It’s not like Pep to put out a very-much-weakened side in a cup competition against a side from a lower division and my headline isn’t suggesting that he will / we should do that against Fulham. In fact, a look at where they sit in the Championship suggests that doing so would be a mistake.
Instead, I think there are some player decisions to be made for this encounter for a variety of reasons, which I’ll go into in more depth [more than usual] in my squad write-up.
v Fulham
 |
| Etihad Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct
from starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).
Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:
____________________Jesus_____________________
___________________Gundogan___________________
_____________________Bravo____________________
According to our manager, the only player
unavailable through injury / fitness is Leroy Sane.
Claudio
steps in net for this one (I think Ederson needs
some ‘time out’ and possible ‘reflection time’ too, after a few errors that have
crept into his game recently, which I’m sure Pep and his staff have been discussing with
the ‘Brazilian Beast’).
Oleksandr
to continue on the left-flank of the defence (it’s
a good opportunity to give the 23-year old some more game time, which has been a
rare event of late - it might help to keep him from-getting twitchy for a
summer move too), with Joao to be rotated with Kyle from our last outing,
on the right. In-between those, I think we’ll see Aymeric ‘go again’ (even though we have an important home game on Wednesday night, I
think his boss will see THIS home fixture to be a pretty safe one for the
Frenchman to continue his match fitness regime, following long-term injury)
and is likely, I recon, to be joined by John (another
one who is likely to have his resilience tested after more signs of injury-flakiness recently…as well as it being an opportunity to rekindle
the Laporte / Stones partnership).
Ilkay is
likely to be given a go at redeeming himself, following a fairly poor showing
against Crystal Palace a week ago and ahead
of him in the ‘creative middle’ department; SURELY Phil gets to start this one,
with recently-withdrawn / rested David to partner the lad from Stockport.
On
either attacking flank, I’m going for Pep to start with Raheem on the left. Why? I
don’t think any City fan would argue that the still-young England man has been a shadow
of himself in recent weeks. Indeed, following the Sheffield United game
last Tuesday night, the Manchester Evening News wrote the following, after giving our
winger 5/10:
His flat period goes
on - this was the Sterling we saw under Pellegrini, not sharp, blind
alleys, wrong decisions.
I think that’s fair
comment.
There have been calls from a lot of City fans for Raheem to be given some
‘time out’ to rest / refresh and, particularly following a packed, festive
period, I’ve agreed with that sentiment. However, should I be correct about this one and
Guardiola does decide to start Sterling tomorrow afternoon; I would agree with
that selection-choice too, for the reason that…this could-well-be an ideal
opportunity for the 25-year old to regain some confidence, should that also be
an issue [in-addition to any possible fatigue he may be suffering with]. Bernardo to start on the right, simply for player / squad rotation
purposes.
Similar to the Raheem situation; I can see Pep
wanting to start Gabriel on Sunday…and this one would definitely be for
'confidence reasons'. I don’t think it was just his
penalty miss, which then appeared to cause him to have such a poor game in Yorkshire 4 days ago; I
think the fact that he is so ‘in & out’ of the team / starting 11 that
it’s continuing to affect his consistency / form. Why would it not? A morale-boosting
game is just what the Brazilian forward very much needs.
Scott should make the bench as reserve
stopper for this encounter and I can see Kyle & Eric being the only
defensive choice-options from the side. Why? I Don’t think
Pep will want to see this clash go to a replay and, therefore, if we are
struggling at any point and we need ‘game changers’ to come on, then what
better way than to include Kevin, Riyad & Sergio in addition to having
the security of Rodders in ‘the 7’.
Notable absences:
- Ederson – Not selected.
- Angelino – Not selected.
- Benjamin Mendy – Apparently okay to
start but having suffered recent ‘muscle fatigue’, I recon he might get another
day off before our next, crucial away-league game.
- Nicolas Otamendi – Not selected.
- Fernandinho – Not selected / rested
/ protected.
-
Leroy Sane – Continues
to train on his own and the hope is for him to be available early February.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
I think that’s a 'good
11' for this one.
Result? From what I’ve recently heard, I understand that Fulham
like to play a similar style to us – lots of possession and front-foot work.
Certainly, 42 league goals (joint-4th best in their division) from 29 played lends
itself to that judgement.
However, 30 leaked
goals also suggests that they rarely keep a clean sheet and, therefore, I can
see us exploiting that potential weakness.
I don’t know – and haven’t
investigated – anything about their playing staff to any great degree apart from
hitman Aleksandar Mitrovic; a striker I have often been impressed with whenever I’ve seen the strong,
mobile 25-year old. I’m quite surprised The Cottagers have managed to keep
hold of the 6’ 2’’, former-Republic Yugoslavian following relegation from the Premier League last season.
I seem to say this
quite often, particularly this season, but I can see them scoring
tomorrow; not least for the reasons of my praise for Mitrovic. However, failing
to beat Palace at home aside; we’re in excellent form at the moment and with a
near-fully-fit squad to choose from too.
If we perform well
at the back and have our creative heads on also to break down any visitor
resistance, then I can’t see anything other than a City win, which is what I’m
going for.
Last season’s,
corresponding pre-match prediction and result…
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during
the game: A dull, dreary early morning turns to light rain leading up to kick off (1pm GMT)…which is then forecasted to turn to heavy rain in the second half. With the rain continuing after the game and into the evening also, it’s a wet journey home for fans too. 7 or 8C with a bit of a breeze doesn’t help matters either, so it’s most-definitely warm layers / waterproof coat and a hot pie sort-of-afternoon.
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