Norwich City 0 - 0 Manchester City

NORWICH CITY 0 - 0 MANCHESTER CITY


Bore draw softens City title hopes

Sixty-eight goals in 25 league games; the Premier League's highest achieving goalscoring graduates - and still we can't score against Norwich. Yes, the blues composed yet another tuneless performance on Saturday as Chris Hughton's Canaries pecked the goals out of Manchester City and recorded a potentially crucial 0-0 draw. 

Slumps stain the best of teams, but the timing of Manchester City's latest dip in form has been less than impeccable. With enormous ties with Chelsea and Barcelona unsettlingly approaching, February is no time for a dip in confidence, but injuries to both Sergio Agüero and Fernandinho seem to sapped the swagger from City's play. 


(Ace absentees: The blues have endured a distressing dip in form without Agüero and Fernandinho in their ranks)

Aching from a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Monday night, the blues allowed their hosts to enjoy the majority of the early play. A skewed effort from Nathan Redmond was shortly followed by a tap in from Gary Hooper, but the striker was deemed offside by the linesman. The Canaries were spreading their wings and desperate to migrate away from the bitterness of the relegation zone, they began to fluster a Manchester City side deprived of morale.

Stevan Jovetić's impressive cameo against José Mourinho's side earlier in the week earned the Montenegrin a starting place alongside Álvaro Negredo, but the couplet lacked any sort of spark. City's best chance of the afternoon fell to the Spaniard who headed against John Ruddy's crossbar, whilst Jovetić's volleyed effort received a warm welcome from the gloves of the English keeper. A recent shoulder injury seems to have knocked the 'Beast', and he has indubitably sacrificed some of his 'scare' in recent weeks. 

(Out of sorts: The 'Beast' has been wasteful in recent weeks)

The bright yellow bus continued to act as a barrier against City's relentless pursuit of a goal, and the dismal delivery of Jesús Navas never threatened to penetrate a solid Norwich defence. Yaya Touré failed to assert any of his usual power on proceedings, and strolled up and down the field with the purpose of Manchester United's title charge. Things just weren't going well.

The game maintained its monotony throughout, but last gasp efforts from the home side could have handed the hosts a precious victory. Fortunately for us blues, they didn't, and a Capital One Cup final dress-rehearsal against Gus Poyet's Sunderland awaits.

Time to buck up.

Player Ratings

Joe Hart 6 - One save from Bassong kept City in the game, but in truth, the England stopper had very little to do.

Pablo Zabaleta 6 - As was typical of the rest of the team, the Argentine's delivery was off. Other than that, an effortful and solid performance.

Vincent Kompany 7 - Simply faultless and had more defending to do than he would have previously expected. 

 Martin Demichelis 5 - A move from midfield to defence should have seen the veteran return to home comforts, but he was shaky and slow. 

 Gaël Clichy 6 - Struggled with the pace of Nathan Redmond and was unable to get down the flanks as Norwich pressed.

David Silva 6 - Did his best to create openings but the movement of his forwards restricted Merlin's creativity. Finishing was poor - again.

 James Milner 7 - A much better option than Demichelis in midfield and justified his place with creativity and solidity.

Yaya Touré 6 - Loves the big games, and steps off the pedal for the 'smaller' ones. Languid and lethargic throughout in a game City needed the Ivorian to step up in.

 Jesús Navas 6 - Delivery was unusually poor and better crossing could have seen City out of sight.

 Stevan Jovetić 7 - City's brightest spark in the first half and his goal was incorrectly ruled offside. Wrongly substituted early on.

 Álvaro Negredo 6 - Another off performance from the Spaniard and he looks like he needs Agüero back.

Substitutes

Edin Džeko 6 - Never troubles Norwich's back line.

Aleksandar Kolarov 6 - Couldn't impact proceedings.

Match Stats

Shots on target: Norwich City 2 - 2 Manchester City

Shots off target: Norwich City 4 - 9 Manchester City

Blocked shots: Norwich City 1 - 4 Manchester City

Corners: Norwich City 4 - 14 Manchester City

Fouls: Norwich City 7 - 6 Manchester City

Pass Completion: Norwich City 75% - 87% Manchester City

Tackle Success: Norwich City 35% - 52% Manchester City

Possession: Norwich City 39% - 61% Manchester City

Sunday's MCFC Transfer News

Roberto Mancini has sensationally revealed that Manchester City were in talks with Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti before he was sacked last May. The Italian believes talks may have taken place in February and claims the club behaved like 'Judas' before relieving him of his duties.

