A victory that felt like defeat.

As collective City fan cheeks puffed out with relief at the end of the 101^st minute last Saturday, I found myself shaking my head and wondering how the hell we could make such a mess of a very early lead and 2-0 half-time scoreline; at home against the division’s 3^rd-bottom side. Well done Mr Foden. 👏

Dare I say, following last season and parts of this campaign, that we’re reverting back to our “typical City” days?

At least Chelsea-Arsenal ended in a draw…

v Fulham

Craven Cottage

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 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Doku_________________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

 

____________________Gonzalez___________________

O’Reilly___________________________________Lewis

__________Stones_______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Nunes, Ake, Gvardiol, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi continues in net - another player not excluded from the ‘poor performance’ column last Saturday. In fact, his season’s score is slowly slipping down on my ratings chart following a few moments, in his last few games, which haven’t exactly covered the Italian international in glory.

I’m going for a tweak at the back with John and Rico coming in for Josko and Matheus. Nico-O- and Ruben complete the 4.

Nico-G- continues his deep role in midfield and, once again, I’m going for Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Rayan-C- all behind Erling.

James is reserve stopper; Rayan-A-, Matheus, Nathan and Josko provide defensive cover. Tijjani, Oscar, Savinho and Omar give us attacking options from the bench in midfield, on the wings and up front.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Recovering from secondary surgery to clean up some calcification in his ankle. Expected return is around February 2026.

-       Rodri – Continues to recover from a troublesome hamstring injury, as well as general fitness issues.

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

I would very much understand John Stones coming in for Josko Gvardiol at the moment – I think we need the stability and vast experience of John at the moment and Josko needs a little time to focus on the basics, I would say…and I’m not just saying that because of his howler last weekend.

As for the right-wing back slot, it is what it is at the moment - an area that needs addressing in a transfer window sooner rather than later. Matheus has done really, really well up to recent games but there’s been a slight drop off from the Portuguese international and he was one of those players who had a torrid second half three days ago. I think Rico Lewis will be chomping at the bit to get a place in the starting 11, even if it’s in his personal, less-preferred position.

An assist for the winner last Saturday afternoon might be enough to earn Rayan Cherki a starting berth and replacing Tijjani Reijnders I would agree with. He’s another player who needs to work hard on the training pitch and focus on the simple things.

Result?

It’s been a slow, struggling start to the season by our hosts but 3 league wins from the last 4 suggests that they’re getting their act together. One of those victories came against high-flying Sunderland; a feat only two other sides have managed in the league this season…and our next opponents.

As for us, I’ve already made reference to last season and conceding 6 goals in just 7 days over 3 games is brings back some unwanted memories from our 2024-25 campaign. That’s got to stop soon if we want to challenge for silverware.

I’m at the stage where it’s flip a coin time when thinking about the result. Which City side is going to turn up? Which half will we perform in and which half will we lose intensity and switch off?

As unlikely as it is for a coin to land on its edge, that’s what mine has done. I’m going for a draw.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

There was no pre-match blog posting ahead of last season’s corresponding fixture due to both general time constraints and an up-and-coming holiday.

Expected weather conditions during the game: A bit damp leading up to the 7:30pm (GMT) kick-off but it should dry out for the game itself. 8C is the forecasted temperature with just a very light, southerly breeze. 🧥🍵🥧🍺⚽

Solidarity

All change v Leeds United

The well documented 10 changes in midweek backfired and blew up in Pep’s face last Tuesday, for which he’s held his hands up for several times since. I personally believe that the players who started that night have to take a lot of responsibility also.

Sadly, for them, it’ll be a largely changed side once again this afternoon – a rare, Saturday 3:00pm kick-off.

OLD SCHOOL FIXTURE!

v Leeds United

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog wise, was our away league defeat to Newcastle United: 11/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Doku_________________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

 

____________________Gonzalez___________________

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi returns in goal after a rare place on the bench in midweek.

