A team all over the place…

…results wise but a ground / fixture, in recent years, where we often see goals flying in both ends; often resulting in points being shared.

There’s a brief blog announcement at the end of this piece.

v Newcastle United

St. James' Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 11/11 .

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Doku_________________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

 

____________________Gonzalez___________________

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi starts between the sticks.

A back-4, occasional 3, of England international, Nico-O-, Josko, Ruben and Matheus.

Nico-G- sits just in front of those with an attacking four of Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Rayan-C- ahead of the Spaniard.

Erling up front, hoping to break yet another record later today.

James continues as reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Rico, Nathan and John make up four defenders on the side. Tijjani is the sole central midfielder in ‘the 9’, with a nod towards Rico Lewis who prefers that position over right-wing back, while wide / attacking change options come in the shape of Oscar, Savinho and Omar.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Recovering from secondary surgery to clean up some calcification in his ankle. Expected return is around February 2026.

-       Rodri – Testing his patience as well as his body, as he continues his efforts to recover fully following a full season out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yep.

Result?

L W L W L L sums up our hosts at the moment and it’s a set of results that saw them just 2 points and 4 places above the relegation zone once Gameweek 11 was concluded.

Far from having the worse defensive record of the bottom half sides, they are, apparently struggling for goals; with just 11 recorded in the league from 11 games played. Summer signing, 6’ 6” German international, Nick Woltermade is their top scorer with 4 league goals, while midfielder, Bruno Guimaraes, remains a threat with 3 to his name.

Looking at the table could lead some to conclude that this should be a fairly straight forward City win and, of course, I hope it will be. 🤞 They do have players coming back from injury but they do still have a fair number out plus one suspension to a key defender. However, there’s this to take into consideration too.

I’ve never liked the way we start our first match following an international break and after the last one, Pep himself admitted that we rarely start well once our players have finished representing their respective counties. We eventually won the last post-international break fixture at home to Everton, 2-0, but both the visitors and our own sluggishness made hard work of it.

I’d say that away from home, at a ground where the home fans can make some serious noise when their side have their tails up and can smell blood on a visiting side; any bad start by us and we could all too easily be punished.

For the record, our last three league visits ended 3-3, 2-3 and 1-1. We also lost 1-0 there on 27^th September 2023 in the League Cup, following a dominant but wasteful City performance that lacked both quality and cohesion.

I said at the beginning of the month that we had a good number of very tough fixtures in the month of November and although the three matches were all at home; to come out of those with 3 victories, 10 goals scored and only 2 conceded is EXCELLENT! I apologise for underlining the point but it is very good form that has been, sadly, interrupted by a second international break of the season.

I hope we can hit the ground running again in the North East this evening (5:30pm KO GMT) because it will not only cap off that great run of victories against tough opposition but it’d be fantastic to take another victory into our next two November home fixtures; before a December that see us hit the road three times and take to the air once.

Back to this evening, do I think The Magpies will score? Yeah I do actually. They have strong, goal-capable players and we may see a little bit of that post-international break rustiness that I’ve mentioned.

However, if we do start sluggishly I do expect us to shake it off and find our rhythm early enough to hit the back of their net more than they hit ours. I’m going for a City victory.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: Win

Result: Draw

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Chilly, as you might expect in Newcastle in November, but dry. 3C is the match temperature and not much breeze. 🧥🧣🧤🍵🥧🍺⚽

I won’t be doing a pre-match blog posting ahead of our Champions League game on Tuesday night – I’m just too darn busy for a midweek blog piece at the mo. 🎻

Next up for me will be our home league game on Saturday 29^th November.

Solidarity

Predictions v Liverpool – 09.11.2025

Last domestic game before another international break… 🙄

v Liverpool

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog wise, was our home victory against Bournemouth: 10/11.

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Doku_________________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

 

____________________Gonzalez___________________

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Stones, Kovacic, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi in net.

I’m going for a back-4 of Nico, Josko, Ruben and Matheus and I don’t think we’ll see too much of that defence melding into a 3 as much as we’re used to this afternoon.

