Players injured, players returning; a previously in-form Saints’ team looking to bounce back from a 1-0 home defeat to Stoke City verses a City side struggling to find traction.
What a tough one to call…
Chaotic feeling
It just doesn’t
feel right at the moment, does it? With a whole load of injuries including that
of ‘big players’; poor Pellegrini team
selection v Liverpool and a last-6 form in
all competitions that reads, W W W D L L / F:10 A:9;
long-standing City fans could be forgiven for saying that ‘City of old’ have
returned.
The fact that we
ARE, let’s not beat around the bush,
off-colour at the moment to say the very least and have still managed to qualify
for the Champions League knock-out stages, can still finish
top of our group in the European competition; are still in the League Cup and are just 2 points off the top of
the Premier League still keeps me well ‘n’
truly on the optimistic side of things. Other Blues, going off their various
on-line comments, are less so.
Is this the ‘new City expectation’ we’re seeing from some fans?
Those pessimistic feelings
from a section of Blues could be stoked even further with draw or worse at home to the South-coast side
this weekend; a game that’s going to test, to the full, our resolve under
depleted, difficult circumstances.
It’s a period of
doubt alright…and one we really need to start to ‘put to bed’ ASAP.
v Southampton
Predicted line-up,
subs and outcome.
4-1-4-1 come 4-5-1:
____________________Aguero___________________
______________Silva___________________________
___________________________Toure______________
_________________Fernandinho__________________
___________________Caballero___________________
Willy in net –
no option really.
Almost the same
back line as played in Italy in midweek but at home, Aleks likely to get ‘the
nod’ as the more attack-minded left-back.
It must be so
tempting for our manager to ease David Silva in very slowly following a lengthy injury
lay-off. However, we’re facing a team who is yet to be beaten away from home in
the Premier League; a well organised unit who have conceded just one more than
us. So…I think it’ll be ‘big guns out’ for this one and a midfield / wing five
that should send a shudder through any opposition. The last thing we need is to
be playing ‘catch up’ in this game; I think it’s got to be about hitting them
hard and quickly when they might be cold-to-start. Being at home I’ve gone for Fernandinho
being asked to be the mostly ‘sitting
man’; sweeping up anything that comes his way and helping in attack where
possible. The other 4? ATTACK!
Aguero to
continue his rehab on the pitch.
Strong bench,
if not a little lacking in defensive cover. Richard Wright gets a rare bench
outing and Gael Clichy is the only defensive cover (our manager might stick Pablo Maffeo and
/ or other EDS defender on there too but
this is what I’m going for). Fabian & Fernando to provide excellent
defensive midfield cover if we’ve done our early attacking work to good effect;
we then have pace, creativity and goals in Jesus, Kelechi and Wilfried.
Notable absences: Joe Hart (injured), Pablo Zabaleta (injured), Vincent Kompany (injured), Eliaquim Mangala (injured) and Samir Nasri (injured).
Result? In my mini, 8-game prediction recently I had this down as a tough game but a home
win. Now with injuries to the very heart of our defence in Joe, Vinny &
Eliaquim (although with the latter I’d go
with Nicholas every time) I nearly wobbled and changed it to a frustrating
draw.
But with David hopefully fit to start I think his sorely
missed presence will ignite Yaya,
Kevin, Raheem & Sergio and that we’ll get our ‘swagger’ back…and will
swagger all over Southampton’s midfield and defence. Despite The Saints having
key attacking players missing for this clash there might still be a few wobbles
at the back…but this is a home win for me.
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