Manchester City are looking to join their city counterparts in becoming just the second English club to have a treble winning season, a feat which hasn’t occurred since 1999.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking to add the coveted Champions League to their rammed trophy cabinet, the only major trophy missing. However, for the Premier League champions, it is going to be a very difficult journey from now until the end of the season.
A gap which was as big as 11 points between City and their nearest Premier League rivals Liverpool, is now succumbed to a difference of only one point and with the two title fighters set to face off in Premier League action at the Etihad on April 11, it’s undoubtedly a season-defining game that could be the difference between a treble for City still being an option, or absolute heartbreak.
A face-off in the Premier League isn’t the only time City have to lock horns with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side with an FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley as well as the potential chance that shall both teams progress through their quarter-final and semi-finals ties in the Champions League, a final showdown for the final piece of silverware could await.
Adam Booker, from the City Report podcast, believes that despite all the difficult challenges City have to face, they can overcome anything.
“I think this City team has proved time and again that whether it’s fending off a team in second place or coming from behind in second place to overtake the team in first that they have it in their bag of tricks,” he said.
“My hopes haven’t necessarily changed since City had a bigger gap earlier in the season and even though Liverpool are a lot closer but if Liverpool come to the Etihad and win in April, then I’ll start to sweat a little, but it is still in our hands and the team is still good enough to win the league as well as the FA Cup and the Champions League too.”
A 4-1 quarter-final FA Cup win against Southampton will see City make trip number 18 to Wembley where they will face Liverpool once more and despite the Premier League and the Champions League appearing more valuable, Adam feels the FA Cup can be considered just as important.
“Of course, it’s always a special occasion, even if the FA Cup has seemed to lose some of its shine in the last decade or so, but it’s still a very big occasion going to Wembley, less special these days with the semi-finals being there as well but a trip to Wembley is a trip to Wembley and the FA Cup, is a vital part of this treble we want,” he added.
This Manchester City team have all the attributes to replicate Manchester United’s incredible 1999 treble however the amount of pressure on the shoulders of the players is immeasurable not just from the fans but manager Pep Guardiola too who will be desperate to add a treble to his already magnificent CV.