Nico just ahead of those and ahead of the Spanish defensive midfielder I think it’ll be Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Rayan-C-.

Erling up front.

James is reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Rico and John make up three defenders on the side. Matteo and Tijjani provide midfield cover, Oscar and Savinho give us wide options from ‘the 9’ and Omar is an alternative striker we have in our arsenal.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Nathan Ake – Not selected.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Rodri – May make the bench but unlikely, as the Management Team slowly nurture the Spaniard back to health before a busy November, December and January; following the second international break of the season after this fixture.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yep.

Result?

A side very much in form, apart from a 1-0 away blip late October vs a side with two solid victories against very good, in form teams; following a run of horrible results for them to say the least. This was always going to be a frenetic, closely contested match but I would say even more so on this occasion.

I’m just going to come straight to it without too much more analysis – I’m having this one down as a draw.

Are we capable of beating the reds of Merseyside? The way we’ve been playing recently, attack wise, fills me with considerable confidence. And it’s not just the number of goals we’re scoring - the way we’re zipping the ball around and working so hard to win the ball back and then retain it is very impressive.

But we’re still not a very solid unit and against weapons such as Liverpool have it does leave us somewhat vulnerable…as are they at the back, I am keen to add. I can't see this being 0-0.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: Draw

Result: Lost

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: The day started promising but light rain began to move in mid-morning and will last throughout the match. It could even get quite heavy at some point. 12-13C is the top temperature. Chilly and murky would sum it up nicely and the pitch should be perfectly watered for a fast-paced game. 🌂🧥🥧🍺⚽

Solidarity

Blog announcement – 03.11.2025

In order to take a little pressure off myself so that I can get some other things done in between work itself, I’ve decided not to do a blog posting ahead of our Champions League game on Wednesday. Fingers crossed that won’t be the case at the weekend and I’ll put a piece out before our Sunday afternoon encounter with Liverpool.

Quick word on yesterday…

I think that’s one of the best matches involving City I’ve seen in a good while and the visitors more than contributed to it. Two excellent displays and we should be proud that our lads managed to overcome a side who showed real fizz for almost the whole 90+ minutes.

And all done despite being pegged back by a rare Donnarumma mistake from a cross. This fantastic keeper is allowed the odd one, I think you’ll agree.

Standout displays I think were Nunes, Dias, Gonzalez, Haaland and, in the second half, O’Reilly. But despite Erling adding two MORE goals to his incredible numbers, I gave my MotM to Rayan Cherki. He is one intelligent player with amazing vision and quick thinking ability.

That’s all for now.

The first of five…

…back-to-back, very tough fixtures and it doesn’t get much tougher than the high-flying Cherries - a 2^nd-place side with only one league defeat in nine.

This is also the first of FIVE from six home fixtures in November 😮 whereas, in sharp contrast, we travel more than Father Christmas throughout December. 🛷

v AFC Bournemouth

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 7/11.

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Marmoush____________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

___________________Gonzalez____________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Stones, Rodri, Reijnders, Bobb, Doku and Savinho.

Gigi retakes the gloves for this league fixture.

I’m going for a back-4, occasional 3, of Nico-O-, Josko, Ruben and Matheus.

Nico-G- starts once more as our defensive midfielder.

Ahead of him I’m going a little bold by suggesting that both Omar and Rayan-C- can manage two games in four days following months out with injuries. Both players not only completed the 90+ minutes in midweek but they finished the match strong; with goals each and an assist for Rayan as well. If I’m correct, I’m going for both of those to start wide, although I’d expect them to make runs inside too. I could be wrong – Doku may start left and Marmoush might have to take the role of reserve striker for this fixture. I think we’ll see Bernardo and Phil in the middle.

Erling returns up top following his close encounter with a goalpost a week ago.

