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.

Rex

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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]

EPA

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.

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Page Six confirmed earlier this month that the "RHONJ" star would no longer co-headline the event after facing backlash for shaming food service employees.

MILLIONS of Irish people are set to see major money changes come in during the month of February as costs continue to rise.

February is expected to see the price of everyday needs hit new highs, as well as weekend treats increasing in costs.

Getty Images - Getty

Getty Images - Getty

While the cost to put your bins out, insurance hikes and pint prices are on the rise, there are also a number of cuts hitting next month.

Here are six major money changes heading to thousands of accounts as major updates are made.

PINT PRICES

The price of a pint is set to rise by as much as 30 cent, in a blow to both pubs and punters alike.

Guinness owners Diageo told publicans of the increase to products, the fourth in the last two years.

Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks and Hop House 13 will all see prices rise as the price of those draught kegs by 6c per pint on February 3.

Guinness 0.0 will meanwhile be raised by 9c per pint.

Due to VAT, duty and pub margins added, punters could see prices rise by up to 30c in their local.

According to Drinks Industry Ireland, Dublin prices could now hit new highs of over €7 for a pint of the black stuff.

BIN PRICES

Some 300,000 homes in Dublin are set to see a major increase in the cost of putting their bins out.

Panda Recycling will be raising the price of bin collection above inflation rates.

Those in north Co Dublin have been told that Panda will hike up their half-yearly service charge, the general waste per-lift charge, and the recycling per-lift charge.

The new prices come into effect next Saturday.

From February 1, the half yearly service charge will go from €67.50 to €70.

The price of waste per lift will go from €11.75 to €13.50, while the recycling per lift will increase from €1 to €1.25

The overall charge for customers will now be roughly an extra €20 per year, according to Panda.

There are fears other parts of the country will follow as Wicklow, Meath, Cork, Galway, and Wexford could soon see the same.

VHI PRICE HIKE

VHI has also announced a major price hike as its yearly healthcare plans cost is set to rise by seven per cent.

The firm said the price rise “is necessary to meet the healthcare needs of members as claims volumes have risen by more than 20 per cent in 2023 and inflation has had a significant impact on the cost of delivering healthcare”.

VHI hiked its premiums twice in the past year – by 4.8 per cent in March and then again by seven per cent in October – after reducing prices by three per cent in 2022.

However, customers will still have time to shop around for new rates as this rise won’t come in until March 1.

ELECTRICITY CREDIT

It was announced as part of Budget 2025 that every household in Ireland would be receiving two lump sums towards their electricity.

This payment is automatically applied to your energy bill in the form of two €250 amounts.

The first payment was made in the last few weeks of 2024.

The next lump sum amount will be paid out to Irish customers before the end of February.

ECB INTEREST RATES CUT

The ECB cut interest rates for the fourth time this year.

The lending rate that the ECB charges banks will now fall by 0.25 percentage points, which will directly benefit an estimated 130,000 tracker mortgage customers across Ireland.

Each reduction in the ECB’s refinancing rate reduces repayments by €13 a month for every €100,000 owed on a tracker.

And the move will pile pressure on mortgage lenders here to reduce new fixed and variable rates.

On top of this, lower ECB rates should make mortgages for new buyers cheaper.

Average new mortgage rates in Ireland are currently 4.03 per cent, which is the sixth highest in the euro zone according to the Central Bank.

The latest cut is the fourth reduction we have seen this year since the ECB increased rates 10 times up to September last year.

BANKING CHANGES

A number of banking changes were made in late January, with customers starting to see the changes throughout February.

On January 23, AIB slashed their saving and deposit rates.

They have reduced the rate on two of their fixed-term deposit accounts by 0.25 per cent.

AIB have also reduced the minimum amount required to open one of its fixed-term accounts to €5,000, down from €15,000.

And last week PTSB began offering 2 per cent cashback on monthly mortgage repayments to their existing mortgage customers.

The move could see customers receive €30 back a month on a monthly mortgage repayment of €1,500.

And it will be available until 2030.

MANCHESTER United have bagged the biggest Europa League prize pot so far – despite finishing only third in the initial league phase.

United’s final match win at FCSB means they have landed £19.5million to date and also confirmed their place in the last 16.

Reuters

Man Utd have landed the biggest Europa League payday of any club despite coming third[/caption]

Getty

The Red Devils pocketed £19.5m in prize money[/caption]

EPA

Fourth place Tottenham are second in the money rankings with £18.4m[/caption]

And Spurs, fourth overall, stand second in the cash rankings at the end of the first phase.

The North Londoners have banked £18.4m after recording five wins and two draws out of eight games.

The two Prem sides are ahead of Germans Eintracht Frankfurt, who dropped from second to sixth in the final standings after their defeat at Roma and who have earned £18.3m for their efforts.

Both Prem sides can earn a further £16.5m if they go on to lift the trophy in Bilbao on May 21.

Although one of them is likely to have to beat the final hosts en route to that feat, with Athletic Club a serious contender and second seeds behind Italians Lazio.

But by finishing third and fourth, United and Spurs now cannot meet each other until the final.

While the windfall for the two Big Six under-achievers is welcome, even the potential maximum they can earn from this season’s competition is less than HALF the £83m Liverpool have already made from the Champions League.

Aston Villa – England’s lowest earners so far even though they have qualified directly for the last 16 while Manchester City will discover on Friday if they face Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the first knock-out round – have already earned £58.8m, with Arsenal on £75.9m and City £62.7m.

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Chelsea won all six league phase matches to top the Conference League standings.

But the Blues still only banked £9.03m with the possibility of adding a further £9m if they win the competition.

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