Yaya Toure scored both goals for Manchester City against Newcastle
PICTURE: GETTY IMAGESVictory at Newcastle puts City on the brink of glory
MANCHESTER CITY are on the brink of winning the Premier League title with bookmakers rating them 1-7 favourites to finish as champions following a tremendous 2-0 victory at Newcastle.
Yaya Toure’s second-half brace on Tyneside was enough to maintain City’s advantage at the top on goal difference with Manchester United eight goals behind after their 2-0 win over Swansea at Old Trafford.
Barring a miracle for United at Sunderland on Sunderland, a City winover QPR at the Etihad will hand them the title, although they needed to be patient before Toure opened the scoring 70 minutes into the contest.
City’s title odds drifted to 10-11 on Betfair during the Newcastle
clash but Toure’s delightful finish finally broke Newcastle’s
resistance and the Ivorian added a second late on to ease Roberto
Mancini’s nerves.
United, who are out to 6-1 despite goals from Paul Scholes and Ashley Young yesterday, will be hoping for a favour from old Red Devil and former City manager Mark Hughes when he takes his relegation-threatened QPR team to Manchester.
The Citizens, 4-7 with bet365 to be champions on goal difference, have won 17 of 18 league home games this season and a period of Manchester dominance is being talked up and it’s 2-1 with Hills that United or City keep the championship until at least the 2015-16 campaign.
QPR are up to 16th and 13-5 to go down and because of their superior goal difference are likely to need ‘only’ a draw at City to guarantee survival but could be safe regardless anyway if results elsewhere are in their favour. The Loftus Road outfit at least have things in their own hands and they owe that thanks to a dramatic1-0 success over Stoke with substitute Djibril Cisse’s late winner the difference, although things will be much tougher at City next up.
Blackburn are now all but down at 1-100 to join Wolves in the
Championship and Bolton are expected to join them after they
shockingly let slip a 2-0 advantage at home to West Brom, who
eventually drew level through James Morrison’s last-gasp equaliser.
Owen Coyle’s men head to Stoke on Sunday knowing anything other than maximum points will see them fall through the trapdoor but a victory will see them to safety if QPR lose at champions-elect City.
Goal difference could play a part at both ends of the table and Hills are 10-1 that any team is relegated via that method.
The race for the Champions League places continues to be a dramatic battle and will go down to the last day after ten-man Tottenham had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, who are now effectively safe from the drop.
Only third is certain to gain entry to Europe’s premier club
competition with ChampionsLeague finalists Chelsea guaranteed a slot if they beat Bayern in Munich. Spurs are out to 2-1 from 4-5 in the betting to finish third with Arsenal back into 4-9 and the Gunners will nail bronze if they can beat West Brom at the Hawthorns, while Tottenham host London rivals Fulham.
A Bayern victory in the Champions League would open it up for the fourth-placed side and that is a four-way battle for the two
positions. The north London duo are longodds-on to come in behind the Manchester big two with Newcastle at 5-1 and Chelsea, who incredibly are still in the hunt if they can win their remaining two fixtures, and can be backed at 10-1.
