View From A Blue

Pablo Zabaleta is expected to fight off competition from Bacary Sagna on the right of defence, but he’ll need to cut out the moments of rash indiscipline that have crept into his game recently. Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis are vying for a role at the back, though surely the latter’s form this season and [...]

This is a post from Tess Ponsprood. The race to qualify for the Champions League is the most exciting for many years and the outcome of it could have a big bearing on Manuel Pellegrini’s future. Qualifying for the Champions League itself may still not be enough to save Pellegrini following the patchy run of [...]

Hart - It’s hard to remember him actually having anything of note to do, other than pick Boyd’s sumptuous effort out of the net - 6 Zabaleta - In a game where we needed his attacking thrust and constant overlaps, he provided a negligible amount going forward. Found almost no space or time on the right, yet the only [...]

It’s quite hard to know where to start. With the season slipping quickly away amidst a sea of lifeless and, frankly, boring performances, this was an excellent chance to record a win and build some notion of momentum ahead of Wednesday’s encounter with Barcelona. Burnley might have received their fair share of plaudits this campaign [...]

Manuel Pellegrini has stated that he has a fully-fit squad from which to choose for this clash with Burnley, although Wednesday’s encounter with Barcelona may well come into the manager’s thinking. Pablo Zabaleta is likely to start both games, whilst with Gael Clichy suspended in midweek, he should be nailed on to start on Saturday. [...]