The Treble is On for Manchester City

24/04/23 733

Only one team in the history of English football has competed the treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. That team was Manchester United in 1999 but another club is coming close to matching that achievement, their neighbours, Manchester City.

Having defeated Sheffield United 3-0 in the FA Cup semi-final, Manchester City booked their place in the final of the competition.

They will play local rivals Manchester United, who needed a penalty shootout to beat Brighton in their semi-final. This game will be played one week before the Champions League final.

Manchester City beat Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate in the quarter-final of the Champions League and will meet defending champions, Real Madrid in the semi-final.

This tie may be the toughest section remaining of the treble bid for Manchester City. Real Madrid beat Pep Guardiola’s team in the semi-final last season, coming out on top 6-5 on aggregate after two thrilling matches, the second of which went into extra-time.

If Manchester City beat Real Madrid, they will face either Inter Milan or AC Milan in the final of the Champions League. While neither Milan club can be underestimated, playing either of them in the final would represent a fantastic opportunity for Manchester City to win the competition for the first time in their history.

There is no doubt, whoever wins the tie between Manchester City and Real Madrid, will be the clear favourite to win the final.

Switching to the Premier League and the home fixture with Arsenal is going to be massive. Should Manchester City win that game, they will be in pole position to land the title.

It is worth noting, Manchester City are on a 16-match unbeaten run in all competitions going into the game against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City have won 11 of their last 12 fixtures in all competitions, with only the draw in Munich being the game they failed to win. Arsenal are on a 12 match unbeaten run inside 90 minutes but have been dropping points in the Premier League, including a 3-3 draw at home against bottom club Southampton.

Arsenal have been conceding too many goals while Manchester City have been scoring for fun and have conceded only 4 goals in their last 8 games in all competitions.

Manchester City still have some tough games to come in the Premier League, with Brentford away and Chelsea at home.

Everton could also be a difficult match with the Toffees scrapping for survival near the bottom of the table.

However, Arsenal face Chelsea and Brighton at home plus Newcastle United away, with Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle United being their next three fixtures.

Real Madrid could be the biggest hurdle facing Manchester City in their bid for the treble. The Spanish club are out of the title race in Spain and could choose to rest key players ahead of the first leg and in between the two games.

Manchester City will not have the same luxury as they compete for the Premier League and despite having plenty of quality in their squad, the depth is not fantastic. The treble is on for Manchester City and the games against Real Madrid could be the ones that decide their fate this season.