…teams coming head to head at Wembley. Sounds to me like a mouth watering treat that we’re all in for. 🍽️⚽😋
Wembley 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 fabulous home win against Arsenal: 11/11.
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
__Doku______________________________Semenyo__
__________Silva(C)_______________Cherki__________
____________________Gonzalez___________________
O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes
___________Guehi_____________Khusanov_________
____________________Trafford____________________
Subs: Donnarumma, Ait-Nouri, Ake, Stones, Kovacic, Foden, Reijnders, Savinho and Marmoush.
With no game for a full-9 days after this fixture, why wouldn’t our manager put out exactly the same line-up, the injured Rodri aside, that faced Liverpool in the last round? A starting 11 that has gelled so well and is producing great results. Why should he change it just because we’re facing a Championship side?
Rightly or wrongly, I’m going for Pep to think the same in this predicted line-up…
James takes the gloves for this domestic cup competition and if we apply ourselves in the correct manner this evening (5:15pm KO BST) then he’ll be putting ‘em on again on 16th May.
A back-4, occasional 3, of Nico-O-, Marc, Abdukodir and Matheus.
Although not selected to start last Wednesday despite the absence of Rodri, I reckon Nico-G- will get his chance today, with Jeremy, Bernardo, Rayan-C- and Antoine all in support of Erling up front.
Gigi takes a side seat for this one as reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Nathan and John provide defensive insurance. Mateo, Phil and Tijjani are a trio of midfielders in ‘the 9’, with Savinho and Omar giving us wide / forward options from the bench.
Notable absences:
- Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.
- Rico Lewis – Not selected.
- Josko Gvardiol – On the 10th April, our manager revealed that Josko was getting better, following a long injury lay-off with a fractured tibia, but would take longer to recover. No further updates since.
- Max Alleyne – Not selected.
- Ruben Dias – On 21st April we were informed that the Portuguese international was not yet fit enough to return to action. There was no further update in yesterday’s pre-match press conference.
- Rodri – Recovering from a groin injury and when asked about the Spanish international on 24th April, his manager said that he was getting better but wouldn’t be risked for the F.A. Cup semi-final.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Yes, definitely, but I would hope for us to be in a position at some point, mid-second half, to be able to rest some legs that have seen many minutes recently - despite the 9-day gap in fixtures - and give some time to the likes of Stones, Kova, Phil, Tijjani and Marmoush.
Result?
I’ve got little doubt that a side who is unbeaten since January and riding on the crest of a wave will have their moments to score and may well do so. It would also be ‘very F.A. Cup’ for them to do so first to give their fans – and many neutrals I’m sure – some hope of a cup shock.
It’s also the 50th-year anniversary of the last time they won this competition and that was against a Manchester team…well, sorry 🙏, from nearby Trafford at least. In fact, Southampton will be wearing a special yellow and blue kit today, as they have done for their previous rounds this season, to commemorate that occasion in 1976.
I think it’s going to be a good game with chances at both ends – when I look at their league record after 44 games played, they are the second top scorers in the division, as I type this on Saturday morning, but have also conceded the second highest amount of goals of the top-6 sides. They sit 4th in the table with 2 games remaining.
As for us, last Wednesday’s performance was, for me, an expected drop-off in intensity and overall quality after five intense games against Real Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal x2. Wow! 😮
But it didn’t stop us creating plenty of chances, especially in the second half, and Pep appeared a little frustrated that his players didn’t take more of those opportunities.
Burnley had theirs too on the night, particularly in the first half, and the game ended on a nervy tone; with travelling blues urging the ref to blow his whistle to end the contest. Still, it was a well earned 3-points that put us top of the tree. 🙂
I think we’ll look more energised today and we most certainly have the players with ‘big occasion’ experience. Right attitude against a team from a lower division is crucial, for me, and the rest should take care of itself. I’m having this down as a City win.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game: What a glorious day. As the temperature slowly builds in the region throughout the day, any white-fluffy clouds will also disperse to leave a beautiful, sky-blue ceiling above. 20C is the official temperature for the area at kick off but I reckon it’ll be closer to 23-24C inside the stadium. Enjoy! ☀️😎🍦🌭🍔🍟🥤💷🍺⚽
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