· Short-range
passing accuracy.
· Quick
passing tempo and attacking intensity in general.
· How to break
down a packed, organised, stubborn defence.
· Supplying
our front man better – acting on his runs with timed passes and improving
supply from the wings too.
All things I witnessed as, ‘areas for improvement’ in our performance last Saturday.
v Crystal Palace
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct
from the starting line-up in the last game: 6/11).
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasionally 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
__Doku_____________________________Marmoush__
______________________________Silva_____________
________Gundogan______________________________
____________________Kovacic____________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
_____________Dias_____________Akanji____________
____________________Ederson____________________
Subs: Ortega, Gonzalez,
De Bruyne, Foden, McAtee, Nunes, O’Reilly, Grealish, Savinho.
To Ed or to Steff? That is the question. Steffan has played in three F.A.Cup rounds this season while Ederson has made two appearances in this
competition. The German normally gets this cup but I don’t think this has been
a normal season for any player or by any stretch of our collective
imaginations. I’m going for our manager to choose his Brazilian stopper.
A back-4, occasional 3, of Josko, Ruben, Manuel and Rico is my
guess.
Mateo is the deeper of the midfielders but I think he’ll have Ilkay for
close company. Slightly advanced of those I’m going for Jeremy, Bernardo and
Omar in a right-sided roaming role, although he could well swap places with
Doku and find himself on the left. It’s a bold suggestion from me for us to
start with two recognised forwards / strikers in an F.A. Cup final but I’m just
going with my Pep instincts.
Erling ahead of the lot, hoping to get better supply-passes than he did
last Saturday.
Stefan is reserve stopper and on a bench that has no recognised
defenders, it houses SIX midfielders in the form of Nico Gonzalez, Kevin, Phil,
James, Matheus and Nico O’Reilly; with the latter two capable of providing
defensive flank cover too. Jack too can also play inside left midfield but he,
along with Savinho, gives us two wing options from ‘the 9’.
Notable absences:
-
Abdukodir
Khusanov – Not selected.
-
John
Stones – Despite his manager saying on 18th
April that John was getting better, the England international remains out while
he recovers from a thigh injury he sustained on 15th February. No
further news.
-
Nathan
Ake – Back in training following a fractured
foot for which he had surgery.
-
Vitor
Reis – Not selected.
-
Rodri
– Continues to train on his long journey back to
fitness following an ACL injury suffered last September. On 25th
April, his manager first confirmed that he was no longer training alone but was
back with his teammates and he’s still waiting for the ‘all clear’ from the
Doctors before he can be considered for a matchday squad.
-
Oscar
Bobb – Back in training following minor
hamstring injury on his way back from a fractured leg he suffered on 13th
August 2024.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
No. A slight tweak from me - I’d go
with this…
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1
/ 4-3-3 (occasionally 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
__Doku__________________________________Silva__
__________O’Reilly______________________________
_______________________________Kovacic_________
____________________Gonzalez___________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
____________Dias_______________Akanji___________
____________________Ederson____________________
Subs: Ortega, De Bruyne, Foden, Gundogan,
McAtee, Nunes, Grealish, Savinho and Marmoush.
1. Go at the oppo with guile and pace and, for flip’s sake, more practice
getting the ball to Haaland. Additionally, if you’re not able to find the big
man then improve your own shooting accuracy. There were 26 shots from us against
Southampton (EXCELLENT!)…only 5 of those were on target (rubbish 🙄).
2. O’Reilly is proving a threat whenever he roamed [from left-wing back] into
his more-natural position of attacking midfield so let’s give youth a chance…yes,
even in a final. We’ve got older, more experienced players who can produce both
craft and ‘game control’ off the bench who could come on with 20+ minutes to go
should that be needed. Go at ‘em hard and fast with younger legs from the
beginning, I say. Palace are likely to try that against us themselves, so 💪🔥🔥.
3. Kovacic has proven a threat when allowed to roam forward and with regards
to defending; he often works better with a colleague close by. What better
colleague could he have against a team who like to break and attack with pace
than a specialist defensive midfielder we brought in during the winter transfer
window? Balance: Doku’s bursts of pace, O’Reilly’s youthful, attacking legs; Silva’s
graft, energy and experience but with the midfield defensive qualities of our
Spanish Under-21 international.
4. And if it’s not working up front, get Marmoush on within 15 minutes of
the half time restart, rather than with just a few minutes of ‘the 90’ to go.
Or perhaps I’m
just talking a load of sloblock…
Result?
Why do I go into this match
slightly edgy? I’m not alone; I know of at least one other City fan who feels the same
way. Conversely, I heard a celebrity Palace fan on the radio yesterday talking
about not just his own confident mood but those of many Eagles fans he knows.
To answer my own question about
my personal jitters, I think it’s because, this season, we are capable of such
contrasting performances; along with so many imploding moments we have in our
unwanted locker. For proof of those Jekyll and Hyde events, just look back to 12th
April and our home game against today’s opponents. Another crackin’ example of self-destruction occurred on 26th
November.
Whether it be a slip up at the back, a complete implosion
or a moment or two of genius from a very talented, fast-attacking side such as
Crystal Palace are; if we start as did at the Etihad a month ago it could be an almost impossible
task to claw back on such a big stage in potentially energy-sapping temperatures.
But if that seven-goal thriller just 4 weeks ago taught us
anything, it’s that despite the fading powers of some of our long-standing
players and seemingly bouts of low confidence and fragility; we are still capable
of tuning on the old magic and overwhelm even the zestiest of sides.
It is a hard one to call and I think it’ll be a close, exciting
game. However, I’m going for us to have enough in our locker to pull this one
off. 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: Very nice indeed. As most of the
country continues with the daily march of no rain and lots of sun; it’s another
clear, bright day over Wembley. Early morning light cloud in the area burns
away to leave unbroken sunshine and a temperature of 20C with a light, cooling
breeze. ☀😎🌭🍻⚽🏆
 |
| Solidarity |
