Sergio Aguero celebrates with strike partner Khelichi Iheanacho after scoring the opener for City against Palace

Heading into the business end of the season has always been extremely exciting for us Cityzens ever since our incumbent glory days kicked in roughly seven years ago. Gone were the days when we headed into February bracing ourselves for a relegation dog-fight or sometimes, if we were lucky, a battle for a UEFA Cup spot. Manchester City are now big fish, and like any other king on a throne, they have contenders fighting to knock them off their perch. This year though, things are very different, as we have not just one rival to duke it out with, but three.

Such has been the construct of the Premier League this season that things are as tight as Nicki Minaj’s jeans. Just 14 points separate first from tenth and it’s evident that a run of good results could easily propel a team way up the table while a poor run would see them sink like a stone down into the depths of mediocrity. Usually, around this time, we’ve always been lucky enough to be in the race for the title, but unlike other times, we have quite a few competitors to deal with. Last year it was just us and Chelsea battling it out for the top spot, and the year before that it was us and Liverpool. This time, we have Arsenal accompanying us at the top along with surprise package Leicester City. In fact, I’d also consider Tottenham Hotspur to be in the mix as well.

David Silva scores City’s fourth on the night to seal victory over Alan Pardew’s Palace

What this means is that we have zero margin for error. Unlike the three other teams that I just mentioned, we actually have a lot to lose. For Leicester, Tottenham and even Arsenal, the pinnacle of the Premier League is uncharted territory and a second placed finish for them would be a fantastic achievement. In fact, I think that all these three teams would actually be satisfied with third place as well considering how tough things have been this time around. Manchester City though, are a cut above the rest. There’s a reason why I take so much pride in segregating us from the ordinary. For the last four seasons, we have never fallen out of the top two and this, is an unimaginable feat that some of our more historically renowned rivals would envy.

Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure celebrate City’s third and Aguero’s second against Crystal Palace

In today’s game, it’s unbelievable to see a team maintain consistency, or rather, it’s unbelievable to see a team consistently attain success. Manchester City are one such team but this time, they face their most difficult test ever. It’s been a while since we’ve gone on a winning streak and I’d certainly hope that our 4-0 drubbing of Crystal Palace could give rise to one. In fact, this is exactly when we should be hoping for some good form, especially with some massive match-ups coming our way.

West Ham away in the League followed by Everton at home in Capitol One Cup semis followed immediately by an FA Cup Fourth Round tie against either Wycombe Wanderers or Aston Villa shows that we are about to embark on a massive run of games, and I only hope that we can come out from them with our blue-blood reputations untarnished.