Bally heroes, the lot of ‘em.

How our lads managed to muster the energy to do what they did last Saturday is one of the most impressive moments in my Manchester City watching.

Pep said, shortly after the game, that “…they [his players] give everything” and I’m sure that I’m not alone in feeling so-very proud of ‘em.

SO…5-days rest and a deep breath before we begin the final leg of our title defence, starting tonight on the South coast.

v Brighton & Hove Albion

American Express Community Stadium (Amex)

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1:

____________________Alvarez____________________

 

 

Grealish_____________________Foden________Silva

__________De Bruyne___________________________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Ake_____________________________________Walker

 

____________Dias_______________Akanji__________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Gvardiol, Stones, Kovacic, Nunes, Doku & Bobb.

Ederson returns in goal following the F.A. Cup game last weekend.

I can envisage one change in the starting-11 back-4, with Dias coming in for Stones. Therefore, I think we’ll see Nathan & Kyle on the flanks of the defence with Ruben & Manuel in-between.

Rodders just in front of those.

I’ve got the feeling that we might just see the same front 5 that faced Chelsea last Saturday, which is Jack, Kevin, Phil & Bernardo, all behind Julian ‘up top’. If I’m right, that’s just two changes from our last outing including the keeper.

Stefan steps back as reserve stopper; Serio, Rico, Josko & John make up a rather large number of defenders in ‘the 9’. Mateo, Matheus, Jeremy & Oscar are the midfielders / wingers / forwards on the bench.

Notable absences:

-       Erling Haaland – Injured. Nothing major, by the sounds of it at least, but the Norwegian international striker is still unavailable for this fixture; presumably with the same muscular issue that was recently reported. Personally, I don’t think Erling has ever fully recovered from his 2-months out with [a stressed foot-bone] injury and needs ‘the full treatment’ - a complete ‘mind & body’ reset, if you like…

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

Yep.

Result? This is the time for us to properly ‘lift off’ – a morale-boosting, gut-busting win in the F.A. Cup semi-final last Saturday was followed by a much-needed, 5-day break for our players that included 2-days of no training / home-stay on Sunday & Monday; all of which SHOULD see us use tonight’s game as a defining springboard to ‘push on’ for title-defending glory. That would be the ideal scenario, at least 🤞.

Similar to what I’ve said in recent blog-postings about both Newcastle United and then Aston Villa; The Seagulls have been an unpredictable element this season. 44 points with a couple of games in hand over two of ‘em does see them still-clinging on to hopes that they can reach some sort of a European place. However, their ‘last 6’ in the league of  L W L D L D does paint the picture of what I’ve already suggested.

I’m not going to delve too deep into why that may be but I think some of it might be to do with the signals their Manager put out a few months ago regarding his frustrations about the club’s recruitment; plus hints about him-wanting to ‘move on’ in the summer for those-very reasons. Have his players, therefore, felt ‘that vibe’ form their boss and subsequently ‘dropped off’ a notch? I don’t know for sure but, as far as we’re concerned, I do hope so.

What could be in their favour, beyond home advantage that is, is the fact that although we’ve had the “luxury” of a full-5 day’s off for a change, our opponents have not ‘kicked a ball in anger’ for a full-12 days. At this part of the season…wow! On the plus side for us, however, is the fact that Brighton have several key injuries. I'll take anything at the moment; at the risk of sounding desperate for 3-points...

It’s definitely going to be a tough one – when I looked at our last-6 fixtures some time ago I did have this down as our second-most difficult. Having now realised that our hosts have had almost 2 week’s rest & preparation time, I think that difficulty level has now gone up a notch.

We should be a lot fresher than we were 5 days ago – huh…there’s very little chance of us looking anywhere NEAR as ‘heavy legged’ as we did last Saturday at times. Plus, a morale-boosting, semi-final winning game is bound to give our lads a mental boost too.

As is often the theme for us this season; I think they’ll score but I think we’ll score more. I’m going for an absolutely vital City win.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Drew

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Damp & breezy…of course. 9 or 10C is the official temperature; feeling a little cooler than that with that-westerly waft.

Solidarity

Let’s be realistic, Blues, this one…

…is going to be demanding for all sorts of reasons.

1.    After a tough, extra-time & penalties battle late into Wednesday night, Pep informed us after the match that rather than having a full rest the following day, as they would do more often than not, the players would be back in together on the Thursday; presumably for just light training and assessment after such a gruelling night, but I don’t know for sure. Friday was then-largely a ‘travelling to London’ exercise and all before this match, which kicks off just 66 hours, or there abouts, after our clash with Real Madrid ended. 🙄

2.    Chelsea, on the other hand, will have had a near-full 5-days rest since their last fixture and only have to travel 8.9 miles on day itself.