A back 4, occasional 3, of Nico-O-, Josko, Ruben and Matheus.

Nico is likely to be the only one who keeps his place from last Tuesday’s disastrous performance.

Ahead of him, I think we’re likely to see Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Rayan-C-, all in support of Erling up front.

Just before I run through the subs, I’ve just got a feeling that Pep could dip into our EDS for at least one fresh face on the bench for this one. Why? I believe that as well as blaming himself for what transpired in midweek, he also feels a little let down by some of his players and perhaps, secretly, some more than others.

Wouldn’t it, therefore, be a strong message for him to send by sliding a young player onto the scene ahead of one of those individuals…and wouldn’t it set tongues wagging.

It’s just a hunch; one that I’m going to resist running with and, so…

James returns to the bench as reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Rico, Nathan and John make up four defenders on the bench. Tijjani is the only natural central midfielder on the side, with Oscar, Savinho and Marmoush also giving us various attacking options in ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected but also, we were informed right at the end of Pep’s pre-match press conference, has some leg niggles.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Recovering from secondary surgery to clean up some calcification in his ankle. Expected return is around February 2026.

-       Rodri – Continues to recover from a troublesome hamstring injury, as well as general fitness issues.

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

Sure do.

Result?

Have I been following Leeds United closely this season? Erm…no. What I did hear recently and, therefore kept in my head as this fixture approached, was that their manager has apparently changed his tactics from (whatever it was) to (whatever it is) and it’s not really working. There’s ya go – an expert opinion for you right there. I hope that’s made it clear for you all. 🤪😆

Hard facts for you are a last six in the league that reads, L L W L L L. They sit 3^rd-bottom with just 3 wins from 12-league games played and don’t score many with just 11 from those 12 matches; conceding double that number. They were also dumped out of the League Cup in the 2^nd round way back in August by…Sheffield Wednesday! I know! The Owls! Crisis club and then some!

As for us, when I listened to Pep’s post-match press conference on Tuesday night and particularly towards the very end, you can understand his thinking when-making so many changes in midweek; especially when he rattled through the individual player reasons for his selections and omissions.

However, as he admitted time and time again, it was far too many changes all at once. He got it wrong and he’s held up his hands; leaving us with 2 defeats from 2 since club fixtures resumed.

Having started the Champions League group-league stage strong, it’s certainly put a dent in it but the mistake hasn’t damaged us too badly. That being said, we’re away to Real Madrid next.

My main fear about today’s match, despite it being against a struggling Leeds United at home, is that the rusty, lacklustre first-11 players who we watched at Newcastle may still have that post-international break lethargy in them; as most of those players have seen either few or no minutes at all following our trip to the North East last weekend.

_____________________________

12-league games in, I decided to have a look at my player ratings chart to see where our lads stood.

The top, stand out rating is Earling Haaland, who I have down as 8/10, and some may think that a little harsh of me. I think he was on 8.5 before our trip to The Magpies; a game where he either got a 4 or a 5/10 depending on which report you read.

I then have two players on 7.5, Donnarumma and Dias, with 7s going to Stones, Nunes, Doku and Gonzalez. Put another way, almost a third of the way into this season’s campaign I have just seven players on a rating of 7 or higher, with the rest all between 5 and 6.5.

I have the team’s current, overall rating as 7/10.

What I think that tells me, I don’t know about you, is that despite being 3^rd in the league; despite being just outside the top-8 of the Champions League group-stage table on goal difference and having reached the quarter final of the League Cup; we’re achieving all of that by not particularly playing all that well at lot of the time.

I can certainly recall coming away from a few games thinking, wow that was good from us today. However, in large, and on reflection, I’d have to say that I’m left with a feeling, following a victory, of…‘professional job done’ rather than being wowed. I think some of it has been a case of, thank God for Gianluigi and Erling.

