Crucial match?

It's definitely a huge game, as is ours vs Arsenal. City must be laughing with a home game vs out of form Wolves.

I think even as early as October/November, unless Chelsea and United win their respective early kick offs, title celebrations at Eastlands can begin.

I think its will be bit premature if we take City's lead of 7 points (assuming we draw) to be unassailable. The league is tough and teams will drop points where it is not expected. I think its just a matter of being ready to take advantage of that when it happens.

Bubbles

Nonsense

Far too early to worry, barely a quarter of the way through the season. After the weekend we'll have played all the clubs who finished between 2nd and 7th last season, 13 points will be very good but 10 still isn't bad

I actually think it would be time to start worrying were not to win. Although it may not be catastrophic, an 8 point gap is a lot to start clawing back, particularly from a team playing with such confidence. We can certainly make up that amount of points, but i get the feeling if the gap continues to widen, then we would have to win at the Etihad come the end of the season, and i certainly don't fancy our chances there.

After Everton, which is always a tough one, our next potentially tricky game is against Arsenal away on the 21st January, all the games in between are winnable, we've done well considering the start we had Chelsea, City, Spurs etc and City still have all the other top sides to play so they will certainly drop points between now and may, people always get excited when a team does well early on, but no one has ever won the title in Oct/Nov.

not from a points perspective, too early in the season.

however if Everton get a result you run the risk that the 'fear factor' you usually enjoy will be questioned when other teams play you.

The thing that goes against City is our lack of experience. United on the other hand have that by the bucketload. They won't be panicking because they're 5 points behind City in October, or even if they're 8 points behind after next week. They just don't roll like that.

We (City) will drop points. Maybe not so many at this stage of the season. Maybe not too many between now and Christmas. But after that, as each game comes around, the pressure will build and build.

It might sound strange, but it might be easier for City to deal with that pressure if we weren't actually top of the pile come February time. Because then a lot of the focus and intensity won't be on us. I just get the impression that if we build up a significant lead - say one similar to what Newcastle had all those years ago - then all it takes is a couple of defeats and the pressure after that becomes immense. United have the know-how how to deal with that pressure. City don't.

If we had actually been able to put a serious title challenge in last season, then I'd fancy our chances more this season because we'd have more experience in what it takes to win the league. As it stands, I still believe United are the favourites, no matter what the bookies say.

The stuff about big teams and little teams is tosh. Norwich gave you far more of a game than Arsenal and we'll both find Spurs better organised next time round.

Only thing I'd say as a City fan is that our run of form started well before the end of last season. We had an awful result at Liverpool but since then we've just got better and better. We will also dump the Argentine whiner and strengthen the squad in the window.

Only idiots are counting any chickens, city will drop points and united historically get stronger as the season goes on, let the press and managers talk, Mancini doesn't strike me as someone who folds under pressure or get envolved "affected" by mind games!