Top of the table!

The form table, that is…and it’s our Friday night visitors, Wolves, I’m on about.

Okay, so their excellent run of back-to-back wins (6 in total) were all against sides in or around the relegation zone. However, winning breeds confidence and theirs must be sky high at the moment. Prior to those half-dozen wins were a couple of 1-1 draws too - their last defeat was way back on 25^th February!

Yes Blues, it’s yet ANOTHER in-form team we have to try ‘n’ get all-3 points from…

v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).

A very fluid 4-2-3-1 / 4-6-0 (occasional 3-7-0):

_________________________________________________

____________________Marmoush____________________

 

_______Gundogan____De Bruyne______Silva__________

 

______________Kovacic____________________________

____________________________Gonzalez_____________

 

O’Reilly_____________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol________________Dias____________

 

 

_____________________Ederson_____________________

Subs: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Khusanov, McAtee, Foden, Doku, Grealish and Savinho.

It sounds to me like we’ll see Ederson back in goal.

A back-4 is likely to be Nico O’Reilly, Josko, Ruben and Matheus.

In and out of the side since his arrival purely as a result of his manager’s team selections; I think we might see Nico Gonzalez start tonight but I’m prepared to be wrong as I was for our last outing. If I happen to be right, Mateo to give the Spaniard some company in the heart of our midfield.

A trio of Ilkay, Kevin and Bernardo ahead of that pair and all behind Omar up top.

Stefan returns to the bench to provide keeper insurance; Rico, Manuel and Abdukodir make up three defenders on the side. James and Phil are just two midfielders in ‘the 9’, while Jeremy, Jack and Savinho give us three wing options from the bench.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – Out with a thigh injury for anything up to another week, going off the initial assessment and timescale information given. His manager said on 18^th April that John was getting better.

-       Nathan Ake – Recovering from a fractured foot, for which he has had surgery and, just like John, his manager said on 18^th April that Nathan was getting better also.

-       Vitor Reis – Not selected.

-       Rodri – Continues to train on his long journey back to fitness following an ACL injury last September. On 25^th April, his manager confirmed that he was no longer training alone but was back with his teammates (not sure from what date – it could have been a few weeks earlier but regardless…👍).

-       Oscar Bobb – Injured with an almost inevitable hamstring issue, following a long injury layoff with a fractured leg. Apparently the problem is only minor and he may be in contention to join a matchday squad before the end of the season. I continue to believe that it’s more likely he’ll return just in time for the Club World Cup in the summer – I’ve said before, there’s no point in rushing him at this stage of the season and with the wing options that we have at our disposal.

-       Erling Haaland – Back in partial training with his teammates following an ankle injury he received on 30^th March. His manager said on 1^st May that he hopes Erling can step up to full training soon and, not long after that, be in contention to take his place in a matchday squad before the end of the season; including the possibility in the F.A. Cup final.

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

Yep.

Result?

I’ve applauded our visitor’s 8-game unbeaten run but it’s worth noting that in those 8 matches they only managed to keep three clean sheets so they can be got at.

I’ve got to admit that I’ve not even been watching any Wolves’ highlights particularly closely but if lower-table sides can score past ‘em then surely we can pop a few in tonight.

Their main danger man that we have to be very aware of, especially in fast-breaking counter attacks, is 25-year-old attacking midfielder / winger / forward, Matheus Cunha. The Brazilian international has 15 goals and 6 assists in the league this season. They also have 6’ 4” Norwegian forward, Jorgen Strand Larsen, who has 13 goals and a couple of assists in the same competition.

I think there will be goals at both ends and I say that despite us keeping four clean sheets in our last six fixtures. There’s definite improvement in our defence and midfield work rate; both areas that are producing results in that area of the pitch.

There could be a few nerves around if we allow Wolves to score first but regardless of how the match ebbs and flows, I’m going for us to come out on top. It’s a home 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: Another beautiful evening in the area which sees the match start off with unbroken sunshine; albeit very low in the sky for this 8:00pm KO. Temperature starts off at 16C but as clear blue skies turns to clear black, that heat nosedives and by the time fans are exiting the stadium, we’re down to just 13C, so if you have a long walk then a light jacket might still be advisable. As for the playing conditions it’s perfect. ☀😎🌜🥧🍺⚽

Congratulations to our Under-18s who won their league in dramatic style last Saturday.

