Again…Aguero to start?

In my last post, I suggested and, indeed, predicted that the game against Borussia Monchengladbach may just feel right for our manager to bring the Argentine striker back in from the start; despite obvious risks going from hardly any minutes on the pitch to a starting place. As it turned out, he was given a 10-minute run-out at the end.

It was a very professional, controlled performance from City, I thought, but for all their fine ‘game management’ and excellent passing moves against the German side; for me it was tinged with a little frustration that we should have scored more. Against far better opposition, those stuttering hesitancies in front of goal could be the difference between progressing in - or even winning - this competition for the first time...or walking away with nothing once again.

And yes, I am going to point the finger and single out both Jesus & Sterling - as skilful and has hard-working as they are, they both seem to suffer with their own type of periodic ‘mental blocks’ when faced with goal-scoring opportunities; far more than they should do, in fact, in such a creative team.

There…little moan over but with Pep himself saying both very early on and again later in his post-match interview on Wednesday night that we have to be more clinical in front of goal; it left me wondering for a second time in less than a week whether Sergio will ‘get the nod’ in this early afternoon KO (12:30pm GMT)?

v West Ham United

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

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

____________________Aguero____________________

 

 

Sterling__________________________________Mahrez

 

____________Foden__________Silva_______________

 

____________________Rodri______________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Cancelo

 

______________Dias_________Stones______________

 

 

___________________Ederson_____________________

Subs: Steffen, Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Fernandinho, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Torres, Jesus.

Ederson continues between the sticks.

Having not played in midweek and with the form they were in before that match, I’m going for Oleksandr & John to re-join Ruben & Joao at the back.

Rodders continues to be the deeper-lying midfielder, although Pep does also have a fully-rested [in midweek] Fernandinho to choose from too. Perhaps we’ll see each player share the game if the situation suits.

Although Pep seems to prefer to play Phil wider left for the time-being in his continued development; I just have a feeling that he’ll keep that slot for Raheem today but may also want give Ilkay a bit of respite. SO…I’ve gone for Raheem on the left, Riyad, who only came on with 21 minutes of ‘the 90’ left on Wednesday, on the right with Phil & Bernardo in the middle.

Huh…Sergio to start? I think he might but who knows during a time where games in different competitions continue to fly at us at some pace and Pep has to manage his squad carefully – Kevin may even start this afternoon…

Zack is the reserve keeper; Kyle, Eric & Aymeric are the back-up defenders in ‘the 9’. Fernandinho, Ilkay, Kevin, Ferran & Gabriel make up the midfielder / wingers / forwards cover from the side.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Not selected.

-       Nathan Ake – Once again, the Dutch international is the only first team player unavailable to our manager. For now – and as far as I know - Nathan continues light training alone to aid his recovery from a hamstring / muscular injury.

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

Yeah, I’d be happy with that.

Result? How ARE our visitors 4^th in the table? Before anyone thinks that I’m being disrespectful there, I’m not. In fact, ‘big respect’ to a manager who was once more-than-decent as boss at Everton before he was, in my opinion, kind-o’ ruined at Manyoo; I think that David Moyes is doing a fantastic job at The Hammers, especially as he’s spent little since his second stint at ‘the helm’.

But the reason I say it is that…

-       They’ve not won around half of their 25 games played so far – drawing 6 and losing 6

-       They “only” have the 7^th best defensive record in the league

-       They “only” have the 7^th best goal-scoring record in the league

But there they are, currently sitting in a Champions League place in 4^th.

Does that say more about the teams around them than about themselves? Again, I’m really not being disrespectful there.

Clearly, they have character as well as some decent players – going to the likes of Aston Villa, Everton & Leicester and coming away with all the points from those games suggests both a resilient side as well as one that can hurt you. They got a draw from us on their patch early on in the season, admittedly when we’re weren’t exactly firing…

Could be a bit of a toughie then.

If our manager does change things on the pitch to include Sergio and if he does move Phil inside (and / or possibly gives Kevin a starting place) then, perhaps, those small changes might upset our current rhythm at first. But whether it does or it doesn’t, I think we’ll eventually click and make 19-straight wins 20 by around 2:20pm.

