A massive opportunity to…

…leapfrog one of our title rivals and go 2 points clear of ‘em on the eve of April.

That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? 🤪 Of course, it isn’t, and this could…could be a ‘make or break’ result for either side in the race for the ‘big prize’ in May.

It’s a huge game for sure!

v Arsenal

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 / 4-3-3 (perhaps an occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

_Grealish__________________________________Silva_

__________De Bruyne__________Foden_____________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

 

Gvardiol__________________________________Akanji

_____________Ake______________Dias_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

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

Ederson has been back in training; I’m not sure for how long but he has been passed as free from injury and I’m guessing he will start this afternoon.

With two defensive injuries largely dictating the back line, I’m going for Josko, Nathan, Ruben & Manuel to start; with the Swiss international being asked to cover at right-back for the injured Kyle.

Rodders just in front of those.

I think we’ll see an attacking quartet of Jack, Kevin, Phil & Bernardo all providing service for ‘front man’ Erling.

We could see two stoppers on the bench later today, in the form of Scott & Stefan. Sergio & Rico are the only defenders on the side; Mateo, Matheus, Oscar & Jeremy are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’. Julian is the back-up striker.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones  - Injured. It’s his leg abductor, as far as I understand it, and there’s no estimated return date as yet.

-       Kyle Walker – Injured. Kyle’s issue is hamstring related, as far as I know, and it could take a little longer than John to recover, we were informed on Friday.

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

Yep, with just a brief comment on two areas.

I think this is the perfect game for Grealish to start – we need to keep The Gunners off the ball as much as possible and Jack does bring extra possession to the side, as opposed to the direct, attacking style of Doku, for example.

As for Walker’s replacement, natural right-wing back, Rico Lewis, might be left feeling a little sorry for himself if he’s not selected to start but I just get the feeling that Pep will prefer the experience of Akanji for such a big game; despite the fact that the 28-year-old is a central defender.

Result? There really isn’t too much for me to say in this section and on this occasion; such is the terrific form both sides are in. Yeah…it’s gonna be a crackin’ match and quite-likely a very close game.

As I say, both sides are packed with threatening players, so possession is key here – which ever side can keep the ball away from the other the most will stand a better chance of winning it.

I’m feeling as confident as Pep looked relaxed in his pre-match press conference and I’m going for a City win.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result…in an almost identical scenario:

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Decent. Light cloud / some sunshine and 12C is the forecasted temperature. There's a bit of an easterly breeze which might make 12C feel more like 10 or 11 but it’s not too bad at all…and it’s DRY at least.

Solidarity

21 games unbeaten in all competitions…

…with 19 wins and 2 draws.

We’ve had a week off before this home F.A. Cup fixture, we’ve then got a 2-week international break and all before we can take a deep, fresh-intake of air and 'go again' in the Premier League; starting with a home-game opportunity to go 2 points clear of Arsenal in the title race.

I’d say all of that, despite us-sitting 3^rd in the table as we are at the moment, is not a bad situation to be in all, especially after coming away from Anfield with a ‘share of the spoils’ last weekend; a game we could have won if we’d taken our first half chances before they rallied ‘big time’ after the break. I'll certainly take that position in mid-March.

Anyhow, switching focus to the cup…

v Newcastle United

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (perhaps an occasional 3-6-1 as well):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Bobb______________________________________Silva

_____________________________Foden_____________

___________Kovacic_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Ake______________________________________Walker

_____________Dias_____________Stones___________

 

 

_____________________Ortega_____________________

Subs: Carson, Gomez, Lewis, Akanji, Gvardiol, Nunes, Doku, Grealish & Alvarez.

Stefan has the gloves for this competition.

There are plenty of options in defence and, therefore especially in a cup game, a higher risk of me-getting this department quite wrong. I’m going for Nathan, Ruben, John & Kyle to start.

Rodders just in front of those, perhaps occasionally joined by “A.N. Other”.

A more advanced midfield / wing department of Oscar, Mateo, Phil & Bernardo, is my guess.

Erling ‘up front’.

Scott is the back-up keeper on this occasion; Sergio, Rico, Manuel & Josko are the reserve defenders in ‘the 9’.

Matheus, Jeremy & Jack (the latter considered recovered enough to be part of the match-day squad once again) are the midfielders / wingers on the side, while Julian is the reserve striker.

Notable absences:

-       Ederson – Despite the fact that he would have been on the bench for this domestic cup fixture anyway, our Brazilian stopper is out with a leg injury for another 2 to 3 weeks, going off the initial assessment time released by our club. By my calculations, that puts Ederson’s current chances of being fit for the Arsenal encounter at about 50/50, depending on how well he recovers during the international break of course. I say all of that because one publication recently had the 30-year-old down for missing Arsenal, Aston Villa and THEN, even, Crystal Palace…and possibly our first quarter final Champions League fixture on either the 9^th or 10^th April! I can only assume that they had-either lost their calendar or had broken their abacus because…SURELY they weren’t practicing press sensationalism, were they? 🤔 Dick ‘eads…

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Withdrawn as a precaution, I think we’re calling this one. Kev has a groin / hip / pelvic issue, by all accounts. Nothing too serious, by the sounds of it, and it seems likely that he'll be available for us once again following the up & coming international break. 👍🤞

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

Yep.

Result? Strange side, are Newcastle this season. ‘On their day’ they can be devastatingly good with their pacy counter attacks, whilst at the same time be defensively organised and hard-working generally. On other occasions, they can be fragile at the back and seemingly out of sorts going forward. In fact, nothing says that better than their last 5 results in the league, which looks like this: W D L W L.

I bet, secretly and when they’re not in the stands naked from the waste up swirling a scarf above their head, some Newcastle fans feel a little deflated when analysing some of their season results and take a look at the table as they sit 10^th; just 1 point above often-criticised Chelsea and 15 points off 4^th. I don’t wish to sound like I’m over criticising them but I suspect that while some Geordies have remained realistic since becoming a fan of the richest football club in the world; others will, I’m sure, have expected a little more than they’ve seen so far. That being said, I do feel like I have to acknowledge the fact that today’s visitors have been, and still are, ‘up there’ amongst the higher numbers when it comes to injuries.

Still, not knowing which Newcastle side will turn up on the day, as I’ve already alluded to; we can’t take these lightly and they did see to our rather abrupt exit of the League Cup back in September.

As for us, we have just one outfield player missing, albeit a crucial one, and are in very good form indeed. Yes it’s gonna be another toughie – a potentially thunderous domestic cup tie – but I think this is one that we’ll come out of on top. I’m going for a City win.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: If this had been a noon’ish kick-off then I’d be talking about dry weather and quite possibly some sunshine too.That’s how Saturday starts. Sadly, light rain moves in a few hours before the referee blows his whistle to start the match at 5:30pm (GMT) and it’s dark skies / rain both for the game and walk home too. 10C is the forecasted temperature; aided by a light, southerly breeze.

Solidarity