 

Solidarity

Could it be any closer?

Both sides sit just 1 point away from each other in the league table; both have won 18 and lost 9 and the goal difference is only 9 apart after a near-full season.

Both teams also go into this match on the back of a league win last time out.

It could be ‘flip a coin’ time when trying to predict the outcome of this one…

v Nottingham Forest

Wembley

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 7/11).

A very fluid 4-2-3-1 / 4-6-0 (occasional 3-7-0):

_________________________________________________

____________________Marmoush____________________

 

_______Gundogan____De Bruyne______Silva__________

 

______________Kovacic____________________________

____________________________Gonzalez_____________

 

O’Reilly_____________________________________Nunes

__________Gvardiol________________Dias____________

 

 

______________________Ortega_____________________

Subs: Carson, Lewis, Akanji, Khusanov, McAtee, Foden, Doku, Grealish and Savinho.

Stefen has the gloves.

A back 4 of Nico O’Reilly, Josko, Ruben and Matheus is my guess.

Our manager could well choose not to pick Nico Gonzalez to start this one; a player who has no experience of playing at Wembley in a squad of players who have lots of experience of playing at the ‘Etihad of the South’. However, I’m going for our boss to show some common sense and play a fella he brought in to protect a defence that is vulnerable to fast counter attacks. The 23-year-old Spanish international to start alongside the slightly more advance Mateo.

Ilkay, Kevin and Bernardo further up in attacking midfield positions and all behind Omar as a lone forward.

Scott is reserve stopper; Rico, Manuel and Abdukodir provide defensive cover. James and Phil make up two midfielders on the bench, while Jeremy, Jack and Savinho give us three wing option in ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

-       Ederson – Remains out with a groin / pelvic / hip injury but it sounded like a return to the matchday squad was a possibility for Friday 2^nd May.

-       John Stones – Out with a thigh injury for anything up to a further 10 days, going off the initial assessment and timescale information given. His manager said on 18^th April that John was getting better.

-       Nathan Ake – Recovering from a fractured foot, for which he has had surgery and, just like John, his manager said on 18^th April that Nathan was getting better also.

-       Vitor Reis – Not selected.

-       Rodri – Continues to train on his long journey back to fitness following an ACL injury last September. On 25^th April, his manager confirmed that he was no longer training alone but was back with his teammates (not sure from what date – it could have been a few weeks earlier but regardless…👍)

-       Oscar Bobb – Injured with an almost inevitable hamstring issue, following a long injury layoff with a fractured leg. Apparently the problem is only minor and he may be in contention to join a matchday squad before the end of the season. More likely is that he will return in time for the Club World Cup in the summer, I would say. There’s no point in rushing him at this stage of the season and with the wing options that we have.

-       Erling Haaland – Following an ankle injury he received on 30^th March, it was confirmed on 25^th April that Erling had switched solo gym work for ‘boots on’ training alone outside, as he continues to make good progress.

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

Yeah.

Result?

I rarely, if ever, go into this much predicted match detail but I can sort of see how this one is gonna pan out.

I think it’ll be a close affair with very few good changes for either side. We’ll have far more possession but they will be faster and more dangerous on the breaks. This tight game could result in it being 0-0 after 90+ minutes but, equally, 1-1 is quite likely too.

Either way, I can see it going into unwanted, energy-sapping extra time and then it’s a case of who is the fittest; who will dare to overload and push for a winner and who can hold their nerve.

Penalties? That’s a decent possibility too and one scenario that travelling fans, who are due in work or school on Monday morning, won’t be relishing.

Trying to apply some footballing logic to it – both sides did indeed have morale-boosting wins in their last fixtures; one, for Forest, to arrest a little blip and settle some nerves and a crackin’ victory for us to maintain recent upwards momentum.

On that basis alone, I’m going for us to just about nick it; whether that be in ‘the 90’, the ‘extra 30’ or by penalties. I’m going for City to book their place in the final to face Crystal Palace on 17th May.

Quite understandably, in my opinion, there may well be less City fans in the stadium due to around 5,000 of our allocation remaining unsold but…MAKE SOME NOISE BLUES!

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: A crackin’ day for a game of footy at Wembley. 21C (70F in old money) with some sunshine. Perfick. As is often the case, it’s highly likely to be closer to the mid-70s Fahrenheit inside the ground so…enjoy! 🌤😎🍺🌭⚽

Solidarity