It's a City win for me, albeit perhaps a close one and one that we’ll have to work hard for.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(There was no pre-match blog-posting for that game following an injury that I had, which left me with an arm in a sling)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Feels almost like spring! On the day of the match, it’ll be the 3^rd, back-to-back dry & fairly sunny day in the area. Although a high of just 8 or 9C doesn’t sound like much at all; with no wind, then-whenever the sun might pop through the white, fluffy clouds, it’ll feel a little warmer than that I’m sure. Nice for those watching & working on the sides; perfect for the players leggin’ it around for 90+ minutes.

Aguero to start?

On the build up to the game against Arsenal last Sunday, I just got a feeling that our manager would start with no recognised striker and that’s exactly what he did.

This time, I have the exact opposite sense, which comes with an odd vibe also that Pep could well ask Sergio to START this one…

v Borussia Monchengladbach

Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

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

____________________Aguero____________________

 

 

Foden___________________________________Mahrez

 

__________Gundogan________Silva________________

 

____________________Rodri______________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Cancelo

 

______________Dias_________Stones______________

 

 

___________________Ederson_____________________

Subs: Steffen, Carson, Mendy, Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Doyle, Sterling, Torres, Jesus.

Having boldly stuck my neck out with a prediction about a starting place for Sergio, I have to say that I do find predicting ‘starting 11s’ slightly more difficult in European matches than I tend do for domestic fixtures, for one reason or another BUT…

Ederson has the gloves.

I think form - and some rested players last Sunday - has a lot to do with how I feel Guardiola might choose his personnel here…although I fully accept also that he will know / will have studied our host far more that I and, therefore, may have his choices influenced also by ‘gladbach’s style & strengths. Regardless, I think we’ll see Oleksandr & Joao flanking both Ruben & John at the back.

Rodders to step back in as our deepest midfield, having had a full rest at the weekend.

Ahead of the Spaniard, I think we’ll see rested also, Phil; with Ilkay, Bernardo & Riyad from left to right in our attacking midfield / wing department.

Yep…Sergio to start ‘up top’ is my slightly-audacious guess.

2 keepers in reserve in this 12-man bench (where 5 are allowed to be brough on) in the form of Zack & Scott; Benjamin, Kyle, Eric & Aymeric are the defenders on the side. Fernandinho, Kevin, who looked understandably quite rusty last Sunday I thought, Tommy, Raheem, Ferran & Gabriel make up the midfield / wing / attacking change-options. What a bench!

Notable absences:

-       Nathan Ake – The only first team player unavailable to our manager. As far as we know, Nathan continues light training alone to aid his recovery from a hamstring / muscular injury.

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

If Sergio is fit and all physio / medical staff agree that there’d be little or no risk starting the Argentine striker then yes; this sort of feels like the right match to bring him back now. If there are any doubts – and I’d have to trust that they know best of course – then no; I’d started with either a fresh Gabriel up front or no striker at all again.

Result? All I know about tonight’s opponents is that they are, apparently, a spirited, hard-working side who performed well in a tough group stage which included, no less, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk & Inter Milan.

And in the Bundesliga, they’ve only lost 5 of their 22 played. However, the reason they sit 8^th in the table is because of the amount of draws they’ve collected, which total 9.

-       On the positive side for them; drawing that many, winning 8 league games as well as beating the likes of Shakhtar & Inter to Champions League qualification to the knock-out stages, does suggest that they are a tough side to break down.

-       On the negative side, they are showing some erratic league form of late – W D L D L being their last 5 – and have concede almost as many as they have scored in the league too, with 33 against and 38 for.

And lastly, from what I’ve recently heard, that recent erratic form could be due to one of the worst kept secrets in German football at the moment, which is that their manager will be leaving at the end of the season to join league rivals, Dortmund. Yep, that’ll do it alright…

It’s difficult to say, in some ways, having-not researched their players and not knowing, of course, how they might perform for their departing manager in this competition; but it probably won’t help their cause either that this is effectively being played at a neutral venue, with Covid-19 restrictions scuppering their chances of playing their home leg…at home.

Add to that slightly-confusing mix both our fine form & confidence? I’m going for a fairly close, City win.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Clear skies, no wind, 8 or 9C. Perfect conditions for players to run around in.

 

 

Change, rest, rotate, reward?

There are so many options and choices for our manager to make both ahead of tomorrow’s league match and ahead, also, of our trip through Europe for Wednesday night’s game.

v Arsenal

Emirates Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 (3-7-0):

Further room for prediction error on this one comes in the form of whether returning players are deemed fit enough to start and whether Pep will want to reward good, midweek performances; asking those players to ‘go again’.