3.    On Wednesday, we had 3 players, one on 90 minutes and two on 112 minutes, who asked to be taken off, whilst admitting that they simple had ‘no more to give’. That’s very understandable indeed but also not good just ahead of a semi-final and 6-game running battle for the league title.

4.    Even Pep admitted that it’s more difficult to recover off the back of a defeat. However, I think what makes this occasion even more challenging is that, it must be hard for our players to pick themselves up after largely dominating last Wednesday’s game; coming out of 3 hours & 37 minutes of play with a 4-4 outcome only to be beaten on penalties, to then try ‘n’ lift their heads to ‘go again’ in another ‘win or bust’ game against a side who appear to have found some traction of late.

v Chelsea

Wembley Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

On this occasion, I find myself having to go with the premise of who I think might ‘have the legs’ to ‘go again’ and where our manager thinks we could benefit from some freshness…

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1:

____________________Alvarez____________________

 

 

 

Grealish_____________________Foden________Doku

____________Silva______________________________

_____________________Rodri_____________________

 

Gvardiol_________________________________Walker

______________Ake____________Stones___________

 

 

_____________________Ortega____________________

Subs: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Kovacic, Nunes, De Bruyne, Bobb & Haaland.

An F.A. Cup fixture sees the return of Stefan who, I’m sure, will be pleased to be back ‘between the sticks’ after his recent run in the side came to an end, following the first leg against Real Madrid on 9^th April.

I’m going for a back-4 of Josko, Nathan, John & Kyle; assuming, that is, that Kyle is fit enough to put in another heavy shift after recently coming back from injury and then playing the whole of the 122 minutes just 3 days ago.

Rodders just ahead of those and just behind an attacking / creative quartet of Jack, Bernardo, Phil & Jeremy.

I’m guessing that Julian will be handed the lone striker role this evening.

Ederson steps back as reserve keeper; Rico, Manuel & Ruben are the defenders on the side, I reckon. Mateo, Matheus, Kevin & Oscar are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’, while Erling might have to settle for a back-up striker position for this one.

Notable absences:

-       Sergio Gomez – Not selected.

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

Yeah, I think under the circumstances with regards to energy levels and aching limbs, that looks both a decent and realistic side to me.

Result? In a rather bleak-sounding opening to this blog-posting, I mentioned that our opponents had found some traction of late and on the face of it, 8 games unbeaten in all competitions after a rather turbulent season to say the least does appear to back that up.

However, in that time and despite banging in a whopping 26 goals in those-same 8 matches, they’ve also leaked as many as 15; only managing to keep a clean sheet in their last outing. In addition, most of those undefeated games - draws or victories - have come against the likes of Leeds United, Brentford, Leicester City, Burnley, Manyoo, Sheffield United & Everton – hardly top-6 / top sides.

But whilst they appear to have become somewhat vulnerable at the back, they have clearly also become a side who knows how to ‘stick the ball away’, which brings me onto another threat we must face on Saturday evening (5:15pm KO BST). It’s the name on a lot of fans and pundit’s lips at the moment; a certain ex-City midfielder called Cole Palmer. Perhaps he should change the spelling of his first name to Coal because that burns very well and the Manchester born City fan is on FIRE at the moment!

As for us, we’re not 28 games unbeaten in open play (I’m definitely not counting last Wednesday’s penalty knock-out) and in all competitions by luck alone and we do have a squad of players to pull from whenever others need to be withdrawn.

Fair enough, any considerable changes in Pep’s preferred 11 might reduce the overall quality of the side but they wouldn’t be at Manchester City, nor in the match-day squad, if our manager didn’t have SOME faith in them…and in Pep we trust, of course.

Our Wembley opponents have held us to two draws in the league this season as we slugged it out 5-5 over both matches and, I’m sorry to say, I think this one might just go into extra time once again. I really hope not because that’s the LAST thing our players need.

It really is all about who ‘has the legs’, them or us, plus any added adrenalin fuelled by determination and it’s a hard one to call. I think I’m gonna look at quality of the fresh personnel possibly coming into ‘the 11’ plus the quality-also of those who I believe can ‘go again’ [after Wednesday] and call it as a City win; one that I hope we can complete in ‘the 90’. 🤞

To finish all of that off, it was good to read what Kyle had to say following our European exit in midweek:

"We are a collective – we win and lose together. We’ve got another important final on Saturday against Chelsea," Walker said. "It hurts and we’ve got to feel the pain. It’s a set-back. Hopefully that give us the motivation to go on and do something special at Wembley.

"We are professionals, and we have to do it [bounce back]. We owe it to the fans and the lads as a group of players because we’ve worked too hard to throw it away now. We’ve got a massive run-in for the Premier League, a really big game against Chelsea and we have to take this as motivation to go on and do something special. The best thing in football is you have a game to put it right next week and Saturday is a massive game. It’s a great opportunity to take this hurt and fire from our belly.”

