Sunderland (A) win
Fulham (A) draw
Everton (H) win
Wigan (H) win
Burnley (A) draw
Tottenh’m (H) win
Birm’ham (H) win
Man Utd (H) win
Arsenal (A) draw
Aston Villa (H) draw
West Ham (A) win

25pts

dont think were quite that good but i think 68 will be enough

Looks like Stuart is a happy clappy! I agree, except I think there will be more losses all round, and I think we'll beat Arsenal...

MANCHESTER CITY

Sunderland (A) draw
Fulham (A) draw
Everton (H) draw
Wigan (H) win
Burnley (A) win
Tottenh’m (H) draw
Birm’ham (H) win
Man Utd (H) win
Arsenal (A) lose
Aston Villa (H) win
West Ham (A) draw

TOTAL: 69pts (5th or worse)

LIVERPOOL

Wigan (A) win
Portsmouth (H) win
Man Utd (A) lose
Sunderland (H) win
Birm’ham (A) draw
Fulham (H) win
West Ham (H) win
Burnley (A) win
Chelsea (H) draw
Hull (A) win

TOTAL: 71pts (4th)


Sorry but too many drawn games will kill us. Mancini is too negative and will not go for the throat.

Still, hope I'm wrong. It will be fun to watch the season unfold.

Come on City.

The top three are in a cluster of clubs separated by only 2 points, so their battle is only for final positions, and they are so close in quality so it will be close on points. The probability (imho) is Chelsea 1, Arseenal 2, United 3. Then there is a gap of twelve points before the next cluster of clubs.

The next six are in a cluster of clubs separated by only 9 points, so their battle is for the final automatic Champions League place, and they are not so close in quality so results will be much more unpredictable, so it will likely go down to the last week of the season. SB has only picked four teams, but I think there are six teams in with a chance. The probability (imho) is City 4, Liverpool 5, Spurs 6, Aston Villa 7, Birmingham 8, Everton 9. If City play their strongest team and play to their potential, they could lead this pack, but if they continue their unpredictable form (like in 3 games against Stoke) then they could drop out of contention. Liverpool & Spurs are also eratic, so could drop out early (or not as the case may be). Birmingham & Everton have been playing well lately so they could still surprise.

Does RM know his strongest team? Does RM know that he must laeve out some of his expensive players who have failed to perform up to their wages? More worrying for next season is the question of our squad's ability to play two games a week including tough European opposition, and how many more players do we need to sign this summer? It is time to be patient, to try to get it right. Rome was not built in a day. By May RM will have completed his caretaker-manager assignment to make us more difficult to beat. Then the sheik will need to clear out Cook & Marwood, and recruit a good General Manager and a permanent quality Coach, with a guarantee of three years to complete the job. That should do it.

Craven Cottage is not a place we have fared that well but they have 5 games in the space of 13 days coming up. 2 games vs Juventus in the Europa League, home game vs the Rags and also a FA Cup replay vs the Spuds at WHL.

We get to play them sandwiched in between their home game vs Juventus in the 2nd leg and their FA Cup replay and given they are pretty much safe from relgation our game may end up being the lowest priority for them.

If we win at Sunderland & Fulham we'd be in fantastic shape with 55pts. With 6 of our final 9 games being at home (possible 27pts), got to like our chances of getting 15pts to crack the 70pt mark.

Did this the other week. Here was mine...

Liverpool:

Blackburn home Win 3 Won 3
Wigan away Draw 1
Portsmouth home Win 3
Manyoo away Lose 0
Sunderland home Win 3
Birmingham away Lose 0
Fulham home Win 3
West Ham home Win 3
Burnley away Draw 1
Chelsea home Draw 1
Hull away Win 3

Total points: 21
Finishing points: 66
Finishing position: 4th…on points

Manchester City:

Chelsea away Lose 0 Won 3
Sunderland away Draw 1
Fulham away Draw 1
Wigan home Win 3
Burnley away Draw 1
Birmingham home Win 3
Manyoo home Draw 1
Arsenal away Draw 1
Villa home Win 3
West Ham away Lose 0
(Tottenham home Win 3) – Date TBA
(Everton home Win 3) – Date TBA

Total points: 20
Finishing points: 66
Finishing position: 4th…on points


Aston Villa:

