v Brighton...plus blog announcement

With an almost impossible task of-predicting Tuesday night’s line-up after a shock (for me at least) starting 11 last Friday; I’m going to use this opportunity to ‘give it a go’ (updated on 18.05.2021) but-to-also announce that this will be the last blog-posting of the season…

Why?

It does seem very strange on the face of it ahead of what will not only be the last league game of the season where we even get to lift the Premier League trophy at home and in front of around 10,000 Manchester City fans AND our first ever Champions League final a week later but, simply put, I’m going away on a long-awaited, UK holiday that I have to take this week coming.

I’m hoping to get to see the Everton game the day after arriving at our destination and I will be back home in time for the Chelsea game…just not soon enough for there to be any point in getting a posting ‘out there’.

So…straight to the last pre-match blog-posting of the 2020/21 season…

v Brighton & Hove Albion

American Express Community Stadium / Amex Stadium / Falmer Stadium / whatever...

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: A shocking, in more ways than one, 3/11).

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Aguero____________________

                                         Jesus

 

Foden___________________________________Mahrez

 

_________Gundogan___________Silva_____________

 

__________________Fernandinho__________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Cancelo

 

____________Stones____________Dias_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Mendy, Walker, Ake, Garcia, Laporte, Rodri, De Bruyne, Torres.

Our manager was asked specifically in his pre-match interview about our main keeper and his answer was that Ederson will play tomorrow night as well as Sunday.

I’m going for an-almost complete change to our back 4 from last Friday with Oleksandr, John & Ruben coming in to join Joao; who I reckon will step into his more-familiar, right-sided role.

‘Our skipper’ to have the defensive midfield job on the south coast.

Phil, Ilkay, Bernardo & Riyad to provide the midfield / wing attacking-creative source and all in support of Sergio; who has the sole striking role.

Zack is the back-up keeper; Benjamin, Kyle, Nathan & Aymeric are the reserve defenders from ‘the 9’. Rodders, a returning-from-injury-niggle Kevin, Ferran & Gabriel provide the midfield / wing / attacking options from the side.

Update: Sergio Aguero apparently has "niggles in his leg" and is not fit enough to be in the squad tonight, so I've changed 'the 11' to include Gabriel Jesus to start 'up top', although I wouldn't be surprised to see Ferran Torres be rewarded with a striker role. Eric Garcia now makes the bench.

Notable absences:

-       Eric Garcia – Not selected.

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

Yes – a nice mix that should keep any rustiness away for our ‘main guys’.

Result? I can see a ‘controlled’ game from us; one that intends to win but without straining ourselves too much. Possession is the key here.

I’m not expecting a high-scoring game but it’s an away win for me.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Afternoon showers should clear to leave a sunny start to the match but with a fairly strong, westerly wind. 12C is the temperature.

JUST BEFORE I SIGN OFF…

…I just wanted to get a predicted starting 11 & subs out there for the Champions League final ASSUMING all are fit & available, of course.

v Chelsea

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:

_______________________________________________

 

 

Foden____________________________________Mahrez

___________________De Bruyne___________________

_______Gundogan_______________Silva____________

 

_____________________Rodri______________________

Zinchenko_________________________________Walker

 

_____________Stones___________Dias______________

 

 

_____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Carson, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Garcia, Laporte, Fernandinho, Sterling, Torres, Aguero, Jesus.

Should Newcastle United be…

…quaking in their football boots?

Fear the ‘wounded animal’, an’ all that?

Does the wounded animal phrase even APPLY when the wound was self-inflicted?

Well…there’s certainly a case for a ‘reaction’ from us as we go into Friday night’s game in the north east.

v Newcastle United

St. James' Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

It might seem like a strange team line-up that I’m about to suggest now that we’ve regained the Premier League title (3 times in 4 seasons; 5 times in 10) – a very strong 11 that a lot of City fans might say is completely unnecessary.

However, not only are our better players going to have to have some ‘game time’ before the Champions League final in order to keep themselves ‘rust free’ but I just get the feeling that our manager will want to give ‘us fans’ a performance – and hopefully a positive result – to cheer after last Saturday’s slightly weird shenanigans…as well as the fact that, largely speaking, we’ve won the league without being able to celebrate it properly together.

