All 30 players trained…
How on earth do I now try to predict, accurately, a
starting 11 & subs from that lot?! It’s a nice ‘mini
challenge’ to have though and a somewhat exciting one.
v West Ham United
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome.
Fluid
4-5-1 come 4-3-3 come 4-2-4:
____________________Aguero____________________
___________________De Bruyne___________________
____________Silva___________Fernandinho_________
____________________Caballero___________________
Notable absences: Claudio Bravo (not
selected), Bacary Sagna (not selected / just returned from 'a niggle'), Tosin Adarabioyo (not selected), Eliaquim Mangala (not selected and possibly close to a loan move), Fernando (not
selected), Samir Nasri (not selected and possibly close to a loan move), Jesus Navas (not selected), Yaya Toure (not selected), Wilfried Bony (not selected and possibly close to a loan move).
Huh…chuck in a few EDS players and that list
of ‘notable absences’ would make a pretty decent Premier League team in itself!
Willy to take his place between the sticks
once again, following a night off in midweek and before taking his place as ‘Number
2’ to new signing Claudio; who is just settling in following his move on
Wednesday / Thursday.
Manager favourite - and improved player - Aleks on
the left of defence (when he’s not darting into midfield or wherever else he might be
asked to go), Nicholas & John likely to be the centre-back pairing for this
one and for now at least and having
had 8-days off, we should see ‘Pablo senior’ on the right.
A familiar-looking 'midfield & wing 5' for
this one again I think – Nolito & Raheem to provide most of the width;
David, Fernandinho & Kevin most of the central passing & thrust.
All of these supporting an in-form Sergio up
front.
Now despite previously stating that those
players who were recovering from long-term injuries / regaining fitness wouldn’t
be available until after the up & coming international break / for the Manyoo
game; Guardiola did state yesterday that ‘all were fine’. So…
Likely to be making his last appearance at
the Etihad
this season at least and as a spectator
on the subs bench (or, more accurately,
expensive padded seats) is ‘our Joe’. Gael & Bacary to provide
the flanking defence / midfield support cover and we could well see ‘our skip’
Vinny as part of ‘the 7’ on the side (and is likely to get a small run out if
the situation at the time suits). Delph likely to survive the ‘everyone is fit
/ available’ scenario as a stable midfield back-up and he could well be joined
by two new signings yet to make their debuts; in the form of central & creative
midfielder Ilkay and attacking winger Leroy. Finally, in a talent-packed bench,
is Kelechi…and that’s despite crashing to the floor in spectacular style on
Wednesday night, which saw two Steaua Bucharest players dive towards the young striker
before several medical staff rushed to tend to the Nigerian. From where I was
sat, I honestly thought it was a ‘defrib moment’ and thank God it wasn’t of course!
Midweek reports suggested that it was a muscle issue; one site still has him down as injured with a ‘hammy’ and yet his manager has said that there are no
injuries going into this one…and so he gets on the bench as far as I’m
concerned.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted)
line-up?
Absolutely – who could
argue with that?!
Result?
There’s a little bit of ‘beware the
wounded animal’ about this one; after tomorrow afernoon's visitors were booed off the pitch
by their own fans at the London Stadium last Thursday for being both beaten on the night and
knocked out of the Europa League at such an early stage.
However, as I previous alluded to The Hammers
have the joint-highest injury list in the Premier League at
the moment (although robust midfielder Mark Noble might
be fit to take part) and some of those absent are big, ‘sure starters’ & 'game changers' too.
That…the fact that they've only had 2-1/2 days to rest & prepare for their trip to Manchester; that our players have 'hit the ground running' / look to have quickly taken
on Pep’s ethos & playing style AND, in complete contrast to West Ham, have
everyone available to select from; I couldn’t be going into this home game with
more confidence of a home win.
There’s not even any sign of that ‘old City feeling’. If you are of a certain era you’ll know the one - “This is the sort of game, then, where
we’ll muck
it up
/ shoot
ourselves in the
foot; a missed opportunity of 3 points and a good goal difference".
Instead, this one could even be a crackin’ day at the office / big win…
Expected weather conditions during
the game: No need to water the pitch after a forecasted 26 hours of
constant rain; some very heavy (with occasional
sunshine) which is supposed to end sometime around kick off.
From that point on – and in sharp contract – the sun is supposed to be making more of a permanent appearance (so take those sunglasses with you!) with temperatures a reasonably-warm 66F with a light, North Westerly breeze.
You might FEEL like taking a coat for your ‘journey to’ but might then regret it as the game starts…
From that point on – and in sharp contract – the sun is supposed to be making more of a permanent appearance (so take those sunglasses with you!) with temperatures a reasonably-warm 66F with a light, North Westerly breeze.
You might FEEL like taking a coat for your ‘journey to’ but might then regret it as the game starts…
UPDATE ON THE WEATHER - 28th August 2016: What a rubbish weather forecast from the BBC that was...
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