Frank Blue wrote:
Norwich v Man City (1245 BST)
This is a really tricky game for Manchester City.
They had a really good win over West Brom on Wednesday, and Manchester United's defeat at Wigan made it a great night for them.
But that just shows you that things should be a lot closer at the top of the table, and City will know that those dropped points against Sunderland, Stoke and Swansea have cost them a lot in what has otherwise been a very good season.
Norwich did very well against Tottenham on Monday, and they seemed to realise quickly that Spurs were nervy. They got in their face and, despite the odd scare, I thought Paul Lambert's side thoroughly deserved their victory.
The Canaries are at home and Carrow Road will be rocking for this one but I think we will see City's late rally continue.
In many ways, having Mario Balotelli suspended after his red card in their defeat by Arsenal and not being involved has been a bonus for them. He had become the story and that should not have happened, because if you are trying to win the title for the first time you need to have everyone pulling in the same direction.
Prediction: 1-2
And United will think 'God, if only we hadn't dropped points to Newcastle, Blackburn and Wigan, we'd be well clear'. This media narrative where United winning the league would be solely due to City's incompetence is really starting to grind.
I know he was being reckless but I don't think the Arsenal game was a case of Balotelli not trying to pull in the same direction as the team - more a case of him not being able to tackle very well. It's odd how there's so much of a witch-hunt now when only three months ago he was apparently many non-City fans' favourite City player. Admittedly Lawro and Hansen have always hated him, but then Balotelli isn't Liverpudlian, is he?