The players too, I’m sure and more importantly, will want to ‘blast away’ the cobwebs & memories of last weekend, even if they-personally didn’t participate; a Saturday performance & result which was then followed by a very quiet…“Yaaay”, as another result handed us the title without us-having to kick another ball.

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Aguero____________________

 

 

Foden__________________________________Mahrez

 

_________Gundogan___________Silva_____________

 

__________________Fernandinho_________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

 

_____________Stones__________Dias_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Laporte, Rodri, Sterling, Torres, Jesus.

Ederson, of course, in net.

A very strong, back-4 of Oleksandr, John, Ruben & Kyle.

Fernandinho has the defensive midfield role.

An attacking 4, then, of Phil, Ilkay, Bernardo & Riyad.

Sergio to get another crack an' start ‘up top’? I’d say so.

Zack is the reserve stopper; Joao, Nathan, Eric & Aymeric are the defensive replacement options from the side. Rodders, Raheem, Ferran & Gabriel make up the midfield / wing / attacking subs.

And if our Spanish boss DOES go with this starting 11, there’s plenty of time to-then chop / change / rest / protect, mix & match in the remaining 2 league fixtures…

Notable absences:

-       Eric Garcia – Not selected.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Injured with ‘muscular fatigue’ but on the road to recovery, we are told.

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

Sure do – that’s about our strongest-available 11, I’d say.

Result? A City win…and by a fairly big margin too, I reckon.

 

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: Not much doin’ – a bit of a breeze off the east coast and a small chance of some drizzle but nothing whatsoever that will affect the game. 8 or 9C isn’t even particularly chilly for the 8:00pm KO (BST).

 

 

Rehearsal or ‘cards kept close’?

Not yet, as I start to prepare this piece, but I think it’s almost inevitable that someone in the press, at least, will label this Premier League clash as “a rehearsal” for the Champions League final at the end of May.

I’ll come out now and answer my own question posed in the title…I don’t think for one second that it will be.

v Chelsea

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

I think we’re gonna see a very-much ‘mixed bag’ of players in our starting 11 from the more-recent & obvious rotation of 2 sets of 11, I would suggest, and so there’s plenty of room for error in my predicted 11; a situation not helped by the fact that not one journalist asked about the fitness / availability of Pep’s men in either Part 1 or Part 2/embargoed press conference sections…

Fluid 4-2-3-1 / 4-1-4-1 / 4-4-2:

____________________Aguero____________________

 

 

____________________Sterling___________________

Foden___________________________________Torres

____________Gundogan_________________________

_________________________Rodri________________

Mendy__________________________________Cancelo

 

____________Laporte__________Dias______________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Walker, Zinchenko, Ake, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Mahrez, Jesus.

Ederson continues ‘between the sticks’.

Now…as for most of the rest, the players involved in a high-tempo game in midweek have, in fact, had a near-full, 4 days to recover AND don’t have to ‘kick a ball in anger’ for another 6 days after this evening’s match. Therefore – and especially as we are to face such a good side – we may well see a very similar 11 to the one who beat PSG…twice.

However, I’m sticking with my instinct of-this-being a ‘slightly shuffled pack’.

So…a much-changed back-4 looks like Benjamin & Joao on the flanks with Aymeric & Ruben in the middle.

Rodders & Ilkay, I'd say, will have the central midfield roles; both slightly deep / holding with Ilkay stepping further forward when play dictates.

Ahead of that “shield” I think we’ll see an attacking trio which is very interchangeable; with Phil, Raheem & Ferran all being able to play in / switch to each of those positions. I very nearly went for Raheem on the left and Gabriel Jesus behind a lead striker with Phil on the bench but I think Guardiola will want / need Phil’s energy to zip around and help the central midfield at times.

Sergio to get his 2^nd run-out ‘up top’ against a London side in a week.

Zack is the back-up stopper; Oleksandr, Kyle & Nathan make up the defensive replacement options from the side. Fernandinho, Kevin, Bernardo, Riyad & Gabriel are the midfield / wing / attacking reserves in ‘the 9’. Strong bench.

Notable absences:

-       Eric Garcia – Not selected.

-       John Stones – Suspended – the last of his 3-match, domestic ban.

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

I think I might be tempted to stick Nathan or Aymeric on the left of the defence instead of Mendy but, other than that, it’s a nicely-balanced selection in many ways; with a ‘front 4’ that should keep the visitors very busy & alert.

