Just stuck the bones of this in the pre-game thread;
There are 14 games to go for them... 42 points. We have the bitters away, Mancs away, Chelsea and Spurs at home, all the teams fighting relegation (like Newcastle). There are a myriad number of things that could happen but ... all things being equal I do think tomorrow is the biggest game of our domestic season, (bar City away), so far.
Any win (better to nil) would just grind their gears at this stage. Pep has been very successful at blitzing leagues, I am not so sure how he is in a dogfight, truly the pressure will be on him and them every game now. Most games they cruise but they have been beaten 4 times this season and 3 times it's been against Palace, Leicester and Newcastle ergo anyone with a bit of gumption and luck can rattle them this year. This will not be the last time they are going to have things going against them this season and it will be in his head and their heads. There is a fragility to them this season and that is fact. They can be got at. They will be.
This is, in my opinion a bit of a weird season for City. They have played no-one in Europe, no-one in the League Cup all the way to the final, no-one in the FA Cup. Most games are like training sessions (compared to ours) and are over after 15 or 20 minutes. But there must be a creeping feeling of anxiety around "the best football team the world has ever seen". It can go wrong any time Pep. Despite barely getting out of 3rd gear all season they could find themselves 7 points down in the league to a team which is simply not giving them a break. Their form was supposed to have turned and suddenly they blow it again. Win tomorrow and Liverpool will show them up and there is nothing at all they can do about it.
And, dare I say it, I do think a slight change of emphasis could soon happen at Abu Dhabi central.
So, a win tomorrow is just 3 points, like every other 3 points, and we have to win every game we play, that has to be the aim. But it is a huge 3 points psychologically.