Will 2 factors make a difference or…

…will it come down to a more basic requirement?

 

Factor 1: We’ll have had a welcome, 8-day rest after our last game.

 

Factor 2: We’re at home.

 

To answer both of those, I would say on the first point that our visitors will have had about the same amount of ‘rest time’ as we have so, no.

 

To answer the second question, well…we are frighteningly good at home but, let’s not forget, teams ‘in the same ilk’ as Leicester City have beaten us on our own patch this season so, I’ll say once again; no, I don’t think so.

 

Once again, for me, it comes down to that ‘determined & focused factor’ that eventually saw us come away from Burnley last weekend with 3 points. THAT’S what’s needed again on Monday…

v Leicester City.

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

Fluid 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

___________________Aguero_____________________

Sane____________________________________Sterling

__________D. Silva_____________B. Silva___________

___________________Gundogan___________________

Zinchenko_________________________________Walker

____________Laporte___________Stones____________

_____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Muric, Danilo, Kompany, Fernandinho, Foden, Mahrez, Jesus.

The 'tattooed warrior' 'has the gloves', of course.

I would suggest that Pep will recognise that some pace is required at the back against Leicester’s attacking threat and, therefore, Vinny won’t feature in ‘the 11’. I might be wrong as our skipper continues to be picked regardless of ‘the oppo’ and the threats they carry. But, for me, it’s a back 4 of Oleksandr, Aymeric, John & Kyle.

Ilkay to play the deeper-lying role in midfield; Leroy, David, Bernardo & Raheem are the attacking / creative source in our ‘midfield 5’

Sergio ahead of all of those.

Aro the reserve ‘stopper’; Danilo and the calm head of Vinny ‘in there’ if needed for defensive replacement options. Although he, apparently, trained today with his knee strapped up and will be assessed in the coming days; I think we’ll see Fernandinho make the bench with Phil also in there for central midfield change-options. Riyad & Gabriel make up the more attacking choices from the side.

Notable absences:

-       Claudio Bravo – Not selected.

-       Benjamin Mendy – Not selected.

-       Nicholas Otamendi – Not selected.

-       Fabian Delph – Not selected.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Injured and might not-now see a game in the remainder of an injury-ravaged season.

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

Yes.

Result? They carry a threat for sure and, under Brendan Rogers, have improved a lot. Their ladt-5 form – WWLDW – is decent and they recently thrashed Arsenal 3-0, which is impressive despite the Gunners being with 10 men for half the game. We need to be ‘on it’ for sure.

I think they’ll score and we might show some nerves at times…but I’m going for us to be ‘right on’ for making sure we gain 3 points in the end on Monday night (8pm KO BST).

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Win

Expected weather conditions during the game: Not bad at all – a little chilly, perhaps, at 8 or 9C but dry and nothing much of a breeze.

Weather update as of 5th May: The MeteoGroup have updated their forecast for Monday evening and, now apparently, there's gonna be a decent chance of rain for fans getting to the stadium and it might still be raining as the game starts. Should be dry in the second half and for homeward bound fans, although there is a chance of some more wet stuff if it takes you a while to get home from the ground.