Manchester City are competing on all four fronts this season and with a place in the Carabao Cup Final already booked, then it means that they are at least a step closer to winning one of the four prizes that they are in contention for.
Another of those comes in the shape of the F.A. Cup and this weekend they find themselves in an all Premier League clash against Burnley at the Etihad, with a place in the fifth round of the competition being up for grabs.
In terms of the race for the Premier League title, City can only keep applying pressure on Liverpool and that is exactly what they did last weekend when they made light work of Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium.
It was a fixture that was as good as done in the first few minutes when Danilo’s deflected effort found its way into the goal, from there it was a case of just how many City fancied putting past the Premier League’s basement side.
To be fair to Huddersfield they did keep at a respectable three goals that they conceded, but at the same time they were still no match for a City side that once again closed the gap at the top to four points.
To be honest though you do get the feeling that City are just playing catch up at the moment. They are not really eroding the deficit that currently stands between them and Liverpool, more keeping it at a manageable level.
That is because bar Liverpool’s defeat to City they are showing no let up in the race for the title, something that as the weeks progress and more importantly the games run out means that the pressure will only build on the shoulders of Pep Guardiola and his players.
That pressure can be somewhat subsided this weekend though as Burnley make the short trip across Lancashire to face an in form City outfit, although at the same time once cannot forget that the Clarets’ season has now turned the corner.
They have earned ten points from a possible twelve after going unbeaten in their last four Premier League outings, it could have been a clean sweep of four straight wins had it not been for a contentious offside call last weekend.
With just seconds of the game against Watford at Vicarage Road remaining, Chris Wood put the ball in the net and many felt that the New Zealand international had just scored the winner for the visitors.
Unfortunately, though for Burnley the goal was chalked off and they had to settle for an away draw, a result that although frustrating did at least point to the fact that their defence has been much improved as of late.
That defence though is going to be seriously tested come this weekend when Manchester City’s attack aim to do their best. Of the two contrasting elements, you get the feeling that the latter is the stronger and will result in the hosts progressing to the 5th Round of the F.A. Cup.