Additionally, with the excellent situation we find ourselves in the league and knowing the hunger for Champions League success; I’m just not ‘avin’ it that Guardiola won’t have at least half-an-eye on Wednesday’s game against Borussia Monchengladbach with regards to wanting ‘key players’ fresh for that encounter.

SO…

 

______________________________________________

 

Sterling_________________________________Mahrez

____________________Silva______________________

 

___________Foden___________Gundogan__________

 

____________________Rodri_____________________

Zinchenko______________________________Cancelo

 

_____________Dias__________Stones_____________

 

 

___________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Torres, Jesus, Aguero.

Ederson starts ‘between the posts’, is the simple one.

I’m fairly confident that we’ll see a return of both Oleksandr & John; likewise, Joao to return to his right-sided position. Ruben continues in the central and makes up that 4-man defence.

Rodders to ‘go again’, I would say, although, if Fernandinho has starting-game fitness back then we might just see the Brazilian take the captain’s armband for this clash; allowing the Spaniard to rest ahead of our trip to neutral-venue, Budapest 3 days later. However, I’m going for Rodri to start at the Emirates.

Now…here’s a twist, as you can see - I’ve just had a feeling for a few days now that we might…MIGHT start without a recognised striker tomorrow late afternoon (4:30pm KO GMT). Why? Well, it’s not that I’m thinking that Pep might be concerned enough to throw an extra man in midfield in fear of the home side repeating their tactics of the semi-final of the F.A. Cup last season; whereby they ‘packed in’ and then broke with devastating pace & efficiency against us. And neither are my still-recent memories of Gabriel Jesus frustrating his manager, teammates & fans by missing two really good opportunities to score in our last game colouring my decision to leave him out. I don’t know what it is really – I think it’s just that I get the feeling our manager might want to ‘mix it up’ and change it just ever so slightly; perhaps with a feeling that he might do this as he prepares to face a manager who knows him so well. We’ll soon see of course.

So…in my ‘no striker / 5-man attack’ (7 if you include the wing-backs), I’m going for a fluid, interchangeable Raheem on the left, Riyad on the right, Phil & a returning Ilkay in the middle and in the middle also, but likely to be more advanced and given extra license to roam, is Bernardo. I could be well wrong here but I’m going with my instincts, as should be the case.

Should my spider sense be working properly, then Steffen is the reserve keeper; Kyle, Eric & Aymeric make up the defensive change-options from ‘the 9’. Fernandinho, Kevin, who might be brought on for a few extra minutes [than he got in midweek] assuming he doesn’t start of course, Ferran, Gabriel & Sergio are the midfield / wing / forward reserves on a somewhat-impressive bench to say the least.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Not selected.

-       Nathan Ake – Finally, we have an update…and it’s good news. The Dutch international has started training, albeit alone, and-so-is-making progress towards a return to first team contention.

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

Yeah, I’d be totally fine with that.

Result? I’ve heard a lot of pundits on the radio in the last couple of days saying that they have a sneaky feeling that Arsenal might just squeeze a draw out of this one and I can’t say that’s not crossed my mind either. Some Arsenal fans themselves sent in messages of ‘good feelings’ too.

The Gunners are another weird animal – similar to what I said about our last hosts; they’re full of random, horror performances and unexpected, negative results. However, on the flip side, when they’re ‘on it’ they can be frighteningly good too; with dynamic, young players who can rip through the opposition.

Also, apart from Thomas Partey, they have a fully fit squad to choose from.

But they’re not 10^th after 24 games for no reason of course and I, generally speaking, think that reason is - or, more accurately, reasons are - a combination of too many off-colour performances and misfiring strikers. Let’s hope that’s the case tomorrow…

I’ve spoken at some length in this piece about the possible line-up but I now-firmly believe that whatever side we put out; it can only be a very good one. That’s not just because we too have all but one player available but the confidence throughout the team is SO high and we’re in SUCH great form that I’m gonna brush aside any thoughts of a draw and go for yet-another City win tomorrow.

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

Prediction: Draw

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: T-shirts & shorts? Perhaps not…but a starting temperature of 14C (57F) is no place for the recently-worn winter coat, that’s for sure. The higher-than-average, winter temperature comes with a southerly breeze and no ‘wet stuff’ either; leaving no issues for the players (perfect in many ways, in fact) and fairly pleasant for all those around the side of the pitch.

