There’s no doubting that when you talk to long-time City fans about up & coming games at the moment there’s a sense of, “Well...we’ll see” about it. That’s in sharp contrast to last season and the first-third of this also; where we were in our “swagger +” mode and tearing teams to pieces with both skill & grace.
Then the wheels wobbled a little and even when we were able to screw ‘em back on tight again and came away from games with 3 points; aside from excellent displays against Liverpool & Arsenal we’ve done so without exactly looking fully ‘fine-tuned’.
Similarities.
Chelsea, likewise, had a flying start to the 2018/19 season and their new manager looked the 'perfect fit' for the
club. The players were all firing and the right results were coming in – they looked, in fact,
very much a title threat for a good time for sure.
I’m...not sure, however, what’s happened since but
they’ve definitely 'dropped off' somewhat. I haven’t followed them closely but I have
heard things like Hazard has gone from some
excellent, early form to looking more-like he wants to move away from the club and,
additionally, that he’s being played out of position at times. Their new
signing, who was close to being our
signing in the summer, Jorginho, apparently isn’t really ‘doing it’ for them either a lot of the time.
And in their last 10 league games, they’ve
failed to win nearly half; drawing 1 and losing 3 in that icky period, which includes
a bizarre 4-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth in
their second-to-last match out and where reports were that The Pensioners were
awful!
But they have quality aplenty – and
have added to that up front with the excellent loan signing of Gonzalo Higuain - and I’m sure Pep won’t be looking at them as a side who are
'there for the taking'. Should he or any of our players adopt that attitude, it
will be to our detriment for sure! We need a Liverpool / Arsenal-like performance
tomorrow and not a Newcastle one.
v Chelsea
 |
| Etihad Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct
from starting line-up in the last game: 7/11).
Fluid 3-6-1 / 4-5-1 / 3-4-3:
___________________Aguero____________________
__________________Fernandinho_________________
____________________Ederson___________________
Will our manager go for that...‘weird one’ again? The
formation that no-one saw coming and had plenty of TV / radio pundits and fans
alike trying desperately to work out before KO against Arsenal? The tactic that had some fans after
the game STILL questioning
just where some of the players were playing...and was something Guardiola was also asked
about in this pre-match press conference yesterday ahead of this fixture?
Well, I’m going for him to try it again and
with similar personnel to last time.
No confusing his position – midfield-wanna-be, Ederson, in net.
I think we’ll see ‘the 3 at the back’ coming
in the form of Aymeric, Nicholas & John. John, I think, instead of Kyle
'on the right of the 3' simply because Walker just can’t seem to muster more than a 5 to 6/10
performance in the last few months; no matter what the opposition or how many opportunities
he is given to snap himself out of it. He might have more pace than Stones but the latter is
'fresher of leg'; got through the Everton game well and played decent there also. We’ll see of course…
With Laporte & John also half-covering
the left & right-back slots, Fernandinho to have that all-important role of
being both defensive midfielder & part-time central defender. It’s the position he
held so very well against The Gunners and there aren’t many players in the
world who can do it…and do it quite so effectively, I would suggest.
If I’m right with this predicted formation
& line-up, that'll leave the frightening, attacking / creative 5 of Raheem,
David, Kevin, Bernardo & Riyad, all supporting Sergio ‘up top’ in this very
fluid system.
Aro the back-up stopper; Danilo, Kyle &
Fabian provide cover on both flanks of the defence as well as defensive midfield.
Ilkay, who can also fill that deeper
midfield role, adds a creative midfield option too and had a brilliant –
some would argue Man of the Match - performance in midweek. Leroy who, in contrast,
made some poor decisions and cut a frustrated figure at times in his 59-minute showing
at Goodison Park before being "hooked",
CAN be a breath of fresh air should he come on and fill his left-wing slot at
some stage. Gabriel is our more than capable reserve striker.
Notable
absences:
-
Benjamin Mendy – Knee still not right and is,
instead, on a sanctioned trip out to Barcelona & Paris and is able to Tweet about it too, of course…
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Looking at it "on paper",
it can leave you looking a little exposed on the defensive flanks; especially
with the quality of the afore mentioned Hazard & Higuain to name just 2
threats our visitors have in their armoury.
However, if our
players are ‘raring to go’ and it works just as well as last time then, yes; I’m
absolutely fine with it and, in fact,
I look at the threat OUR 5-plus-Aguero pose with considerable excitement again [as I was v Arsenal]!
Result?
Well, for the neutral, if my weird dream from last night comes true then this
will be a CRACKER! On an old-fashioned train heading to
somewhere in Cumbria, an announcement came over some speakers, on
this otherwise vintage train, to say that the City / Chelsea game ended 5-5!
Weirdly, in the build-up to this match and post-Everton,
I was leaning towards this one being a draw and I should really go with that initial instinct (and stick a 5-5 bet on?) that lasted for a
couple of days for some reason.
However, with news that we only have ‘the
usual suspects’ out injured and having achieved ‘top spot’ again - even if it came
via an extra game played and for however short-a-time it might be
– I think our lads will give a match-winning performance tomorrow. I’m going
for a hard-fought, home win.
Last season’s,
corresponding pre-match prediction and result…
Prediction: Win
Result: Win
Expected weather conditions during
the game: Well, we might
still have some residual winds from a quite-stormy weekend but if the forecast
stays the same; it should not-only be dry but that orange thing in the sky
might even make an appearance before day turns to winter evening. A still-chilly 5 to 6C though so don’t be fooled by any brightness…
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