Ziegler: a huge points deduction could follow
Martyn Ziegler of The Times has covered the City case the whole way through. His verdict on the financial hearing is blunt: if the main charges are proven, City land in serious trouble, and he expects a points deduction big enough to mean relegation or no European football (1).
"Om de huvudsakliga anklagelserna fastställs tror jag att de kommer att hamna i riktigt allvarliga problem," he said on Lundhs Podcast (1).
That is one reporter's forecast, not a verdict. But it is the number City fans have been bracing for.
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Haaland and Semenyo on the AEK Athens list
City host AEK Athens in the Champions League on Tuesday. The injury and suspension picture around Erling Haaland and Antoine Semenyo is the outstanding question before kickoff (2).
Nothing else gets clearer from here. City go into it top of the Premier League on 21 points from 7 games, +12 goal difference, after a 3–2 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Arsenal keep the gap at their end
Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal. Arsenal ground it out and stayed close to City at the top (3). The lead holds, but the chasing pack did their job too.
Liverpool also won at the weekend, and Brighton hammered Crystal Palace 5–0 (3). City's position is first, 21 points from 7 games, with the goal difference at +12.
Villa away, then Brighton at home
After AEK Athens, it is Aston Villa away on Saturday, October 24, then Brighton & Hove Albion at home on Saturday, October 31.
Fan reactions
The sub is deep in the legal fight, not the league table. One long thread aims to lay out everything about how the Premier League has treated City, and another looks back at the Bony deal as the butterfly wing of the whole saga. A separate thread wants Haaland talked about the way Tim Duncan was, more respect, fewer headlines.
