'A thing of beauty': Riyad Mahrez goal in Manchester City win at Everton has pundits purring

straight to your inboxRiyad Mahrez agrees with his manager after Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had warned the squad that they would be dropped if standards dipped.City beat Wolves to move 15 points clear in the Premier League before Manchester United play on Wednesday.

direct to your inboxManchester City and Manchester United are almost guaranteed to finish in the top two places in the Premier League, according to Roy Keane.City now have a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League table following Saturday’s 2-1 win over West Ham, which was their 20th successive victory in all competitions.United remain in second place despite their frustrating 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Sunday, one point above Leicester, who were beaten 3-1 at home by Arsenal.

direct to your inboxThe coronavirus infection rate for Greater Manchester continues to decline - although two boroughs are seeing cases increases in the latest daily figures.Bury has the highest rate in the region with 195 positive cases per 100,000 people.Daily case numbers are up on Rochdale and Wigan.Only Stockport has an increase in the week-on-week figures - although the figure is level in Rochdale.All ten areas remain above the national average.The lowest infection rate is in Trafford

straight to your inboxGary Lineker has hailed Manchester City's 'extraordinary consistency' after they extended their winning run with a 2-1 victory over West Ham. With nearest challengers Manchester United and Leicester City not playing until tomorrow, Pep Guardiola's side went 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to their 2-1 win, which came courtesy of goals from defenders Ruben Dias and John Stones.

straight to your inboxManchester City ace Phil Foden has shown he has plenty of strings to his bow this season.Foden has been used in a number of different roles by City boss Pep Guardiola during the 2020-21 campaign so far.The England international has played in central midfield - as a "number 8" or "number 10" - as well as out wide and even up front, in a "false 9" position.

straight to your inboxManchester City resume their Premier League title push this weekend when they face West Ham United.City are 10 points clear at the top of the table and on a remarkable 19-match winning streak. Thirteen of those have come in the league and they are unbeaten in 26 games in all competitions.They were in Champions League action on Tuesday, beating Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie.

direct to your inboxThe coronavirus infection rate for Greater Manchester has dipped slightly overnight but the overall decline continues to slow. On Wednesday, the number of positive cases per 100,000 people in the region showed an overnight rise for the first time since early January.The daily infection rate was 181 compared with 178 on Tuesday.It is now down to 180.5 but the week-on-week infection rate, a better indicator of the trend, has slowed to a 4 per cent decline.

straight to your inboxRio Ferdinand thinks Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are the two likeliest teams to challenge Manchester City for the Champions League trophy this season.City beat Borussia Monchengladbach comfortably in the first-leg of their Round of 16 tie on Wednesday night.With City's extending their winning run to 19 matches in all competitions, they have emerged as the bookmakers' favourite to win the Champions League for the first time.Ferdinand believes there are only a

that the effects of the national lockdown may be wearing off.At a press conference today, Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester council ad the region's health lead, admitted our infection rates are 'not going down fast enough'.He pointed to Bury where there has been several days of positive cases increasing and said while it’s 'too early to say' if it is a trend, it is an ‘area of concern’.Bolton is once again the borough with the highest infection rate in Greater Manchester with 236.5

Bolton MP has said he is "not concerned" about the high rate of Covid-19 infections in the borough, stating hospital admissions and virus-related deaths were "down dramatically".

straight to your inboxManchester City will be looking to take another step towards regaining the Premier League title on Sunday when they take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.Pep Guardiola 's side are 10 points clear at the top of the table and on a stunning run of form, going unbeaten in 24 matches in all competitions since their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in November.

straight to your inboxRiyad Mahrez has explained that he and Bernardo Silva 'don't even need to scream or speak to each other' to know where they are on the pitch.Both players played starring roles and scored excellent goals on Wednesday night as Manchester City responded well to adversity to go 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League.Phil Foden gave the Blues the lead on the half hour mark but Everton surprisingly hit-back just five minutes later as Richarlison bundled in a rebound

straight to your inboxManchester City welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Etihad StadiumPep Guardiola 's side secured their passage through to the last eight of the FA Cup in midweek, beating Swansea City 3-1. In the Premier League, City have won their last 15 matches in all competitions and smashed Liverpool 4-1 at Anfield in their last Premier League outing.

straight to your inboxKyle Walker has admitted he was "lucky" to get on the scoresheet in Manchester City's FA Cup win over Swansea City.Walker opened the scoring in City's fifth round tie at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday evening, With half an hour on the clock, the England defender put in a teasing ball from the right, which found its way all the way into the net without a touch from anyone else.So, was it a shot or a cross? Walker initially joked that it was intended as a shot, before

straight to your inboxLiam Gallagher has been doing a bit of scouting work for Manchester City, it would seem. The former Oasis frontman and big City fan sent Pep Guardiola some transfer advice on Sunday ahead of his team's crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool.

direct to your inboxRoy Keane was full of praise for Phil Foden after Manchester City's victory over Liverpool.Foden rounded off the scoring as City beat Jurgen Klopp's men 4-1 in Sunday's Premier League clash at Anfield. All the goals came in a dramatic second half, with Ilkay Gundogan missing a first-half penalty for Pep Guardiola's side.

straight to your inboxManchester City and Liverpool will be able to make extra substitutions during their Premier League clash at Anfield on Sunday (4.30pm).A new rule comes into effect this weekend, with the Premier League introducing concussion substitutes on a trial basis. It means City and Liverpool will be allowed two permanent concussion substitutes on top of the usual three permitted changes per match.

straight to your inboxManchester City head to Anfield without three key players for their clash with Liverpool.Pep Guardiola confirmed that Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and Nathan Ake are all unavailable but otherwise, City have a full complement of players.