We could be a little thin in the centre with that 11 but I think we’re going to try and force a lot of our play down the flanks this evening and, therefore, I can understand the reasoning behind selecting Mendy from the start.

Result? I think it’ll be a decent game and one, I reckon, that’ll be more open than when we meet again in the Champions League final later this month.

Both sides are in good form and while we’re looking to make league champions for the 2020/21 season official; The Pensioners still need points to secure 4^th spot at the very least, whilst teams behind them still have ‘em in their sights. They’ll be hunting for a win for sure.

In a lot of ways this one does look like a draw but either with that predicted line-up or otherwise; I’ve had nothing but a home win in my head since I started to focus on this fixture from Thursday onwards. Champions by around 7:20pm (BST) it is!

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Horrible. Truly ’orrible. Wet, wet…and more wet. Quite windy too, with forecasted gusts of up to 30MPH in the Greater Manchester region. Heavy rain for most of the day may turn slightly lighter as the game kicks off (5:30pm BST) but there’s certainly no need to water the pitch beforehand. Conditions are likely to make slick, accurate passing a little less possible despite the advanced drainage systems in place on modern, top-flight football pitches and could be responsible for some mistimed tackles too. Milder of late though (small blessings) with the winds coming from a southerly direction, at around 14C.

 

To Serg or not to Serg.

That is the question…

In our last outing, we saw a return to action of one Sergio Aguero who looked sharp and, who, scored a crackin’ goal! At the very least, that gives Pep Guardiola an option he…perhaps didn’t think he’d have going into this fixture.

v Paris St. Germain

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-2-4-0 / 4-3-3:

_____________________________________________

 

 

Foden_________________________________Mahrez

___________De Bruyne________Silva_____________

 

___________________Gundogan_________________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

____________Stones___________Dias_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Trafford, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Laporte, Fernandinho, Doyle, Sterling, Torres, Jesus, Aguero.

So, the answer, I think, is no…no Sergio starting tonight (8:00pm KO BST).

Ederson continues in net.

The back-4 I believe he’ll go with tonight includes 3 players who started in the first leg; in John, Ruben & Kyle. However, I’m going for Oleksandr to come in for Joao Cancelo on the left.

Rodders gets the deepest midfield job but I think he’ll get a lot of assistance from Ilkay; who might be asked to play a ‘dual role’.

Thinking more about attack is likely to be Phil, Kevin, Bernardo & Riyad.

Two keepers on the bench in the form of Zack & James with Joao, Benjamin, Nathan & Aymeric making up the reserve defenders. Fernandinho, Tommy, Raheem, Ferran, Gabriel & Sergio make up the impressive midfield / wing / attacking options from the side. If he hasn’t suffered ill effects from playing 93 minutes after being so long without minutes on the pitch then what a player, in Sergio, to have on the side in order to throw on and give the opposition something different & dangerous to be concerned about.

Notable absences:

-       Eric Garcia – Is apparently suffering with a sickness / fever…but there are also very recent reports circling that the 20-year-old is close to agreeing terms with Barcelona so take your pick with that one...

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

Yes – that’s one hell of a midfield to have to contend with and get past before even considering the back 4 / 5. It has attacking potency too.

Result? With that predicted line-up and the confidence flowing as high as it is, I have to think that we have it in us to get through to the final now.

However, we will, no doubt, have to be absolutely ‘at it’ 100%; as I’m sure we’ll have to face a storm at some stage for however long. And I’m sorry, I’m just not havin’ it that Mbappe was filmed “limping” off the bus after also missing their weekend domestic fixture – he’s being rested / protected & primed to be at the leading edge of their storm, I’m quite sure of it.

I have a strong feeling that they’ll score but if they do (hopefully not more than once), I think we’ve shown a quality of not panicking in those situations and a steely resolve to get back into games where we’ve gone behind.

It’s a tough, tough game this evening but one where I think, once again, we’ll come out of it on top with a narrow victory.

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Not great but at least it’s not as bad as it was yesterday! Still…5C, around about 50% chance of showers and a stiff, north-westerly breeze is pretty ‘orrible. Pitch could be a bit ‘greasy’ after torrential rain nearly all day Monday and with showers most of Tuesday, so I think we’ll see the ball zipping around and perhaps the odd slip / mistimed tackle.