Sunderland home Win 3
Stoke away Draw 1
Wigan away Win 3
Wolves home Win 3
Chelsea away Lose 0
Bolton away Win 3
Everton home Draw 1
Portsmouth Win 3
Birmingham home Draw 1
Manchester City away Lose 0
Blackburn home Win 3

Total points: 21
Finishing points: 66
Finishing position: 4th…on points


Tottenham Hotspur:

Everton home Draw 1
Blackburn home Win 3
Stoke away Draw 1
Portsmouth home Win 3
Sunderland away Lose 0
Arsenal home Draw 1
Chelsea home Lose 0
Manyoo away Lose 0
Bolton home Win 3
Burnley away Draw 1
(Manchester City away) Lose 0) – Date TBA

Total points: 13
Finishing points: 59
Finishing position: 7th

If all others go to plan, the (surprise) win against Chelsea puts us clear 4th on our own; on 69pts. Other than that, it'd all be dependant on goal difference...

I'll take it please Stuart. Unfortunately, I can't see us only losing 1 of the last 11 games.

Other poor dreamer as Garry " Big mouth " cook is ¡¡ 33, 34, 34 and show must go on ...

Guys I don't mean to be negative but apart from the second half against the 9 men of Chelsea and for a brief spell against Stoke (which we stiil lost) can you really see us going to the end of the season and only losing 1 more game?

I think we will do well to win 3 more games this season and we could easily lose to Fulham, Spurs (seem to be our bogey team of late), Utd, Arsenal, draws against Villa, everton and West Ham.

Lets face we are hardly playing anywhere near where we should and are capable of. I fancy Liverpool or Villa though Villa could run out of steam towards the end again.

to be honest its impossible to tell. Who in their right mind would have guessed we'd beat chelsea away after trying to beat stoke three times in a row without success????? Not me anyway but i think the journo has a little more faith in the team than i do. The Villa game and Everton game will both be very difficult and will settle the debate for sure (everton absolutely played us off the pitch at Goodison so i am worried about that one

No point in all this supposition. One game at a time as the plot unfolds.

Just needs Mancini to pick the right team for each game, get the tactics right and most importantly get all the squad to believe in themselves.

If we win the early games from now on (on top of Chelsea result) the belief will grow and firing themselves up for each match will be a given.

Thereafter holding the nerve on final run in.

Keep everything crossed!

we will finish third with the dippers in fourth watch and you will see that i am right we will have a stumble or two on the way and so will the others,but third it will be.

The Brennan v The FG42....

Sunderland (A) Brennan WIN v FG42 WIN (but nervous about time since last Sunderland victory [Typical City??])

Fulham (A) Brennan DRAW v FG42 LOSS (our bogey side)

Everton (H) Brennan WIN v DRAW FG42 (wish we'd played them in August)

Wigan (H) Brennan WIN v WIN FG42

Burnley (A) Brennan WIN v DRAW FG42 (they won't fear us)

Tottenh’m (H) Brennan DRAW v WIN FG42 (12th man will see us home)

Birm’ham (H) Brennan WIN v WIN FG42 (2nd string 'keeper, job done)

Man Utd (H) Brennan DRAW v WIN FG42 (did it in Jan, can do it in Apr)

Arsenal (A) Brennan LOSS v LOSS FG42 (unless we use Chelsea 2-4 tactics)

Aston Villa (H) Brennan WIN v WIN FG42 (Dunne will score a hat-trick for us!)

West Ham (A) Brennan WIN v WIN FG42 (Hammers poor at home)

Brennan TOTAL: 73pts

FG42 TOTAL: 72pts

I worry that these SB predictions are keeping the jinx going. This is a non-story; must be a quiet day down on the sportsdesk today. SB, go back to sleep.

Blimey Stuart - this being a Blue thing's really starting to affect you isn't it?! Whatever, hope your prediction comes true, but our run in looks by far the hardest to me, so I won't hold my breath! Beating Spurs and Villa at home are absolute pre-requisites!

My prediction is

Sunderland (A) WIN, Fulham (A) WIN, Everton (H) WIN, Wigan (H) WIN, Burnley (A) WIN, Tottenh’m (H) WIN, Birm’ham (H) WIN, Man Utd (H) WIN, Arsenal (A) WIN, Aston Villa (H) WIN, West Ham (A) WIN.

By my calculations that should just be enough no matter what the other teams do ;-)

What a pointless exercise .What next?..er a oh I Know....Better still mr brennan why not have a raffle to count the average no of chips in a Lou Macari punnet.

if i could predict games i'd do the pools

Looking at who we play in the remaining games is fine but for me it's not just about who.