''I know a lot of people in football and I found out afterwards that they were talking to three or four managers in February, March and April. I know they were talking to Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti. And these were the same people I sat down with for dinner before the FA Cup final," Mancini, who is now in charge of Galtasaray, told the Sun. 

"It was like Judas. I trusted the chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak 100% but not those other two guys, probably he just followed them.

"Some people just don't have the courage to talk face to face. Even Khaldoon did not tell me to my face what was happening. He could not just come up to me and say, 'We did four years together, we won everything, we are happy, but now the job is finished.'

"Instead, they were working behind my back and sacked me two games before the end of the season. I did not even have the chance to say goodbye to the Manchester City fans.''

The comments come just weeks after claiming he 'built' the current Manchester City team, and it's probably time the Galatasaray manager keep his nose out of his former clubs dealings.

According to Goal.com, the blues are interested in signing 17-year-old Gremio forward Everton. The Brazilian scored 20 goals for the club's youth team last year but can not sign a professional deal until he is 18.

(The Brazilian striker has been tipped as one of the country's most promising talents)

In Other News

In other news, the Sunday Express believe Arsenal will try to sign Gareth Barry from Manchester City in summer when the midfielder's contract expires. Barry has impressed whilst on loan at Goodison Park this season and Arsène Wenger is said to be a keen admirer.

Saturday's MCFC Transfer News

According to Sports Direct News, Paris Saint Germain are keen on signing Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta in the summer. The 29-year-old has established himself as one of the Premier League's most impenetrable defenders over the last three years and is reportedly seen as the perfect man to strengthen the French giant's defence in the summer. However, with Manchester City almost certainly unwilling to sell, Les Parisiens may turn to Arsenal's Bacary Sagna.

Inside Futbol report that Manchester City will battle with Liverpool for the signature of 16-year-old Feyenoord midfielder Rodney Kongolo. The Dutchman has been labelled as the new Patrick Vieira and the club are becoming increasingly wary that they may not be able to hold onto the startlet come summer.

(The defensive midfielder is being tipped as one the brightest talents to emerge from the Eredivisie)

In Other News

In other news, Portuguese journalist Goncalo Lopes believes that FC Porto star Fernando is set to sign a new three year deal with club. However, the midfielder is still expected to leave the Portuguese side in June with Manchester his favoured destination. The new contract means the blues will have to fork out around £10m for the player who they were hoping to sign on a free.

Norwich City v Manchester City

                                                           
Preview
Blues aim to bounce with some Canary carnage


A sumptuous seven goal margin separated the sides last November when Manchester City went bird hunting at the Etihad Stadium, but Delia and co. will be hoping to fry up their own feast at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon. Bearing the wounds of a cruel loss to José Mourinho's Chelsea on Monday night, Manuel Pellegrini's injury ridden regiment will be looking to contain the frantic flapping and pecking of a Norwich aiming to soar above the relegation zone. 

Fernandinho was the latest Manchester City player to tick his name off on the club's casualty list after suffering a muscle injury just days before his side's meeting with Chelsea. Sniggers and chuckles were directed at the £30m Manuel Pellegrini forked out for the Brazilian in summer, but his absence earlier this week served to evidence how influential an addition he has been. As Eden Hazard and Willian terrorised City's flanks, the blues watched their 100% home record trickle into a Portuguese grave and the title race was thrown right open.

(Branislav Ivanović fires Chelsea to a priceless victory at the Etihad)

And with Sergio Agüero and Samir Nasri likely to make up the terrible trio of absentees from the blues' monumental Champions League clash with Barcelona in eleven days time, reports regarding City's ability to win the famous 'quadruple' are rapidly fading. The couplet have been training with the first team this week, but are still unlikely to feature in the historical tie. 

Manuel Pellegrini won't be fazed by suggestions that his machine needs a fresh oiling and will be hopeful of engineering yet another mauling this weekend against the Canaries.