_____________________________

Do I think we’ll win today? Absolutely I do.

Do I think it’ll be one of those swashbuckling, wow games from us that will leave us all breathless with gushing admiration? Possibly not from the start as the players, albeit a very different 11, attempt to reset and refocus following a second disappointment in the space of just three days.

However, even if we do see a cagey start from our lads, as we prod and probe our visitors, I’ve got a feeling that we’ll slip into a high cruising gear and will finish these off in style. 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: Erm…’orrible. Heavy spells of rain, or prolonged periods of the wet stuff, in a temperature no higher than 6C. For a cross-Pennines clash at 3:00pm on a Saturday afternoon, the wet pitch only adds to this old school-feeling fixture. 🌧️☔🧥🧣🧤🍵🥧🥟🍺⚽

Solidarity

A team all over the place…

…results wise but a ground / fixture, in recent years, where we often see goals flying in both ends; often resulting in points being shared.

There’s a brief blog announcement at the end of this piece.

v Newcastle United

St. James' Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Doku_________________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

 

____________________Gonzalez___________________

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi starts between the sticks.

A back-4, occasional 3, of England international, Nico-O-, Josko, Ruben and Matheus.

Nico-G- sits just in front of those with an attacking four of Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Rayan-C- ahead of the Spaniard.

Erling up front, hoping to break yet another record later today.

James continues as reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Rico, Nathan and John make up four defenders on the side. Tijjani is the sole central midfielder in ‘the 9’, with a nod towards Rico Lewis who prefers that position over right-wing back, while wide / attacking change options come in the shape of Oscar, Savinho and Omar.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Recovering from secondary surgery to clean up some calcification in his ankle. Expected return is around February 2026.

-       Rodri – Testing his patience as well as his body, as he continues his efforts to recover fully following a full season out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

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

Yep.

Result?

L W L W L L sums up our hosts at the moment and it’s a set of results that saw them just 2 points and 4 places above the relegation zone once Gameweek 11 was concluded.

Far from having the worse defensive record of the bottom half sides, they are, apparently struggling for goals; with just 11 recorded in the league from 11 games played. Summer signing, 6’ 6” German international, Nick Woltermade is their top scorer with 4 league goals, while midfielder, Bruno Guimaraes, remains a threat with 3 to his name.

Looking at the table could lead some to conclude that this should be a fairly straight forward City win and, of course, I hope it will be. 🤞 They do have players coming back from injury but they do still have a fair number out plus one suspension to a key defender. However, there’s this to take into consideration too.

I’ve never liked the way we start our first match following an international break and after the last one, Pep himself admitted that we rarely start well once our players have finished representing their respective counties. We eventually won the last post-international break fixture at home to Everton, 2-0, but both the visitors and our own sluggishness made hard work of it.

I’d say that away from home, at a ground where the home fans can make some serious noise when their side have their tails up and can smell blood on a visiting side; any bad start by us and we could all too easily be punished.

For the record, our last three league visits ended 3-3, 2-3 and 1-1. We also lost 1-0 there on 27^th September 2023 in the League Cup, following a dominant but wasteful City performance that lacked both quality and cohesion.

I said at the beginning of the month that we had a good number of very tough fixtures in the month of November and although the three matches were all at home; to come out of those with 3 victories, 10 goals scored and only 2 conceded is EXCELLENT! I apologise for underlining the point but it is very good form that has been, sadly, interrupted by a second international break of the season.

I hope we can hit the ground running again in the North East this evening (5:30pm KO GMT) because it will not only cap off that great run of victories against tough opposition but it’d be fantastic to take another victory into our next two November home fixtures; before a December that see us hit the road three times and take to the air once.

Back to this evening, do I think The Magpies will score? Yeah I do actually. They have strong, goal-capable players and we may see a little bit of that post-international break rustiness that I’ve mentioned.

However, if we do start sluggishly I do expect us to shake it off and find our rhythm early enough to hit the back of their net more than they hit ours. I’m going for a City victory.