 

James is back on the bench as keeper cover; Rayan-A-, Rico and John provide defensive options. Rodri and Tijjani make up two midfielders on the side, while there’s a wealth of wide alternatives in that prediction from me in the form of Oscar, Jeremy and Savinho.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Nathan Ake – Not selected…and now being linked with a January move away from the club.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Didn’t make an appearance in midweek’s squad with rumours that the Croatian international is still not quite ready following a long injury layoff. When asked on Friday 31^st October about his availability our manager said, “We’ll see”. 🤷‍♂️

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yep.

Result?

🚨🔔 Hard to defeat, although they have conceded the most goals of the top-5 teams; Bournemouth are a side who have the ability to punish any lapse in concentration and that should signal some alarm bells for a City side who haven’t quite ironed out all of last season’s vulnerabilities; despite a keeper upgrade and a slightly more settled back-4. They have weapons.

Our visitors are far from being a one man team but it would be remiss of me to not mention forward, Antoine Semenyo. The Chelsea born, Ghanaian international has 6 league goals and 3 assists in 9 games, meaning that he has been involved in over half of Bournemouth’s 16 league goals this season so far. That’s excellent form.

I think it might be going a step too far to use the phrase, “We bounced back” following our defeat to Aston Villa last weekend. The general consensus from travelling Blues last Wednesday in South Wales was that it was a poor performance from our team. Too slow to get going and, generally, too soft; seemingly expecting the lower-division side to simply roll over, which they didn’t and quite rightly so.

Ait-Nouri and Khusanov looked understandably rusty on their returns and with very intermittent game time himself, so did Nathan Ake once again. James Trafford played well, I thought.

As is often the case, we wore the so-called lesser side down in the end but I will add that I was pleased with both Rico Lewis and Rayan Cherki’s performances; particularly the latter who looks a class act, just as I thought he would be. 👏👍

This next one is gonna be tough, as I’ve already intimated.

On the one hand, if they manage to nullify Erling Haaland then going off recent games, who’s going to step up and provide the goal threat? 🍫 On the other hand, if we bring out our soft centre midfield rather than a hard caramel one; that defence, plus Donnarumma, are going to be in for a busy afternoon / evening.

I was so tempted to go with a draw and I’m HOPING that my heart isn’t just ruling my head because I try to be honest at the stage of predicting a outcome. I’m having this down as a City win.

I really hope so too because when I look at the table, there’s a big bunch of 10 teams separated by just 3 points from 2^nd all the way down to 11^th. 😲 It feels like an old school “PILE ON!” and we need to try ‘n’ get ourselves near the top of the mad scramble ASAP.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(There was no pre-match blog posting for that game due to both time constraints and an up and coming holiday at that time. Here’s the announcement I put out, which includes post-F.A. Cup Final comments 🙁 from last May)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Practically identical to last Wednesday night in Wales. 10C, with a “feels like” of 8C; gentle breeze and dry. 🍵🥧🧥🍺⚽

Solidarity

The mood has changed

From:

Confidence and optimism that we were getting a new blend of players clicking together to…perhaps not challenge for the title but to certainly issue a top-3, “We’re not going anywhere” message to our rivals as we rebuild our side following last season’s drop off.

To:

Wingers with no end product; a midfield with no beef or threat and far too many players, aside from Haaland, who are failing time and time again to contribute in the final third. Oh yeah…and some City fans even questioning Pep Guardiola’s team selection last Sunday, although the man himself didn’t appear to be particularly irritated by the performance in the post-match press conference and, in fact, appeared quite relaxed and pragmatic.

My brief thoughts…

I was transfixed on the game for the first 15+ minutes it was so fast-paced and in that time I thought we started really sharp. Whenever the home side got the ball we were on ‘em quickly and when we had the ball we were zipping it around with pace and confidence; as a clearly ‘up for it’ Villa were chasing us down too.

I think any early warning signs that we were about to fail in our pursuit of getting at least one goal were coming from our left flank in that same spell; with Savinho wasting not one, not two but three good chances to make a good cross and cause the Villa defence more problems than we did. But he wasn’t the only one.

Regular readers might recall that I’m a bit Oscar Bobb fan but he is struggling this season in his 451-league minutes to make much of an impact. He has one assist and no goals.

