Let’s use this form to…

…try ‘n’ cement a top-8 place.

v Villarreal

Estadio de la Cerámica

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

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

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Doku______________________________________Bobb

 

_________Silva(C)________________Foden__________

___________________Gonzalez____________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol_____________Dias(VC)__________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma__________________

Subs: Bettinelli, Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Kovacic, Reijnders, Cherki, Savinho and Marmoush.

Gigi continues in goal.

With regards to our defence, I am going to start this section today with a suggestion based on the word, “if”. IF Nico O’Reilly doesn’t feel fully ready to start after receiving a knock in our last game and IF Rayan Ait-Nouri doesn’t feel that he is ready to start after being out for 7 weeks with a troublesome ankle issue, then our back-4 could very well look like this: Gvardiol___Dias___Stones___Nunes (or Lewis).

As it is, there’s wasn’t any talk of who is or isn’t available in the pre-match press conference and knowing the squad that has travelled to Spain, I’m just going to assume. So…Nico-O- and Matheus are on the flanks of the defence with Josko and Ruben in the middle.

Nico-G- continues as defensive midfielder and I’m going for a more advance four of Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil and Oscar.

On fire Erling up top.

Two stoppers on the bench take the form of James and Marcus; Rayan-A-, Rico, Nathan and John make up four defenders on the side waiting for their opportunity. Mateo and Tijjani give us two central midfield options, while attacking and wide changes would come in the shape of Rayan-C-, Savinho and Omar.

Notable absences:

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Still no news regarding the progress, or otherwise, of Abdukodir’s ankle injury. The 21-year-old has been out since 21^st August.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not registered to play in the Champions League.

-       Rodri – Remains out with a hamstring injury. Unknown return date.

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

Yep, although I would hope there’d be some scope to give some players with many minutes under their belts some rest at some stage in the second half – I’m thinking the likes of Dias, O-Reilly, Nunes, Doku and Haaland.

Result?

Our Spanish hosts sit 3^rd in their domestic table with only Real Madrid and Barcelona ahead of ‘em. However, they’ve lost a little ground in their last two matches with a defeat followed by a draw.

Their ‘goals for’ is joint best outside of the top two but they have conceded just slightly more than one per game in the league. Their main, but not only threat, is 5’ 9” Georgian striker, Georges Mikautadze, who has a very good goalscoring record almost everywhere he’s played.

I’ve touched on quite a few injuries and players who might not be quite 100-percent but despite that, we’re in pretty good shape…and certainly better than last season’s injury-riddled campaign.

With wind in our sails and the sun on the players backs; I’m going for us to take all-3 points tonight.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: It seems almost impossible to fathom but while the temperature at kick-off time in Manchester will be 11C with rain, our players, staff and travelling fans will be enjoying 23C and dry, clear conditions; with a ‘feels like’ of 26C (79F in old money!). Not jealous…not jealous at all actually.🤥 ☀️⛱️🕶️🍺⚽

Solidarity

Fingers crossed…

…that we can pick up where we left off before the international break in terms of our unbeaten run. Fingers crossed for a win…

v Everton

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

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

____________________Haaland(VC)_________________

 

 

Doku______________________________________Bobb

 

_______Reijnders________________Foden__________

___________________Gonzalez____________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol_____________Dias(C)___________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma__________________

Subs: Trafford, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Kovacic, Mukasa, Silva, Cherki and Savinho.

Gigi in net.

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

Nico-G- gets the defensive midfield position while ahead of the Spanish Under-21 international I think it’ll be Jeremy, Tijjani, Phil and Oscar.

Erling up front.

James is reserve keeper while Rico, Nathan and John provide defensive cover from the side. Mateo, Divine and Bernardo make up three midfielders in ‘the 9’, while attacking / wide options come in the shape of Rayan-C- and Savinho.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Rayan Ait-Nouri – Back in training and could very well make the bench this afternoon; with his manager stating that Rayan is much, much better and is close to coming back.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Continues to be absent with an ankle injury. It was hoped that the 21-year-old would at least be back in training after the international break and although Pep offered no update during his pre-match press conference on 17^th October, one online source stated that the Uzbekistan international’s return to fitness has been delayed by about a week.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected and an apparent target for today’s visitors in the winter transfer window; quite likely on loan initially.

-       Rodri – Remains out with a hamstring injury and there is no update on a possible return date.

-       Omar Marmoush – For Omar, read Rayan Ait-Nouri.

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

Yep.

Result?

A decent start from the blues of Merseyside sees them sit 8^th and just 2 points behind us after 7 games played. As if often the case with The Toffees, they don’t score much but they are a tight outfit; netting just 9 but conceding only 7.

They hit a bit of a wobbly patch recently with two draws and a defeat but they bounced back with an excellent win against a very much in form Palace side last time out. It was on loan Jack Grealish who got the winner in the 93^rd minute and his absence for the visitors, due to the on loan / parent club rule, leaves them without a player who has 1 goal and 4 assists in 7 league appearance.