With just one win in their last five Premier League games, Chris Hughton's side are facing the relegation battle they tried so strenuously to avoid with some shrewd summer spending. However, the potentially deadly striking duo of Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper have failed to live up to expectations and the Canaries lie just two points above the cages of the bottom three. 

(The £8m man has scored just one league goal for his new club)

With the league's third worst goal difference and still bearing the wounds of a 7-0 thrashing from their weekend guests, Norwich City will have to soar to dizzy heights to avoid an impending Manchester City backlash.

Line-Ups

Sergio Agüero, Fernandinho, Samir Nasri and Javi García make up a star studded list of casualties for the blues ahead of their trip to Carrow Road and are expected to return in dribs and drabs throughout the month. However, Manuel Pellegrini's side is likely to remain severely depleted for their monumental clash with Barcelona on the 18th February. 

Stevan Jovetić could form an unlikely striking partnership with Edin Džeko as Álvaro Negredo continues to recover from a shoulder injury.

(Jovetić is set to make his second Premier League start of the season on Saturday)

Michael Turner, Jonny Howson and Elliott Bennett miss the tie for Norwich whilst Ryan Bennett faces a late fitness test.

Possible line-ups

Norwich City: Ruddy, Martin, Bennet, Bassong, Martin, Olsson; Snodgross, Tete, Fer, Gutierrez, Wolfswinkel, Hooper

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov, Navas, Yaya Touré, Rodwell, Silva, Jovetić, Džeko

Head to Head Stats

• The two sides enjoy providing their fans with goal-filled spectacles, and there have been 32 goals scored in their last 5 Premier League meetings
• City have not lost at Carrow Road since August 2001 when Marc Libbra and Paul McVeigh gave Kevin Keegan his first loss of the season
• In six Premier League clashes at Carrow Road, the blues have walked away with the three points on three occasions and have only lost once
• City won 4-3 on their last trip to Norwich in December 2012 helped by a brace from Edin Džeko

Premier League stats

• Manchester City (68) have scored 49 more goals than their opponents (19) this season
• The blues (37) have also conceded 10 less goals (27) than their weekend foes
• Manchester City have completed 86% of their passes this season, whilst Norwich have only completed 78%
• The blues (342) have created a massive 107 chances more than the Canaries (235)

Friday's MCFC Transfer News

According to the Times, Manchester City are set to offer French midfielder Samir Nasri a new contract. The 26-year-old, whose contract expires next year, has been in scintillating form for the blues this season but was ruled out of action for 8 weeks after suffering a cruel knee injury at the hands of Newcastle's Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. However, the Frenchman has been training as normal this week and could be back in City's starting eleven against Barcelona.

Another man who has joined Samir in training this week is Sergio Agüero. The Argentine limped off with a hamstring injury against Tottenham Hotspur last week but has made a surprisingly early return to the training ground according to Goal.com. With Fernandinho and Samir Nasri both making swift recoveries, the return of Agüero could see the blues line up with a full strength outfit against Champions League rivals Barcelona.

(The striker made a shock return to training on Wednesday and is believed to be recovering well)

The Daily Express report that the blues are interested in Marseille wonderkid Maxime Lopez. The 16-year-old is also attracting interest from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and the French club fear they will not be able to hold on to the midfielder come summer.

In Other News

And finally, a huge congratulations to Manuel Pellegrini who has picked up back-to-back Manager of the Month trophies! The Chilean claimed the January award along with former City midfielder Adam Johnson who won the player award. 

(The Manchester manager also won the award in December)

Thursday's MCFC Transfer News

According to the Manchester Evening News, FC Porto midfielder Fernando is prepared to sacrifice his place in Portugal's World Cup squad to make a move to the Etihad Stadium in summer. The blues failed in a Deadline Day bid for the tough-tackling midfielder but have reportedly reached a pre-contract agreement with the Portuguese star who will be allowed to leave Estádio do Dragão on a free this summer. 

However, City are not preparing for a free ride in the Fernando saga as other European giants begin to sniff around the player. Reports from Club Call claim Juventus are the latest club interested in Fernando but the player is believed to favour a move to Manchester.