 

Blinkers on and just keep runnin’…

It’s not in Pep’s nature to get distracted by anything that’s going on around him with regards to how other teams are doing and, in fact, I think he instils that mindset into his players – focus!

GOOD…because I’m sure I speak for all Blues when I say that I want to see our lads go to the L4 area of Merseyside tonight (I despise these late, 8:15pm (GMT) KOs) with our heads focused on the task in hand, which is to put on another professional display; come back with 3 points and extend our lead at the top of the table to 10 points.

v Everton

Goodison Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 10/11).

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

____________________Jesus____________________

 

 

_Foden________________________________Sterling_

____________________Silva______________________

___________________________Cancelo____________

______________Rodri___________________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

 

_____________Dias__________Stones_____________

 

 

___________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Mendy, Garcia, Laporte, Fernandinho, Doyle, Mahrez, Torres, Aguero.

I’ve tweaked this from my original prediction; whereby I had Cancelo in the right-wing back slot; Sterling on the left, Riyad on the right and Phil in the middle, which left Kyle on the bench.

But I can very much envisage Guardiola tasking Joao with a midfield starting place to supplement the absence of Ilkay and the interchangeable-fluidity of that ‘advanced 5’ looks like something Pep would be very much interested in trying. SO…

Ederson in net.

I think we’ll see Ruben return following a brief illness, much to the annoyance of Aymeric, I’m sure, who did very well in his absence and, so, the partnership of the Portuguese international with John resumes in my predicted line-up. Oleksandr & Kyle to flank that central-defensive pair.

Rodders continues in the ‘holding role’; with Phil, Joao, Bernardo & Raheem causing all sorts of problems for the home side, as well as supporting Gabriel ‘up top’. If that is the line-up and that 5 ahead of Rodri (plus 2 attacking wing-backs) perform well; it could-well-be like a swarm of Hornets all over the Everton defences; as they dizzy themselves not-knowing who to mark for the best!

Zack is the reserve stopper; Benjamin, Eric & Aymeric are the defensive replacement options from the side. A return for Fernandinho should see him sat next to Tommy, Riyad, Ferran & Sergio in the midfield / wing / attacking pack in ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

-       Nathan Ake – Injured and still no update on a possible return date, following a muscular injury that has kept the Dutch international side-lined for several weeks now. In fact, there continues to be no updates at all about Nathan – as the journalists continue not to ask about the defender in pre-match press conferences, his manager isn’t being tasked to give a response.

-       Ilkay Gundogan – The German international’s groin injury is not as bad as it may have looked to some as he hobbled off the pitch in the last game and could be in contention for this weekend’s trip to London. It’s too soon for the very-much-in-form midfielder this evening though.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Kevin will travel with the squad later today, we are told, having fully trained with his teammates and is feeling good. I’m sure, however, that Pep and his staff will still wish to tread very carefully with the Belgium international’s recovery-progress, with the Spanish manager recently stating that they have learnt lessons with Kevin’s injuries in the past; whereby he may have been brought back too soon and have-then lived to regret it. He may well travel but he is highly likely to be a spectator in the stands, I would think. The cheeky Catalan might just spring a surprise on us though and include him on the bench as he did with Sergio last Saturday (the EDS have a game on Friday night so Kev may take Tommy’s place on the side).

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

Sure do.

Result? I really can’t work out our hosts – they often win games that I think they’ll struggle to-even get a point out of and lose those matches I have ‘em down for an almost-certain win. They’re all over the place, which couldn’t be demonstrated more clearly as with their last-5 league result which read, D L W D L. I just hope that pattern doesn’t continue after tonight’s game…

One thing that’s become fairly consistent in their results, certainly since January, is their leaky defence; something our attacking player should be looking to get some joy out of.

But they do have a fair number of players who, if the team is functioning correctly, can cause real problems (hence my Jekyll & Hyde suggestion) so, as I’ve already said in my opening; we need to continue the professional, hard-working, solid-team-philosophy we’ve been displaying for some considerable time now.

And ‘The Toffees’ have some added incentive for grab ‘all 3’ against us too, as a win today would put them level-pegging with their Merseyside rivals with, still, a game in hand over the reds going into the Merseyside derby on Sunday. I promise that’s the last time I’ll mention the word, Merseyside…apart from just then again.

