1 KDB – just how good could he get?
Watching Kevin De Bruyne play football is a pleasure.
The standing ovation he received from all four corners of the Etihad as he came off in the second-half was testament to the esteem the Belgian is held in by City fans, but he is a player who is continually evolving.
You could never second-guess what he will do next and he is willing to try the unusual, seemingly impossible or perhaps improbable, yet constantly delivers the goods.
His audacious lob from the halfway line very nearly gave him another memorable goal to add to his growing catalogue.
He is also now on 11 for the season after hitting a rich vein of scoring form – he managed just two from his first 14 games of the campaign but has now bagged nine in his last 20 matches and has quietly moved up to become third highest scorer this season.
Oh, and his 25 Premier League appearances have yielded 11 assists.
Difficult to imagine a player better than him in world football just now…
2 Silva injury concern
City are, as we all know, blessed with not one, but two geniuses in central midfield.
David Silva is integral to everything the Blues are doing and is having yet another wonderful season.
That’s why there will be plenty of concern about the injury he sustained against West Brom.
It could be just a painful knock to the side that he will shrug off quickly, but it was in an area that could prove a little more problematic.
We’ll know more at Pep’s pre-Burnley press conference on Friday, so let’s hope it proves to be an issue that can quickly be resolved.
3 Aguero back on song
What a month January proved to be for Sergio Aguero.
Nine goals from just six starts has taken the Argentine’s tally to 24 for the season.
His 17 Premier League goals puts him just four behind Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot and he is also just seven shy of a double century of goals for the Blues.
Now he’s on course for his best ever tally in a City shirt in this his seventh season with the Club.
That’s why he is regarded as a modern-day Manchester City legend.
4 Laporte purring
Aymeric Laporte had one training session, a manic 48 hours with all the emotion and exhaustion that goes with a major transfer – yet you would never have known it.
Spraying 60-yard passes with the calmness and coolness Pep Guardiola identified, Laporte already looks like part of the furniture for City.
Yes, he will have tougher tests that the one presented by an out-of-sorts West Brom, but the signs are promising that the Blues have purchased a real gem.
5 Eight more wins?
Manchester United are on 53 points with 25 games played following a 2-0 defeat to Spurs meaning that the Reds can reach a possible 92 points if they were to win their remaining 13 matches.
Chelsea can only reach a possible 89 following their shock home thrashing by Bournemouth and both teams represent the Blues’ nearest title challengers.
City’s goal difference is currently +23 better than United, which, unless Jose Mourinho’s side win several games comfortably, is probably worth a point as well.
With that in mind, as things stand, the Blues most likely need eight more wins from the 13 games that remain – and it will be most likely end up being fewer than that.
There are some tough fixtures still to play, with Arsenal and Spurs away and United and Chelsea at the Etihad.
Resurgent teams at the bottom will also provide some tricky games, so there is a lot of hard work still to be done.
But it’s fantastic to be in the box seat and knowing destiny is in our own hands.
Burnley, of course, will have other ideas this Saturday and taking things one game at a time really is the only way to move forward.