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: Chilly, as you might expect in Newcastle in November, but dry. 3C is the match temperature and not much breeze. 🧥🧣🧤🍵🥧🍺⚽

I won’t be doing a pre-match blog posting ahead of our Champions League game on Tuesday night – I’m just too darn busy for a midweek blog piece at the mo. 🎻

Next up for me will be our home league game on Saturday 29^th November.

Solidarity

Predictions v Liverpool – 09.11.2025

Last domestic game before another international break… 🙄

v Liverpool

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog wise, was our home victory against Bournemouth: 10/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Doku_________________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

 

____________________Gonzalez___________________

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Stones, Kovacic, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi in net.

I’m going for a back-4 of Nico, Josko, Ruben and Matheus and I don’t think we’ll see too much of that defence melding into a 3 as much as we’re used to this afternoon.

Nico just ahead of those and ahead of the Spanish defensive midfielder I think it’ll be Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Rayan-C-.

Erling up front.

James is reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Rico and John make up three defenders on the side. Matteo and Tijjani provide midfield cover, Oscar and Savinho give us wide options from ‘the 9’ and Omar is an alternative striker we have in our arsenal.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Nathan Ake – Not selected.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Rodri – May make the bench but unlikely, as the Management Team slowly nurture the Spaniard back to health before a busy November, December and January; following the second international break of the season after this fixture.

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

Yep.

Result?

A side very much in form, apart from a 1-0 away blip late October vs a side with two solid victories against very good, in form teams; following a run of horrible results for them to say the least. This was always going to be a frenetic, closely contested match but I would say even more so on this occasion.

I’m just going to come straight to it without too much more analysis – I’m having this one down as a draw.

Are we capable of beating the reds of Merseyside? The way we’ve been playing recently, attack wise, fills me with considerable confidence. And it’s not just the number of goals we’re scoring - the way we’re zipping the ball around and working so hard to win the ball back and then retain it is very impressive.

But we’re still not a very solid unit and against weapons such as Liverpool have it does leave us somewhat vulnerable…as are they at the back, I am keen to add. I can't see this being 0-0.

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

Prediction: Draw

Result: Lost

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: The day started promising but light rain began to move in mid-morning and will last throughout the match. It could even get quite heavy at some point. 12-13C is the top temperature. Chilly and murky would sum it up nicely and the pitch should be perfectly watered for a fast-paced game. 🌂🧥🥧🍺⚽

Solidarity

Blog announcement – 03.11.2025

In order to take a little pressure off myself so that I can get some other things done in between work itself, I’ve decided not to do a blog posting ahead of our Champions League game on Wednesday. Fingers crossed that won’t be the case at the weekend and I’ll put a piece out before our Sunday afternoon encounter with Liverpool.

Quick word on yesterday…

I think that’s one of the best matches involving City I’ve seen in a good while and the visitors more than contributed to it. Two excellent displays and we should be proud that our lads managed to overcome a side who showed real fizz for almost the whole 90+ minutes.

And all done despite being pegged back by a rare Donnarumma mistake from a cross. This fantastic keeper is allowed the odd one, I think you’ll agree.

Standout displays I think were Nunes, Dias, Gonzalez, Haaland and, in the second half, O’Reilly. But despite Erling adding two MORE goals to his incredible numbers, I gave my MotM to Rayan Cherki. He is one intelligent player with amazing vision and quick thinking ability.

That’s all for now.

The first of five…

…back-to-back, very tough fixtures and it doesn’t get much tougher than the high-flying Cherries - a 2^nd-place side with only one league defeat in nine.

This is also the first of FIVE from six home fixtures in November 😮 whereas, in sharp contrast, we travel more than Father Christmas throughout December. 🛷

v AFC Bournemouth

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

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

__Marmoush____________________________Cherki__

 

_________Silva(C)_________________Foden__________

___________________Gonzalez____________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol______________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma_________________

Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Stones, Rodri, Reijnders, Bobb, Doku and Savinho.

