Man City face horror February of SEVEN games including Liverpool, Arsenal and Real Madrid that may derail top four push

IT MAY appear to be smooth sailing once again at the Eithad Stadium thanks to recent results, but there’s an iceberg in the distance that could sink their newly patched up superyacht.

Man City have been dealt a horror month of fixtures in February that could see their top four hopes come crumbling down.

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City have been draw to face Real Madrid in the Champions League play-offs[/caption]

Sheikh Mansour and the Man City hierarchy have splashed over £130MILLION this month to try and re-track their uncharacteristic campaign.

And they’ll need all of their new arrivals to be on top form if they’re going to navigate a February that will see them take on the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Their nightmare month begins on Sunday with a visit to face recent rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Before a trip to take on Leyton Orient in the FA Cup offers an unhelpful additional fixture against a side on flying form just three days before a huge European clash.

City’s narrow qualification for the next stage of the Champions League means they will have to take part in a two-legged play-off round to book a spot in the last 16.

And unfortunately for them, they’ve been drawn against Spanish giants Real Madrid.

The Cityzens will play Madrid either side of a home game against Eddie Howe‘s red hot Newcastle United side on February 15.

As if that wasn’t difficult enough, after returning from the Spanish capital, City will have to play league leaders Liverpool in the same week.

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Man City face Arsenal this Sunday[/caption]

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The play league leaders Liverpool right after their trip to Madrid[/caption]

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Their February ends with a visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a ground they have only ever won one Premier League game at.

The February slog could have huge ramifications on City’s league position as they fight to secure a spot in the top four.

City are currently fourth in the league, ahead of Newcastle in fifth on goal difference.

While they trail Liverpool in first place by some 12 points.

Pep Guardiola has urged his team to remain focused during the tricky run of fixtures, claiming it’s nothing new for the four-in-a-row champions.

He said: “The schedule is what it is. In the Premier League every team has to play everyone, but it normally happens here in the Premier League, always they have the toughest schedules for the European teams at the toughest stages.

“It’s tough playing against Real Madrid and the problem is, in the middle, playing Newcastle. They are always so kind with the calendar!

“For many, many years it has always happened that way.”

He added: “For many, many years before I came here, it’s always been like that.

“So it’s not complaining because you had incredible success dealing with this calendar.

“Always it has been like that and we accept it. I’m not complaining because we won the treble and quadruple doing it like that.

“I said many times in the past, last season, we played the quarter-finals against Madrid and three days later we had the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley when we could have had more days. It’s always been like that.

“And we survive and we don’t survive because Madrid is better, because the opponents are better.

“But the calendar, I remember when I was in Barcelona training, and I followed the Premier League because it is the most attractive league in the world and Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger made the same complaints.

“So now you cannot ask me about the calendar because it’s from a long, long time ago.”

It’s not as though the difficult fixtures stop when February does either, City take on high-flying Nottingham Forest as their first game in March.