I probably don’t need to tell any dedicated City fan that we go into this fixture on a run of 7 games unbeaten in all competitions and I’m sure I’m in good company as I cross my fingers in the hope that the latest break in domestic football doesn’t break our momentum. Seeing some colleagues return to the training pitch after long absences should provide any boost they might need.

We’ll need to huff ‘n’ puff but I’m going for us to eventually blow Everton’s house down. I’m going for City win.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Draw

(Pre-match blog posting from that game – a particularly detailed piece which highlighted the health of our team 10-months ago)

Expected weather conditions during the game: The theme for the last fortnight continues this afternoon – grey and still. 13C is the forecasted temperature. ☁️🥼🥧🍺

Solidarity

Still unbeaten in six games but…

…last Wednesday’s 2-2’er away at AS Monaco was tinged with a feeling that we should have made more of our dominance; should have been more dynamic and direct in the second half rather than falling back into last season’s [in particular] side-passing game.

Of course we hit the woodwork and lead twice but those were the general feelings of not just pundits but travelling Blues too. Erling Haaland wasn’t too happy after the game either.

Still, this Sunday gives us an opportunity to make it seven unbeaten and a win would, for sure, feel really good going into the international break.

It won’t be easy though…

v Brentford

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

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Doku____________________________________Savinho

 

__________Silva(C)_______________Foden___________

_____________________Rodri______________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol_____________Dias(VC)___________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma__________________

Subs: Trafford, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Gonzalez, Kovacic, Mukasa, Reijnders, Bobb.

Gigi retains the gloves.

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

Rodders to start in defensive midfield and ahead of the 6’ 3” fella, I’m going for a slight tweak. Not because he’s just penned a new deal to keep him at the club until June 2031 but I just have a feeling that we’ll see Savinho start on the right today. I’m having Bernardo in central midfield, while Phil and Jeremy make up the rest of the attacking four.

Erling up front hoping to be the recipient of all that creativity.

James continues as reserve stopper; Rico, Nathan and John provide defensive cover from the side. Nico-G-, Mateo, Divine and Tijjani make up four midfielders in ‘the 9’, while Oscar gives us a change of wing option from the bench.

Notable absences:

-       Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Rayan Ait-Nouri – Continues to be absent having aggravated a previous ankle injury during his last outing on 31^st August. One source has estimated a possible return of around mid-October.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Out with an ankle issue. We were told on 23^rd September that the Uzbekistan international will be out for a few games. Exact return date unknown but I’m guessing that we’ll see the 21-year-old back on the training pitch very soon.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.

-       Rayan Cherki – Back in training working his way back to fitness following a torn thigh muscle injury. A likely return is around the end of October.

-       Omar Marmoush – Out with a bruised knee ligament issue. It is hoped that the Egyptian international forward will be back soon after the season’s second break in domestic football.

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

Yeah, mostly.

If I am correct with my predicted line-up; personally I’d go with Oscar Bobb on the right from the very start. Moving Bernardo from the right into central midfield is often a good move and a popular one with a lot of City fans; although Tijjani Reijnders might disagree with that.

As for the right-wing back position, if I was asked to vote who I’d like to see there of the FOUR who have played in that position for us so far this season then my “x” would go next to Khusanov’s name, from what I’ve seen of him in that position. Sadly, the lad is out and beyond that I’m sort in the territory of simply rolling a dice and going with whatever it lands on. 🤷‍♂️

Result?

I’ve said that this won’t be an easy game for us and that’s despite me flirting with the idea, in my season predictions piece just over a month ago, of The Bees being relegated this season. They’re probably about where I’d expect them to be in the table at this point and it could be argued that their two victories came at home against underperforming sides - Villa and, just last weekend, Manyoo.

But their league defeats, three in total, weren’t crushing ones and they held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at home as well. In addition, they may well have lost both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa in the summer but of the bottom 12 sides they’re joint-top scorers with 9 from 6 played. That tells me that they’re organised enough not to get easily rolled over and know how to counterpunch teams who dare to switch off.

Our manager himself said in Friday’s pre-match press conference that this is a tough place to go and, as I say, I think it’s another game not to be taken lightly. Any particular threats we can expect? Fast counters and dangerous set piece play seems to be their thing; Igor Thiago is a player we need to watch in particular, I would suggest.

Continuing the theme of, “beware”, I sent up the pre-match warning signals ahead of this same fixture last season (14^th January 2025) and, sadly, I was proven correct, as we let slip a 2-goal lead to suffer Brentford goals in both the 82^nd and 92^nd minutes; throwing away 3 points to share just 1 with the home side. We almost lost it towards the very end too.

I do believe that we’re not quite as soft this season so far but having said that, we do still have that tendency to want to gift the opposition the occasional goal and quite often, so far in this campaign, either fairly late on in the first half or at the very end of games.

At the risk of stating the bleedin’ obvious, we’ve got to cut that out. 😒 For a team that was boasting three clean sheets and just two goals conceded in five games played, we’ve now conceded three in the last two outings. It’s funny how things can turn around so very quickly in football, isn’t it?

I’ve mentioned anger when talking about at least one of our players, following our midweek draw, but I get the feeling that sense of irritation was felt throughout the entire camp and not just for one individual. With fire in their bellies and no fresh injuries to report, that should throw up some warning signs for our hosts too. 🚨

I’m going for an away win.

