Manchester City are finally in pole position to take home the second place Premier League finish. If no points are dropped in the remaining matches, a second place finish will be in the cards, unless Arsenal unload for an absurd number of goals in their remaining fixtures. Arsenal were undone by Swansea last time out, and Manchester City must be careful to not let the same happen to them. Bony will have the chance to face his old team for the first time, and it should be an entertaining contest.
Goalkeeper:
Joe Hart has been a strength in City’s squad this season. He appears to be content in Manchester, unlike his red counterpart as rumors has linked the Manchester United keeper with a move to Real Madrid. Manchester City have found a quality keeper who looks to be on the track to becoming a club legend once his time is done.
Defense:
Kompany should return back to the side, and the Manchester City skipper should take heart as the City defense coped well without him. Mangala has made great strides in his adaptation to the physicality of the Premier League and will likely feature alongside the City captain in this match and for many to come. Zabaleta and Kolarov are proving to the preferred option for Pellegrini when it comes to outside backs. Both are able to aid the attack by providing overlapping runs and whipped crosses into the box.
Midfield:
Lampard will want to play every minute he can as his time in the Premier League comes to a close. Expect Lampard to partner with either Fernando or Fernandinho in midfield, possibly both depending on the formation Pellegrini decides to go with. Fernando seems the likelier of the two, because City have more strikers fit and will likely go back to a 4-4-2 formation. Silva has provided City with a spark of inspiration time and time again and will likely be asked to do the same against Swansea. Jesus Navas has found a bit of form and could be instrumental in getting behind the Swansea defense. Pellegrini will likely use the remaining games to figure out who he wants to keep in his side moving forward, provided that he will be kept himself.
Attack:
While Aguero has no need to worry about his place, he will once again start the game and give it his all. Who will play alongside Aguero is a much more interesting question. It will be tempting for Pellegrini to go with Bony, a new signing playing against his old side. Bony is likely to be motivated to put in a good shift and bag a few goals to show that he is the player his new team thought he was. Dzeko seems to be out of favor with Pellegrini but should expect to see minutes if he does not start. This is the type of match Pellegrini should be able to expect a high work rate from each of his strikers.
