Bony not enough for Manchester City, ex-Sky Blues boss warns
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Manchester City may be fighting a losing battle in their bid to successfully defend the Premier League title they won last year, according to former Sky Blues manager Peter Reid.
The former Bolton and Everton midfielder spent three years at Maine Road as player/manager in the early 1990s but, despite his obvious affinity for the Manchester club, Reid believes it will be difficult for City to catch the current leaders.
“Chelsea are strong – the signing of Matic last January was a masterstroke and in the summer Fabregas and Costa have helped it even more,” he explained at Ladbrokes’ #ForTheFans transfer deadline day event on Monday.
“I just think Chelsea have got too much now,” he added.
The ex-Sunderland manager also pointed to last weekend’s 1-1 draw between the two teams as one of major significance in the title race.
“The result at Stamford Bridge was defining – Mourinho just did not want to get beat. Winning 4-0 and 5-0 is fantastic for the fans but it’s those little games where you need to get something out of it – a 1-0 or a 0-0 – they are the ones that win you championships,” he said.
Only two teams – Manchester United and Chelsea – have successfully defended the Premier League title since the division’s inauguration back in 1992 with Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Manchester City all falling short during that time.
Both the Pensioners and Sky Blues will be expected to take maximum points this weekend with the Londoners travelling to an out-of-sorts Aston Villa and the Citizens hosting Hull.
Chelsea are the 1/5 favourites to win the Premier League this season with Manchester City back at 4/1 in the latest Ladbrokes’ odds.
New City signing Wilfried Bony and Sky Blues teammate Yaya Toure will not be back in time to face the Tigers this weekend, with Ivory Coast progressing to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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