City will face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals; Pep Guardiola's side are four points behind Arsenal in the Premier League but have a game in hand; City face Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday
Wednesday 19 April 2023 23:57, UK
Gary Neville says Manchester City are "far too close for comfort" to emulating the treble win of his Manchester United side.
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the Sky Sports pundit admitted he was getting nervous about the prospect, saying: "It is ominous.
"I thought Manchester City were messing around a few weeks ago. They were bored. Now they're playing four serious defenders every match. Whether it's Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, John Stones. They're all in there now. He's playing a solid back four and one steps into midfield.
"Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan in midfield, the best midfield you can get. Up front, Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez are really settled now. They're hitting the home straight.
"The treble was mentioned last week - it's definitely on. They can win the European Cup, FA Cup and the Premier League.
"There's a long way to go, they can come up against a team that does them on the way: Real Madrid in the Champions League, Manchester United or Brighton in the FA Cup or they could lose to Arsenal at the Etihad, but they're very close to it. Far too close for comfort."
While City have trailed Arsenal for much of the season - and continue to do so, lying four points behind the Gunners with a game in hand - the statistics suggest they are favourites to win their third Premier League title in a row.
According to Opta, Guardiola's side have a 65.6 per cent chance of topping the table at the end of the season, with the probability of Mikel Arteta's team doing so down at 34.4 per cent.
The weekend's results swing the numbers still further in City's favour, but Opta already rated them as the team most likely to win the league even before Arsenal slipped up at West Ham, with the champions given a 53.1 per cent chance of retaining their title as of last Friday.
Opta are similarly optimistic of City's Champions League chances, with Guardiola's team given a 66.19 per cent chance of reaching the final in Istanbul even prior to confirming their passage through to the semi-final in Munich, and a 44.8 per cent probability of winning the competition for the first time in their history.
City will no doubt feel confident of seeing off Inter Milan or AC Milan were they to progress past Real Madrid in the semi-finals - and they will no doubt feel similarly assured of their chances of beating Sheffield United, their opponents in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
City haven't lost to Sheffield United since an FA Cup fourth-round meeting 15 years ago and lie 20 places above them in the English football ladder, with the Blades currently second in the Championship.
A potential FA Cup final meeting with Manchester United or Brighton appears more daunting, although City would point to the fact they are 11 points ahead of their city rivals in the Premier League and 21 ahead of the Seagulls.
If any further evidence were needed, Guardiola is one of just a handful of managers to have already completed the treble of league title, domestic cup and European Cup, doing so with Barcelona in 2008/09.
All of which is to say that Neville is right - the treble is very much on for City.
April 22: Sheffield United (Wembley) - FA Cup, kick-off 4.45pm
April 26: Arsenal (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm
April 30: Fulham (A) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports
May 3: West Ham (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 7: Leeds United (H) - Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports
May 9 or 10: Real Madrid (A) - Champions League
May 13: Everton (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 16 or 17: Real Madrid (H) - Champions League
May 20: Chelsea (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Brentford (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
TBA: Brighton (A) - Premier League
