Manchester City will take on Sunderland in a crucial Premier League tilt.

Things have not gone well for Manuel Pellegrini's squad in recent weeks and they could potentially take a turn for the disastrous if the team does not pick up wins in the coming matches. City's schedule will see the team take on Chelsea this weekend in the FA Cup (a team it has already lost against twice); next week the team has a date with Barcelona in the Champions League. Losses in any or all three games this week could be disastrous; however, Pellegrini refuses to accept that.

"I don't think the season will finish this week but I think it is a very important week for us," he stated, according to ESPN. "We have to play in the three competitions and maybe we are not in our best moment for the amount of players that are injured.

"We will see what happens this week, [if] the team returns to normal performance and I hope the future will look better when we have all the players back."

Claiming that his team is not at its best moment is an understatement. Despite having a chance to jump into first place, City has sputtered in two straight games. The first was a 1-0 loss at home against Chelsea; the second was a 0-0 draw at Norwich against one of the league's worst sides. A win over Sunderland on Wednesday could propel the team into first place, assuming that Arsenal loses against Manchester United. Any loss of points could prove disastrous, however, as Chelsea and Arsenal could start to pull away.

Prediction: Manchester City wins 2-0.

Start Time: The ball starts rolling at 2:45 p.m. EST.

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