ham:
Arsenal (H)
Leicester (A)
Watford (H)
West Brom (A)
Swansea (H)
United (H)
Stoke (A)

Out of that I see 14 points for us, 16 for Arsenal, 13 for United and 13 for West Ham. That's guessing we'll draw with Arsenal at the Etihad. Even if we beat them we'll need to make up a point on them to pass them in the table and with their run in I can't see anyone bar us and West Ham beating them. We'd need some help from the others. I think we'll just get 4th
 
MaineRoadBlue said:
We have 7 games left and we play them 1 at a time. In all 7 games we will have the better team on the field assuming we don't suffer any more injuries.

Yes Chelsea could be tough, but the rest should be won with the correct application. I see us beating WBA, Stoke and Arsenal at home. I see us at least drawing at Chelsea and beating Newcastle and Southampton away before the final game at Swansea, that may well be a dead rubber in the sun with any score is possible.

In short, I expect 16 from 21 for a 4th place or 18/19 from 21 for a 3rd place finish.

Of course the fly in the ointment could be CL progression and distraction from the Premier League campaign. I personally don't fear failing to qualify for next year's CL and think many on here are only horrified at the prospect, as it could be United who steal the place.

If Guardiola is the magnet we're led to believe then the players will come. It also give a chance for our younger players to taste 6 high standard competitive European matches before Xmas, in addition to the League Cup ties, whilst leaving the top players to solely concentrate on the Premier League.

Nobody can deny that the progression of Spurs this year is down to their younger players being given opportunities in last season's Europa League.

Remember things are neither good nor bad, they are just things, and it's us as individuals that decide in our own minds if they are good things or bad things.

Personally, I believe if we come out of this campaign with a trophy in the bag and Guardiola in the pipeline bearing in mind the crippling injuries we sustained then it is pretty good. Don't let's get into this 4th place is a trophy rubbish that Arsenal sell their fans.

United will not get s trophy for 4th place, they will however have to start their season mid late June with tired players from the Euro's, they will have to panic buy and to cap it all they will probably join our EDS in the Europa League post Xmas :-)
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Agree that we could live without making 4th and it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. However, while there is no trophy for 4th it does seriously improve the financial prospects for the next 12-18 months and in theory at least could effect recruitment regardless of the magnetic powers of the lad called PEP.
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
I see us beating Newcastle.

Chelsea, Southampton and Arsenal are the ones we will struggle in, Particularly the last one. With Arsenal's fixtures, if they can beat West Ham then I don't think they are totally out of the picture for the title. It would be a long shot but I think other than us and West Ham, they will easily win the other 5 games. They could be coming to us with a chance I think although it is still Leicester's to lose. I cant see Spurs winning it with the games they have.
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Cleary as you point out the degree of difficulty of the Arsenal game will depend on what they require. If they are out of the league but 4/5 points ahead of us I would fancy our chances. You would have to say we have a fairly difficult run in but it can be hard to predict. If Newcastle and Southampton lose their next couple of games they are likely to be easier fixtures then they might turn out to be otherwise. Think it will go down to the last day and we better hope we are ahead of the rags or arsenal given their fixtures.
 
No 4th is very achievable now we have KDB and Nasri back. Cna't see us getting any higher mind.
Here are the run ins (other games included)...

CITY
06/04 PSG CL QF (A)
09/04 West Brom (H)
12/04 PSG CL QF (H)
16/04 Chelsea (A)
19/04 Newcastle (A)
24/04 Stoke (H)
01/05 Southampton (A)
07/05 Arsenal (H)
15/04 Swansea (A)

RAGS
10/04 Spurs (A)
13/04 Wet Sham FA Cup Replay (A)
16/04 Villa (H)
20/04 Palace (H)
FA Cup West Ham ...
01/05 Leicester (H)
07/05 Norwich (A)
10/05 West Ham (A)
15/05 Bournemouth (H)

WET SHAM
09/04 Arsenal (H)
13/04 Rags FA Cup Replay (H)
17/04 Leicester (A)
20/04 Watford (H)
30/04 West Brom (A)
07/05 Swansea (H)
10/05 Rags (H)
15/05 Stoke (A)

In Chronological Order...
-------------------------
06/04 City - PSG CL QF (A)
-------------------------
09/04 City - West Brom (H)
09/04 Wet Sham - Arsenal (H)
10/04 Rags - Spurs (A)
-------------------------
12/04 City - PSG CL QF (H)
13/04 FA Cup Replay Rags - Wet Sham (A) / Wet Sham - Rags(H)
-------------------------
Sat 16/04 City - Chelsea (A)
Sat 16/04 Rags - Villa (H)
Sun 17/04 Wet Sham - Leicester (A)
-------------------------
Tue 19/04 City - Newcastle (A)
Wed 20/04 Rags - Palace (H)
Wed 20/04 Wet Sham - Watford (H)
-------------------------
Sun 24/04 City - Stoke (H) {FA Cup Semis on 23&24/04 BTW}
-------------------------
Sat 30/04 Wet Sham - West Brom (A)
Sun 01/05 City - Southampton (A)
Sun 01/05 Rags - Leicester (H)
-------------------------
Sat 07/05 City - Arsenal (H)
Sat 07/05 Rags - Norwich (A)
Sat 07/05 Wet Sham - Swansea (H)
-------------------------
Tue 10/05 Rags - West Ham (A) / Wet Sham - Rags (H)
-------------------------
Sun 15/05 City - Swansea (A)
Sun 15/05 Rags - Bournemouth (H)
Sun 15/05 Wet Sham - Stoke (A)
-------------------------
 
I think we will get 4th place.
And for what it's worth we will beat PSG.
I'd take that.
Win a cup.
Get top 4 and semi in champs league
 
We cannot afford to finish outside top 4. Unthinkable. But with PG coming alot of this team know they're gonna be shown the door. Hopefully they'll sort their shit out and show us a grand finish to the season with at least 5 wins!! Here's hoping.
 
Consider this possible outcome :

Rags finish 4th
We finish 5th/6th

We win this years CL and deny rags their place
 
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