The aforementioned Savinho continues to frustrate me and many other Blues and he’s starting to remind me a little of Raheem Sterling when the England winger was going through a bad patch - exciting on the eye and then…huffff.

Before we signed Tijjani Reijnders, I was really quite excited and optimistic that we’d signed a class player and his performance against Wolves on the opening day of the season just reinforced those feelings. Since that fine display at Molineux on 16^th August he’s managed one further league assist and no additional Premier League goals.

I keep hearing that Phil Foden has returned to the Phil Foden we all love to watch. Really? I will never question his efforts but he’s far from the Phil I know he can be. He has one derby day goal and no assists in the league.

I have to add that Aston Villa defended superbly – one of the best and most determined defending I’ve witnessed in a long time, which tells us that we were at least threatening to score.

It's enough to make you wonder how we managed to go nine games unbeaten in all competitions up to last weekend but then again, we have Gianluigi Donnnarumma, a far more stable defence than last season and a certain Mr Haaland.

Well, that’s all fairly grim sounding after a good September and October. Is a League Cup game away at a Championship side a good match to get it out of our collective systems; particularly the players? I say, “No, not really”.

However, it does give us some room to rest and rotate a little and a full week before our next league fixture for Pep to analyse just how the hell we lost another game at Villa Park; our fourth-straight season without a win there in the Prem. In addition, our manager might want to try ‘n’ explore why our other, highly talented players just aren’t contributing nearly enough in the final third; weather that’s with final passes / crosses or goals themselves.

v Swansea City

Swansea.com Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

__________________Marmoush____________________

 

 

Doku_____________________________________Cherki

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Lewis__________

___________________Gonzalez____________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

____________Ake________________Stones_________

 

 

____________________Trafford____________________

Subs: Donnarumma, Ait-Nouri, Dias, Kovacic, Foden, Mukasa, Reijnders, Bobb and Savinho.

James takes the gloves for this competition.

My back-4, occasional 3, prediction is Nico-O-, Nathan, John and Matheus.

Nigo-G- starts this one in my opinion, following a knock and then substitute appearance last Sunday.

Ahead of our defensive midfield I’m going for Jeremy, Bernardo, Rico and Rayan-C-.

Omar, making only his fifth appearance of the season having spent around 7 weeks out with a knee injury, leads our attack.

I’m going to stick with that predicted 11, despite having second thoughts about whether it’s still too early for Rayan Cherki to start a game. We could see Phil Foden start again and move over to the right flank instead.

Gigi moves to the bench as reserve keeper; Rayan-A- and Ruben provide defensive cover from the side. Mateo, Phil, Divine and Tijjani make up four midfielders on the bench, while Oscar and Savinho provide wing options from ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – On 24^th October, Pep said of Khusanov, “I think he's close to coming back, but still, I think he's not ready. He had an injury in a dangerous, dangerous position in his body”.

-       Josko Gvardiol – Not selected / rested.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Rodri – Remains out with a hamstring injury. Unknown return date but we were informed on 28^th October that he was back in light / partial training with his teammates.

-       Erling Haaland – Not selected / rested.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yeah, looks good.

I’m pleased that we’ll have the opportunity to rest some players who have played a lot of minutes already this season and, if I’m correct, I’m looking forward to seeing how Lewis, Cherki and Marmoush perform in particular.

Result?

Our host couldn’t be more in the middle of their division if they tried. They sit right in the centre of their table having won 4, drawn 4 and lost 4; scoring 12 and conceding 12 also. Wow.

No consistency appears to be the monkey on their back at the moment, with a last 6 in the league looking like this: D W L D L W.

I think we’ll find that our hosts will be stubborn and we’ll have to work hard to break ‘em down. However, with some players keen to make their mark after limited game time and with the quality we have in that predicted line-up, I’m going for a Manchester City win.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Dry but chilly. It might show 10C on the thermometer but the forecasted “feels like” is closer to 8C in the stiff, westerly breeze. 🍵🥧🧥🧣🧤🍺⚽

Solidarity