So…another potentially-tough game; one that we might have to scrap hard for but then again, depending on which Everton side turns up, one that we could come away from with a fairly comfortable win.

An additional impact on the game is the fact that our hosts have confirmed that they will be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin through injury. I’m certainly not suggesting for one moment that Everton don’t have other dangerous players in their ranks that we need to be mindful of but the England striker is definitely their most-potent weapon and a big loss to them.

Thinking about us, what’s impressed me just as much as the often-neat passing and well-worked finishing moves, is the hard graft throughout the team and the great understanding they all have with one another.

For a long time at Liverpool in the first half and in the final 3^rd of the pitch, again in the first half, at home to Spurs, I thought our passing was a little off and lacked a little ‘zip’. However, on both occasions we most-definitely rectified that but whilst it was rumbling on; I thought the energy & desire of every player to retrieve the ball – and the situation – was exceptional!

If we show that again this evening, then I think we’ll see that 10-point gap at-around 10:05pm. A City win.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Having been dry nearly all day, rain moves in around about kick off and continues throughout the match. Nothing too heavy and it certainly is mild for a night match in February at 9C (what a difference a week an' a jetstream can make!). Bit windy though, which might whistle through one or more of the slightly exposed corners of this historic ground.

Good injury news ahead of...

…our clash with Spurs.

Rodders & Ruben are deemed both okay for tomoz.

v Tottenham Hotspur

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

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

____________________Jesus____________________

 

 

___Foden___________________________Sterling___

 

__________Gundogan________Silva______________

 

____________________Rodri_____________________

Zinchenko______________________________Cancelo

 

_____________Dias__________Stones_____________

 

 

___________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Mendy, Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Gomes, Doyle, Torres, Mahrez.

Ederson steps back in net following cup action on Wednesday.

Another complete change of back 4 [from midweek] with Oleksandr, Ruben, John & Joao all starting.

Rodders to continue in front of those despite suffering a painful-looking knock on Wednesday night; Phil, Ilkay, Bernardo & Raheem ahead of the Spaniard, with Raheem starting on the right if I’m correct with my predication.

Back-in-form-Gabriel to ‘top the lot’ in this fluid, interchangeable system.

Zack ‘back on the side’ as reserve stopper; Benjamin, Kyle, Eric & Aymeric provide defensive cover in ‘the 9’. Claudio, Tommy, Ferran & Riyad are the midfield / wing / attacking choice-options from the bench.

Notable absences:

-       Nathan Ake – Injured and still no update on a possible return date.

-       Fernandinho – Injured with some muscular issues and no indication of how long he might be out for.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Still injured and going off the initial assessment, we could see the Belgium midfielder back anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks.

-       Sergio Aguero – Still not ready to return - presumably he’s still reintroducing himself back into training; partly with the rest of the squad and part-alone.

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

Yep.

Result? I don’t mind admitting that I have a niggly “draw” feeling in the back of my head with this one…and that’s despite our wonderful form of course.

The ‘Weird one’ does seem to have an annoying knack of getting something from our encounters and, indeed, against top sides in general which, of course, we can most-certainly class ourselves as.

They have ‘danger men’ in, not least, Son & Kane and I think this might be one of the toughest tests for our rejuvenated defence…and I say that with in the knowledge that we’ve just come away from a visit to Anfield with a win and another clean sheet from ‘open play’. Usually under Jose, Tottenham ‘pack the numbers in’ and try to break quickly and whether or not that will be their manager’s plan tomorrow evening (5:30pm KO GMT); we have to be aware of their forward capabilities.

For me, this is one where Oleksandr, Joao & Rodri have to be even more mindful of their defensive duties [to help Ruben & John] and if they do that well then, for me, our visitor’s vulnerabilities at the back are ‘there for the taking’ otherwise. Do that side of things well and we should see our amazing 15-game winning streak turn into 16.

I am [still] sort of teetering on the edge of saying a draw…but I’m going for a home win.

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: The game kicks off with the temperature in the minus zone; starting at -1. With a still-brisk south-easterly breeze too, there’s still a wind-chill factor around and that should make it feel more like -4, or there abouts. No real issues with regards to the playing conditions but the kettles might be prepped / kept warm for all those working around the pitch.