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Dry (YAAAY!) with the possibility of some evening sunshine. However, 10C is gonna feel more like 7 or 8C with that seemingly-persistent, nagging & brisk northerly breeze we’ve been experiencing of late. Coats needed once again City fans…

Solidarity

Predictions v Real Madrid

Straight to it…

v Real Madrid

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

 

Grealish_____________________Foden_________Silva

_________De Bruyne_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Akanji

_____________Dias_____________Stones___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Walker, Ake, Susoho, Kovacic, Nunes, Bobb, Doku & Alvarez.

Ederson continues in goal.

With another training session planned following Pep’s pre-match press conference yesterday afternoon, there’s a chance that recently-injured Kyle & Nathan could feature in the starting 11. However, I’m guessing that they will both be treated with some care ahead of an important-also F.A. Cup semi-final on Saturday plus our extremely important league run-in, of course. I expect either or both to feature at some stage, however. Therefore, I’m going for a starting back-4 of Josko, Ruben, John & Manuel.

Rodders, following his much-needed rest at the weekend, to start just in front of those.

I can see an attacking / creative-4 of Jack, Kevin, Phil & Bernardo all just-behind Erling ‘up top’.

A full-12 bench includes two keepers in the form of Scott & Stefan, with Rico, Kyle & Nathan providing defensive cover. Mahamadou, Mateo, Matheus, Oscar & Jeremy are the midfielders / wingers on the side; while Julian is our back-up striker.

Notable absences:

-       No injuries / unavailable players reported! Wow…

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

It’s almost our ‘A Team’, so yeah. 👍

Result? It’s another tough one, for sure, but keeping it brief; I think they’ll be goals at both ends but that we’ll score more. It’s a City win for me.

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

Prediction: N/A – Played ‘em in the semi-final last season.

Result: N/A – Played ‘em in the semi-final last season.

Expected weather conditions during the game: Chilly but nothing too bad otherwise. It’s dry and clearing skies sees temperatures down to 7C officially but with a “feels like” of around 5C in a light, northerly breeze. Warm coats are advisable people…

Solidarity

Time for a rest, Rodders.

It was something suggested by one radio pundit just a couple of days after our poor defensive showing against Palace. Now, Rodri has had two, back-to-back, very uncharacteristic ‘off games’.

Note: I started to prep this piece early in the morning just-following our away draw in Spain and SINCE then, our defensive midfield maestro admitted in a media interview that he does-indeed need some ‘time out’ and I don’t think any City fan would argue against that. He also added that John Stones is currently battling through pain following his latest comeback from injury he suffered whilst on international duty. 🙄

I would suggest that both of those issues should have been kept ‘in house’.

And the Spaniard is not alone in terms of struggles, form wise….

I’ve not ‘waded in’, as many-a-City fan has in recent weeks…even months, but Erling Haaland is not havin’ a good time of it at all, is he?

Whether it’s due to the fact that he is being crowded out, closely marked one-to-one; simply not receiving the service or misfiring whenever he does get a chance has all been discussed or suggested at least.

At the other end of the pitch, I think Ruben Dias’ performances have declined as the season has progressed and he currently sits on 6/10 on my-personal season ratings chart. In fact, it prompted me to have a look at my ‘end of season’ player ratings over the last few years; specifically at Ruben Dias, of course, and just to see what I gave him at the end of each campaign.

I think there’s a somewhat notable trend:

-       Season 2020-21: 8/10, where I also noted that he got my official vote on City’s website for ‘player of the season’ and where he also got the Football Writers Association award for ‘Men’s Footballer of the Year’. 👍 I also remarked that the Portuguese international was on 9/10 for quite some time before a slight drop-off towards then end of the season.

-       Season 2021-22: A bit of an injury-hit season that had a huge impact on his performances. He started on – and then held – a score of around 7.5 or 8/10 but then dipped to a 7; then 6.5 and actually ended on a 6, such was the decline in his season displays. As I say, though, he did have the excuse of being out for 6 weeks with a hamstring issue, which was then followed by a second muscular injury in the same area, which is often the case we are told. After each injury, he just didn’t look the same player, I mentioned at the time also.

-       Season 2022-23: After having his gametime managed by Pep and his medical staff / physios following those injury issues the previous season; Ruben slowly gathered momentum and he ended up on a very good 8/10 from me.

As I say, in his fourth season with us he currently sits on 6/10 on my ratings list.

