Viva the Villa or 3 in a row?

Although, as far as I am aware, our two football clubs have never met in a cup final; this fixture has a real, old-fashioned feel to it for me.

First things first…

…and despite missing the game, I can’t move on without mentioning last Wednesday’s away victory at Real Madrid. I’ve heard & read enough reports and seen enough highlights to have a good understanding that we matched our Spanish hosts at the very least and fully deserved the victory; with exceptional performances from both Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.

Have that UEFA…

I’m preparing this part of my blog-posting before our manager’s pre-match press conference and so as I type this particular bit, it sounds like 'a blow' to Aymeric Laporte, who looked in some discomfort as he came off injured on 33 minutes.

It was, at first, being classified as ‘a knock’ but-then-later reports were of a hamstring injury, which is common for a player who has been out injured for months and could take a number of weeks to recover from.

But what’s just as concerning for me, is reading reports from last Wednesday about just how poor Nicholas Otamendi was and noticing also the unexplained absence, for now at least, from 'the squad of 18' of John Stones. Once again, unless the injury picture changes with Laporte; we’re left with a weakened central defence…and the pressure / reliance on Fernandinho is very much ‘back on’.

But, not wanting to end this section on a dour note, that was one hell of a result last Wednesday and we’ll go into our home, 2^nd leg not complacent, I’m absolutely sure of it, but certainly with a big advantage; with a 2-1 lead and 2 away goals!

v Aston Villa

Wembley Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog-wise, was the West Ham United game 'way back when': 8/11).

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 3-6-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Aguero____________________

Sterling_________________________________B. Silva

_____________D. Silva_______De Bruyne___________

_____________________Rodri____________________­_

Zinchenko_______________________________Cancelo

______________Garcia______Fernandinho___________

_____________________Bravo_____________________

Subs: Ederson, Walker, Mendy, Otamendi, Foden, Mahrez, Jesus.

Claudio, quite rightly, finishes this season’s League Cup campaign with a starting place in the final, having done so in every other round.

A look back through the rounds shows that Guardiola has used different personnel in the left & right-wing back slots and I think we’ll see rotation again today. I’m going for Oleksandr & Joao getting those jobs in the capital. Fernandinho is surely guaranteed a place in between those and I’ve gotta go with my gut feeling in that Eric will partner the Brazilian; a player who has seen League Cup action this season and who might be trusted more than 2 of his more senior colleagues.

Rodders ‘the protector’ / part time 3^rd central defender with a fine-looking quartet of Raheem, David, Kevin & Bernardo ahead of the 6’ 3” Spaniard.

Sergio ‘top of the lot’ for this match.

Ederson takes a side seat at reserve keeper; defensive replacement options come in the form of Kyle, Benjamin & Nicolas. Phil, Riyad & midweek star, Gabriel, provide more attacking choices from ‘the 7’.

Notable absences:

-       Aymeric Laporte – A hamstring injury is expected to keep the Frenchman out for 3 to 4 weeks, as an injury-ravaged season continues to disrupt both him and our entire team this season.

-       John Stones – I could be wrong and the England man may be involved in ‘the 18’ today but if not, then he’ll continue to-be-presumably out of favour; as there’s no injury concern with him as far as I’m aware. I’ve got a feeling there’s a ‘head issue’ going on with John and that his manager just doesn’t trust him to be focused enough. I’ve got a feeling also that he’ll be moving on the summer along with a few other defenders…

-       Ilkay Gundogan – Not selected / rested.

-       Leroy Sane – Not quite ready but surely now very close to a return, having competed 56 minutes for the Under-23s last Friday and, apparently, came out of it just fine. Slowly, slowly…

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

Sure do.

Result? I’ve heard a lot of chatter in the media in the last week about this being a stroll for City and City fans too seem very relaxed about the fixture. And why not – both on paper and on form this looks a certain Manchester win.

And it’s not like our manager to be complacent either, as he may have been on occasions in his first & second seasons – he’s learnt those lessons now.

But if there IS any ‘taking the foot off the accelerator’ by some of our players today then that could come back to bite us; Villa have got players who can open teams up and if they manage to take the lead, then we could find ourselves having to knock down a few walls…again.

Jack Grealish is certainly one of those players who is capable of creating or even scoring one of those and will relish both the big pitch and big stage in front of any watching pursuers – he’s a player I’d like to see in a City shirt in fact (sorry young Mr Foden).

But the Villans are not only in poor form with 3 defeats in the last 3 games but have the worst defence in the Premier League, with 52 leaked in 27 games. They sit 2^nd bottom and league survival will most-definitely be their priority – this is a nice distraction for them, for sure, but a distraction nonetheless.

As for us, we’re in good form at the moment and if a 1-2 away win at Real Madrid doesn’t do confidence and team spirit a world of good going into a final then nothing will. This is a City win for me.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Anyone else absolutely SICK of water? Well, for those making the trip to Wembley then there’s some respite, as even the sun promises to make an appearance! No wet stuff at all in the lead up to the 4:30pm KO; none during the game and fans will even stay dry afterwards too, unless you’re planning to hang around until midnight and beyond. Breezy…but that shouldn’t affect gameplay.