PURPLE PATCH: Pundits are calling it the most unpredictable season ever, yet Man City’s recent form suggests the title could already be theirs, after a fantastic run which we analyse in this week’s Purple Patch.


How Pep’s side could be on course for their best season ever

It wasn’t that long ago it looked like Manchester City’s season was in grave danger of becoming a bit of a disaster, with a number of results leaving them a long way off the summit of the Premier League table.

Confidence was low and a number of key players looked out of sorts and perhaps struggling to cope with the rigours of this unique season.

However, since mid-November their fortunes have turned around massively and thing are once again rosy at the Etihad.

Since drawing with West Brom on 15th December, Pep Guardiola’s side have gone on an incredible run which has left every other side trailing in their wake.

They’ve won 15 matches in a row in all competitions – the longest run by an English top-flight club – and it’s a run that has seen talk of an unheralded quadruple rear its head.

Their imperious run has been largely engineered by a rock-solid defence which has kept 13 clean sheets – the most in the Premier League this season – and their dominant form means they hold a five-point gap over their nearest pursuers Manchester United, while they are 10 points ahead of last season’s champions Liverpool. If that wasn’t enough, they have a game in hand on both too.

They reached the FA Cup quarter-finals this week after overcoming Swansea and with the Citizens in both the Carabao Cup final yet again (their fourth in the last fifth seasons) as well as the Champions League last 16, the quadruple is very much on.

They couldn’t, could they?