The trend I mentioned? One very good, 8/10 season was followed by an average 6/10 campaign. One very good 8/10 season followed, once again, but he currently sits on an average rating of 6/10 this footballing year. Answers on a postcard as to why those up & downs might be happening…

And while I’m at it, is anyone else underwhelmed with two of our summer signings, Mateo Kovacic & Matheus Nunes? Not that they’ve had too many ‘game minutes’ but they currently sit on 6 & 5.5/10 respectively with me.

At times, Mateo has looked decent and I’ve quite rightly singled him out for praise. However, whether it’s limited selection from his manager or whether little injury spells have interrupted his momentum; dips in performances seem to soon follow good games / short periods. As for Nunes, his decision making / end product is simply shocking. A confidence issue perhaps? I just don’t know. Huh…and rumours on Wednesday morning suggested that Pep is interested in going back to Wolves in the summer to try ‘n’ get Pedro Neto. Yeah, like we need ANOTHER winger (Jack Grealish, Jeremy Doku, Oscar Bobb & Micah Hamilton plus others who can play on the flanks well enough). Are we thinking of selling one or two of those first? Besides, I think a left-sided wing-back, a central defender with some pace and who has a track-record of very few injuries; an additional defensive midfielder and an attacking central midfielder are more of a priority over another winger.

Before anyone thinks…what the hell is this fool going on about with all this negativity; especially just after a very good away draw at Real Madrid? There are a number of players who deserve mention for all the RIGHT reasons.

For a start, Josko Gvardiol’s performances have been getting better & better for sure and last Tuesday night he scored a cracker to make it 2-3 before the home side equalised 8 minutes later. To get a goal and ratings from two publications of 7 & 8/10 at such a difficult ground and against such a good opponent – especially following a slight injury niggle / scare – is proof indeed of his recent rise in the last few weeks. And he’s not playing in his natural position either, let’s not forget.

Phil Foden is simply WOW, especially when he plays centrally behind the striker.

But I want to give praise also to Rico Lewis. He’s a player who sits very patiently, for now at least; doesn’t ‘kick up a fuss’ about limited ‘game time’ and to his HUGE credit, and despite seeing so few minutes he, more often than not produces around a 7/10 performance, sometimes 8. He’s versatile too, as any City fan is likely to know.

But this isn’t an ‘end of season’, player ratings blog-posting - that’s for next month…possibly even June. Time for me to focus on our next opponents.

v Luton Town

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1 (perhaps occasionally a 3-6-1):

____________________Alvarez____________________

 

 

 

Doku________________________Foden________Bobb

_________De Bruyne_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis

_____________Dias_____________Akanji____________

 

 

_____________________Ortega____________________

Subs: Ederson, Gomez, Stones, Susoho, Kovacic, Nunes, Grealish, Silva & Haaland.

Stefan continues ‘between the sticks’, although it sounded, from what Pep said yesterday afternoon, as though Ederson is likely to return on Wednesday night. We shall see in good time if I understood his words correctly.

I think we’ll see a back-4, occasional 3, of Josko, Ruben, Manuel & Rico.

Despite all that I’ve said and HAS been said by the player himself and others, our manager suggested quite strongly towards the end of his pre-match press conference that Rodri will start this afternoon; largely driven by the player himself and how well his manager knows him. Of course, we shall see but if he does start, I would fully expect him to be withdrawn ASAP in the second half if the gameplay situation suits.

In attacking support, I can foresee some rest & rotation and, therefore, a starting quartet of Jeremy, Kevin, Phil & Oscar.

A change / refresh up front too, with Julian in for Erling. I could well be wrong there but I’m going with my gut.

Ederson continues as reserve stopper; Sergio & John are two defenders on the side waiting for their chance. Mahamadou, Mateo, Matheus, Jack & Bernardo are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’, while Erling steps back as a striker change-option. 

Notable absences:

-       Kyle Walker – There was no training session before the pre-match press conference and, therefore, no update as to Kyle’s condition.

-       Nathan Ake – For Nathan, read Kyle.

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

Yeah, I’d be happy if that team sheet was read out at 2:00pm.

Result? If some of the players are-indeed playing through fatigue and / or pain then they’re not going to like the plain truth that lies just ahead of them, which is that they’ve got a battle on their hands for sure if they want to earn themselves 3 points today. Luton, despite their league position of 18^th and amount of goals they concede, like to put up a fight for sure. They also have some players who can hurt you on the counter and we do often seem vulnerable to that tactic whenever the opposition transitions quickly.

Despite difficulties, I think we’ve got the tools both in ‘the 11’ and on the bench - as well as team spirit and loads of experience - to see us through this one and I’m going for a home win.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: A bit of everything really – sunshine, rain showers and a stiff, westerly breeze. 14 or 15C is the forecasted temperature, which is just above seasonal average…all ahead of Monday’s 5C “feels like” temperature; hailstones, sleet & gale-force winds in the region. Lovely…

Solidarity