Gigi retakes the gloves for this league fixture.

I’m going for a back-4, occasional 3, of Nico-O-, Josko, Ruben and Matheus.

Nico-G- starts once more as our defensive midfielder.

Ahead of him I’m going a little bold by suggesting that both Omar and Rayan-C- can manage two games in four days following months out with injuries. Both players not only completed the 90+ minutes in midweek but they finished the match strong; with goals each and an assist for Rayan as well. If I’m correct, I’m going for both of those to start wide, although I’d expect them to make runs inside too. I could be wrong – Doku may start left and Marmoush might have to take the role of reserve striker for this fixture. I think we’ll see Bernardo and Phil in the middle.

Erling returns up top following his close encounter with a goalpost a week ago.

 

James is back on the bench as keeper cover; Rayan-A-, Rico and John provide defensive options. Rodri and Tijjani make up two midfielders on the side, while there’s a wealth of wide alternatives in that prediction from me in the form of Oscar, Jeremy and Savinho.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Not selected.

-       Nathan Ake – Not selected…and now being linked with a January move away from the club.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Didn’t make an appearance in midweek’s squad with rumours that the Croatian international is still not quite ready following a long injury layoff. When asked on Friday 31^st October about his availability our manager said, “We’ll see”. 🤷‍♂️

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

Yep.

Result?

🚨🔔 Hard to defeat, although they have conceded the most goals of the top-5 teams; Bournemouth are a side who have the ability to punish any lapse in concentration and that should signal some alarm bells for a City side who haven’t quite ironed out all of last season’s vulnerabilities; despite a keeper upgrade and a slightly more settled back-4. They have weapons.

Our visitors are far from being a one man team but it would be remiss of me to not mention forward, Antoine Semenyo. The Chelsea born, Ghanaian international has 6 league goals and 3 assists in 9 games, meaning that he has been involved in over half of Bournemouth’s 16 league goals this season so far. That’s excellent form.

I think it might be going a step too far to use the phrase, “We bounced back” following our defeat to Aston Villa last weekend. The general consensus from travelling Blues last Wednesday in South Wales was that it was a poor performance from our team. Too slow to get going and, generally, too soft; seemingly expecting the lower-division side to simply roll over, which they didn’t and quite rightly so.

Ait-Nouri and Khusanov looked understandably rusty on their returns and with very intermittent game time himself, so did Nathan Ake once again. James Trafford played well, I thought.

As is often the case, we wore the so-called lesser side down in the end but I will add that I was pleased with both Rico Lewis and Rayan Cherki’s performances; particularly the latter who looks a class act, just as I thought he would be. 👏👍

This next one is gonna be tough, as I’ve already intimated.

On the one hand, if they manage to nullify Erling Haaland then going off recent games, who’s going to step up and provide the goal threat? 🍫 On the other hand, if we bring out our soft centre midfield rather than a hard caramel one; that defence, plus Donnarumma, are going to be in for a busy afternoon / evening.

I was so tempted to go with a draw and I’m HOPING that my heart isn’t just ruling my head because I try to be honest at the stage of predicting a outcome. I’m having this down as a City win.

I really hope so too because when I look at the table, there’s a big bunch of 10 teams separated by just 3 points from 2^nd all the way down to 11^th. 😲 It feels like an old school “PILE ON!” and we need to try ‘n’ get ourselves near the top of the mad scramble ASAP.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(There was no pre-match blog posting for that game due to both time constraints and an up and coming holiday at that time. Here’s the announcement I put out, which includes post-F.A. Cup Final comments 🙁 from last May)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Practically identical to last Wednesday night in Wales. 10C, with a “feels like” of 8C; gentle breeze and dry. 🍵🥧🧥🍺⚽

Solidarity