I'm more concerned with keeping the players motivated, fit and focused. Injuries will play a much greater part for me in the run in if they happen, so we will need concentration, determination and cool heads.

We have shown already that we can beat the best in the league but beating sides in August and Sept is not the same as taking them on in the run in when they are fighting tooth and nail for survival or important Euro places.

For me our fixtures just need to be well enough spread out. We've got 6 at home and 5 away so the balance looks reasonable on paper, with only the Fulham (A) Everton (H) games being tightly packed. All the others are pretty well spread (just the Spurs game to fit in somewhere).

If I was going to highlight pit falls I'd look at Sunderland Wigan Burnley and possibly West Ham these clubs are either in the relegation area of the league or hovering above yet close to it, and 3 of them are away matches.
Then Everton, United, Arsenal, Villa and Spurs will be far from easy rides even if 4 of these are at home.

That leaves Fulham away and Birmingham at home. Neither of these would I describe as easy, even if both these teams are safe in mid-table.

So in truth every side we play in the run in is a potential pit fall or banana skin. We have to be on our game, there can be no excuses, we are in the pressure zone so we have to stay on the Bucking Bronco and ride it to the last game. It’s not about the run in but about how we get what we need from it.
As a City fan I can't say I'm brimming with confidence but I know something else. I'm getting up for these last 11 games, it's time to drop the BS and push for the finish and that for me includes every City supporter. We have to run through walls so let’s just do it, no hesitation, close your eyes and go for it, we must run to the edge of the cliff with no fear, if we fall what the hell we’ve been there before and lived to fight another day. But if we fly, yes if we fly, well just how good will we all feel.

Come on City, Come on City, Come on City, Fly, Fly, Fly!
Still got my fingers crossed though (Minimum drag I hope).

MANCHESTER CITY

Sunderland (A) draw
Fulham (A) lose
Everton (H) win
Wigan (H) win
Burnley (A) win
Tottenh’m (H) win
Birm’ham (H) win
Man Utd (H) draw
Arsenal (A) lose
Aston Villa (H) draw
West Ham (A) draw

TOTAL: 68pts (6th)

LIVERPOOL

Wigan (A) win
Portsmouth (H) win
Man Utd (A) draw
Sunderland (H) win
Birm’ham (A) draw
Fulham (H) win
West Ham (H) win
Burnley (A) win
Chelsea (H) lose
Hull (A) win

TOTAL: 71pts (4th)

TOTTENHAM

Blackburn (H) win
Stoke (A) draw
Portsm’th (H) win
Man City (A) lose
Sunderland (A) win
Arsenal (H) lose
Chelsea (H) lose
Man Utd (A) lose
Bolton (H) win
Burnley (A) win

TOTAL: 65pts (7th)

ASTON VILLA

Stoke (A) draw
Wigan (A) win
Wolves (H) win
Sunderland (H) win
Chelsea (A) lose
Bolton (A) win
Hull (A) draw
Everton (H) draw
Portsmouth (A) win
Birm'ham (H) win
Man City (A) draw
Blackburn (H) win

TOTAL: 70pts (5th)

To rescue the season after the disappointment of the Cup losses we have to get that 4th spot. To me the points total is irrelevant, it's just a question taking it game by game (an old cliche but still true) and making sure we get maximum points from every single game - we have to have that mindset. I don't think we'll have trouble with the Arsenal's and Man U's of this world, it's against the Sunderland's and Birmingham's that we have to turn up. I don't think some players have got their heads around the fact that every team wants to knock us over now because of our inheritance, but somehow they've got to learn to deal with it. It's in our own hands which is all you can ask for.

Can one of you guys send me the numbers for this Fridays Euro millions draw please.
We are City, who the hell knows.

Sunderland (A) win; Fulham (A) win; Everton (H) win; Wigan (H) win; Burnley (A) win;Tottenh’m (H) win; Birm’ham (H) win; Man Utd (H) win; Arsenal (A) win; Aston Villa (H) win; West Ham (A) win.

33 points from 33 - Job's a good 'un. Now let's get next season sorted!

I would proberly say the same prictions as Stuart Brennan. There decent fixtures only realy dificult ones are Fulham away, Spurs Home, United Home,Arsenal away and Villa at Home.