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: Unlike many parts of the UK, particularly in the north and west, West London was largely untouched by Storm Amy over the weekend and for the match itself, it’s a fairly pleasant late afternoon / early evening. 14 or 15C and dry with just a gentle westerly breeze is not bad at all for early October / autumn. Enjoy! 🌥️️🌭🍟🍺⚽

Solidarity

Momentum

A really good little run of results is in danger of become real momentum and if we can continue this form over the next two games, it’ll help bridge the gap between the injury list that we currently have to getting some important players back in contention.

This up ‘n’ coming international break, following this Sunday’s league fixture, acts as a double-edged sword for us on this occasion - on the one hand helping to pass time while recovering players progress further but at the same time interrupting our good run of form.

v AS Monaco

Stade Louis-II

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 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Doku_____________________________________Silva(C)

 

_________Reijnders_____________Foden____________

_____________________Rodri______________________

 

O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol_____________Dias(VC)___________

 

 

__________________Donnarumma__________________

Subs: Bettinelli, Trafford, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Gonzalez, Kovacic, Mukasa, Bobb, Savinho.

Gigi continues between the sticks.

I reckon a back 4, occasional 3, of Nico-O-, Kosko, Ruben and Matheus – a fairly steady starting back line at the mo.

Rodders to start? I could be wrong but I think with him being nursed and rested in recent days he may be asked to start this one IF the player feels okay to do so. Should the Spanish midfielder start I don’t think he’ll be asked to do much more than 45 minutes.

Ahead of Rodri is another fairly regular five of Jeremy, Tijjani, Phil, Bernardo, who returns to his previous club 8 years and 4 months on.

Eling up front completes that attacking five.

Two keepers on the bench come in the form of Marcus and James. No disrespect meant to Bettinelli in the slightest but I have to say that I am a bit confused as to why Stefan Ortega doesn’t appear to be considered as third-choice keeper behind Donnarumma and Trafford. I suppose he could be injured but I’ve scoured around for news regarding that and there is none. I’m left feeling that his manager was simply convinced that Stefan would find a new club in the summer and that he is now so far from his thoughts that Marcus Bettinelli is well ‘n’ truly considered to be our Number-3 stopper. Fair enough. In a bench of 10 (from a possible 12) we have three defenders in the form of Rico, Nathan and John; three midfielders in Nico-G-, Mateo and Divine and two wingers in Oscar and Savinho.

Notable absences:

-       Stefan Ortega – Not selected.

-       Rayan Ait-Nouri – Injured. The nature of the injury and length of time out is still unknown.

-       Abdukodir Khusanov – Out with an ankle issue. We were told on 23^rd September that the Uzbekistan international will be out for a few games. Exact return date unknown but I reckon we’ll see him soon after the international break.

-       Kalvin Phillips – Not registered to play in the Champions League.

-       Rayan Cherki – Back in training! 😀 However, having looked up this injury a while ago, the club will be keen to take it very slowly with the French attacker’s return because thigh muscle tears can be further complicated if you don’t allow it to fully heal and THEN take steady steps afterwards. Pep confirmed this to be the case in yesterday’s press conference; informing us that if the muscle rips once again the player is then likely looking at surgery and months on the sidelines. I think we could be looking at the end of October (Villa or Swansea away) which, thinking about it, was the original estimated return time.

-       Omar Marmoush – Out with a bruised knee ligament issue. Unknown return date but it will be a matter of weeks by the sounds of it; possibly returning either just before or just after the next international break in October.

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

Yep.

Result?

I don’t know much about our hosts if I’m being truthful, especially with regards to their players. That being said, I do understand that they are a side who like to dominate offensively through both patient build-up play / possession as well as rapid counter attacks. It could make for an interesting meeting.

The easy facts to tell you are that they sit 3^rd in their domestic league table with 4 wins and 2 defeats. They are top league goal scorers with an impressive 14 from 6 matches, the same as us from the same number of league games, but conceding 10 does suggest that when they do go marauding forward they tend to leave themselves exposed. Remind you of anyone – most certainly form last season? 🤔

As I’ve already said, we are on the verge of gaining proper momentum now and what has brought us to this point is pretty impressive. Since our last defeat, across three competitions our results looks like this: P5 W4 D1 L0 – F13 A2, with 3 clean sheets. Three clean sheets and only two goals conceded in five matches?! Is this our team I’m talking about? 🫢

If this one ends 0-0 I will be gobsmacked and, sadly, we could be looking at adding to those two goals conceded in recent matches.

I would say that if any side is capable of coming away with a clean sheet then it is us. However, I think they’ll be goals at both ends but IN the end I think it’ll be the away side that takes all the points. I’m going for us to nick it.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: After a lovely few days in the area, rain showers arrive in the region for both the build up to the match and the game itself. Nothing too heavy and while the sun is up it will make an appearance between the wet stuff. Temperatures remain a pleasant 19C throughout the 90+ minutes but with a ‘feels like’ of 21C. ☔😎🍷🥟🍺⚽

Solidarity