I know it’s almost a cliché but that ‘car crash’, ‘bad night at the office’ performance against Wigan last Monday night just might give us an extra level of determination against Arsenal in the League Cup Final tomorrow afternoon.
Well done to Wigan for a dogged display and victory…but shame on the percentage of antagonistic Wigan “supporters” who goaded the away fans rather than just celebrate their fine victory and progression to the F.A. Cup quarter final. Shame on our host club also for not ensuring that there were nearly enough Police and/or stewarding…or that they were all in place in time at the end of the game.
In my opinion, action needs to be taken against both identified “fans” and Wigan Athletic FC…but I’m guessing neither will happen to satisfaction.
Long-standing City fans will know what I mean when I say that not long into that game, it just ‘had that feel’ of a game that wasn’t going to go our way, no matter what we tried or what personnel was chosen in ‘the 11’ against the League 1 side. Slightly off passing, a bagful of missed chances and a sending off all sounded the alarm bells as the result became almost inevitable for those with the same ‘City spider sense’ as I have developed over the many years.
I know I said that I probably wouldn’t be doing a pre-final Blog posting but following one, very sad family loss in midweek; we received a little respite regarding another matter yesterday and, SO, it’s given me a little time to focus on tomorrow's game.
v Arsenal.
 |
| Wembley |
However, no further waffle and straight to
it with a predicted line-up,
subs and outcome:
(Number
correct from starting line-up in the last game: A really poor, 5/11).
Fluid 4-5-1 / 4-1-4-1
/ 4-3-3:
____________________Aguero____________________
__________________Fernandinho__________________
_____________________Bravo___________________
As it
has been throughout this competition, it’s Claudio who has the gloves for this
one.
With our choices at left-back reduced, to some degree, I think we’ll see
Pep selecting Oleksandr for this one and why
not; he’s performed very well at home and in the Premier League, as much as I’ve seen him anyway. Nicholas a certainty to get his
place back for this game...and would it be a risk to put Vinny in there alongside him?
I think it is. We could lose him early on; upset the side and use-up a sub too
early. But I can see out manager giving him this one for several reasons and if
he can stay injury free and is ‘up to speed’ on a big pitch then that partnership can be a
flippin’ good one in the heart of our defence. Kyle on the right of those.
Fernandinho to act as his usual anchor in front of those; both ‘helping
to protect’ and 'offering support' of colleagues ahead of him. He's been immense and 'key' to us this season.
Those ahead of him are likely to be, Leroy, who often seems to take his time
to ‘bed back in’ following injury and, which, is proving to be the case again
in recent weeks, I think. However, I think Guardiola will want him on the left
flank for this one and with space to exploit. Over on the other side – and despite talk of a doubt due to
a muscle niggle – is likely to be Raheem. I don’t believe for one second that he has an issue
and, instead, I think he has been given some ‘fine tuning’ lessons by Pep and his
team behind the scenes ahead of this one. In between those is
probably one of the best midfield ‘combos’ in the world. Let’s hope the 'David
& Kevin show' is in full flow on Sunday!
Ahead of those is, of course, Sergio. Shooting boots on fella!
Ederson steps aside and to the side for this game and I think we’ll only
see Danilo & Aymeric as defensive change options from the bench. Why?
Well I just think that Pep will want to put as many 'game changers' on the bench
as possible and, for that, I’ve gone for Phil, Ilkay, Bernardo & the returning
Gabriel (I nearly went for Brahim ahead of Phil but Jesus fills that role option from 'the 7').
Notable absences: Benjamin Mendy (continues
rehab following injury / surgery) John Stones (not selected / doesn’t appear
fully ready following time out with injury & illness) & Fabian Delph (suspended for the first of 3 games).
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted)
line-up?
No. If you want to be
serious about winning things – especially
at this stage…a FINAL – then you pick your best-available players. Ederson is our
best keeper.
I’m not saying that Claudio
has done anything wrong this season – and I know we have another ‘loyalty
factor’ situation with regards to our keeper choice for another final – but I
think I’d struggle to find one City fan who didn’t believe that our Brazilian is
FAR better than our Chilean and not only that, but…actually improves the
confidence of our team’s back-4 too.
And, no again. I’m not
sure I would risk Vinny from the start – a player who will, no doubt, play out
of his skin with pride in possibly his last-ever, domestic final for Manchester
City and who, therefore, runs the
risk of overstretching early on, as we’ve seen him do so many times before ‘for
the cause’. I’d stick Laporte in there and have ‘our skip’ on the bench.
Other than that, I’m
so very happy, as Pep would say…
Result? There’s
no doubting that our opponents have quality players and ones that can inflict
damage if the opposition isn’t on their ‘A game’ and they have added a certain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to their strike force too (played 2 scored 1
so far for this new club). They have a manager too with
plenty of experience in this country and of domestic finals in our ‘green &
pleasant’.
But, similar to Leicester
and Chelsea of late, you just
don’t know which Arsenal you’re going to get – one that can be devastating in
their passing and attacking threat or one who looks disjointed in midfield and
so very fragile at the back. They’re not well & truly outside of the ‘top
5’ and 27 points behind us in the league, in February, for nothing…
Of course it’ll be tough and I recon they’ll
score…possibly twice. But I can just see us ‘turning it on’ big time tomorrow
afternoon / early evening and coming away with Pep’s first trophy in England. A
City win.
Last season’s,
corresponding pre-match prediction and result…
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during
the game: What a lovely day for a game of footy…if not a little cold for the seated fans. Unbroken sunshine, 4 or 5C and with a nagging & cutting, 13mph, Easterly wind.
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