Despite featuring regularly in Manuel Pellegrini's plans in the last few months, Edin Džeko still continues to be linked with a move away from the club. Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger has allegedly drawn up a wishlist for the summer as he looks to cement Arsenal's status as title challengers and Džeko has been named along with Diego Costa and Mario Mandžukić.

(Edin Džeko could make a move to the Emirates at the end of the season in search of regular first-team football)

In Other News

In other news, French giants Paris Saint Germain and Monaco have reportedly made contact with City target Eliaquim Mangala. The Frenchman was linked heavily with a Deadline Day move to the Etihad but may favour a switch to his native country in the summer say talkSPORT.

Can Stevan be The Man?

A plentiful pile of scout reports, one trip to Florence, and a £22m fee; Manchester City had got their man. The brightest talent to emerge from the Balkans since Luka Modrić was on his way to Eastlands, and he'd even brought his sunglasses! 

But unbeknownst to Stevan Jovetić, Manchester is no place for the sun, and injury ensured that the hype surrounding the sought after forward disappeared into the fog. No, our man Stevan didn't acquaint himself with the City faithful as he may have expected, but with his muscular misfortunes now (hopefully) behind him, the blues are being given a sneak peak of the Montenegrin's magic.

'Axe him!' I've heard, even cries of 'send him out on loan!' have assaulted my ears - but why be so ridiculous? One can surely not conclude that the ex-Fiorentina striker hasn't performed appropriately, because quite frankly, he hasn't really performed at all. And one can certainly not gauge a player's ability based on two domestic starts for a club in a country they have never played in before. Although the player's business with injury has understandably frustrated the majority of Manchester City fans, we have no issue with his actual performances, because in actual fact, he's actually performed rather well, actually! 

Manchester City 5 - 0 Wigan Athletic 

In his second domestic start for the club, Jovetić starred in a brutal 5-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the Capital One Cup. His two goals exhibited his confidence in front of goal, but his movement and appetite to win the ball impressed the most. With Carlos Tevez's departure threatening to leave an un-fillable vacancy in City's forward line, it was refreshing to see the 24-year-old evidence work rate comparable to City's old captain.

(The forward hounds and wins the ball from Roger Espinoza to create a City attack)

(Jovetić is often employed as a second striker and inhabits the space just in front of the 18-yard-box. His vision and touch allows him to spring attacks with balls to the flanks or to turn and run at goal)

(Despite operating mainly in areas just outside the box, Jovetić always bursts into the penalty area when City attack from the wings. He anticipates the mistake and poaches loose balls where other forwards wait for the ball to come to them)

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 5 Manchester City

A second half cameo saw the forward spring into life with an excellent curling effort to secure his first Premier League goal in City colours. Again, Jovetić was instrumental in the majority of City's attacking play and was given freedom to roam thanks to Danny Rose's sending off in the 50th minute.

(Jovetić's speed allows him to keep up with the play and give Fernandinho an option on the flank. The forward is never rooted to one position and likes to float from side to side across the 18-yard box and this allowed him to cut inside and curl in City's fourth goal of the night against Spurs)

Manchester City 0 - 1 Chelsea

The blues were in vital need of some spark against Chelsea on Monday night, and Stevan Jovetić indubitably provided Manuel Pellegrini's side with it. He squirmed and slithered through Chelsea's defence and demonstrated his shooting ability with a fierce effort on Petr Čech's goal. Pundits and fans alike believe the performance should warrant a starting place in Manuel Pellegrini's squad to face Norwich City this weekend, and rightly so. 

(More evidence of Jovetić making space at the edge of the box and not being afraid to shoot at goal. This wicked effort was brilliantly stopped by Čech)

Glimpses they may have been, but Stevan Jovetić's quality is undoubtable. With Manchester City players dropping like flies as the season progresses, the Montenegrin's versatility will prove a crucial asset in City's push for the Premier League title. Whether it's playing as a secondary striker and making space on the edge of the box or filling in for Samir Nasri on the flanks and cutting inside, the £22m man possesses the ability to perform effectively in both positions. But make no mistake, Jovetić isn't just a secondary option, and if given the chance to perform in City's next few games, we could see him nailing down a first team spot for the foreseeable future. 

Can Stevan be The Man? Absolutely.