Silverware
City are now three games away from Wembley and with Arsenal, United and Chelsea out of the competition every team in it will fancy their chances of success. Manuel Pellegrini’s team have the advantage of another home tie in the quarter-finals against Hull so will be confident of progressing.
The boss has fond memories of lifting the Capital One Cup in his first season in charge at the club and has consistently spoken about how highly he values the competition. Against Palace he was able to rest some key players but still picked a strong line-up and we’re likely to see a repeat of that strategy in the quarter finals with another trip to Wembley a potential three games away.
Fernando
The Portuguese holding midfielder has been quietly impressive this season after his struggles with injury in the last campaign. If he can maintain his fitness he adds another dimension to the squad, a midfielder genuinely hungry for the defensive side of the game and the perfect bridge between defence and attack.
Kelechi
The young Nigerian is now genuinely in the frame for a Premier League start against Norwich as his meteoric rise continues.
His lightning finish was classic Kelechi, he seems that split second faster in the box than defences, a combination of his youth and striking instincts. With two assists to add to his stats his game is improving all the time.
Return to goals
Panic over everyone, Sunday’s stalemate against United looks like it was a blip in City’s free-scoring season. That is 18 goals in City’s last four home games - and Sergio Aguero and David Silva having been missing for the last three of those!
Selection issues
The Norwich game will have Pellegrini scratching his head in terms of selection. Fernandinho will come back into contention after serving his suspension, and Raheem Sterling will also hope to return. Meanwhile, the likes of Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri back from the treatment room in the upcoming weeks.
With the starting XI fielded on Wednesday seizing chances to impress and scoring for fun, it all adds up to an intriguing dilemma for the boss when it comes to naming his team. However, with a packed autumn and winter schedule, the increased competition for places can only boost City’s chances of continuing strongly on four fronts over the next few months.
