Blunt Blades v Inconsistent Citizens

As if predictions this season weren’t hard enough!

The week just gone…

So, as previously announced, I went away for a week but tried to keep in touch with ‘all things City’.

West Ham away, I managed to watch the whole game and…my word, we were so-very-poor in the first half! This came off the back of the Porto victory; a game I didn’t get to see but read reports of a very underwhelming City performance, despite the decent, 3-point start.

So, with those accounts of the midweek-game-just-gone still in my head as we kicked off at the London Stadium, I could almost-instantly tell that we [still] looked ‘off colour’. I feared the worst.

And…do you know when you’ve followed your club / watched your team for so very long that you can just SENSE what’s about to happen?

Well, I looked at a very flat-looking City side - one that was SO slow in their build up and were so poor in the final 3^rd as well as the opposition’s box – and I turned to my wife predicting that we would rue our missed chances against a side that, to me at least, looked like they were just WAITING for us to hurt them. Sure enough, and within 10 minutes or so of my ‘crystal ball moment’, Michail Antonio scissor kicked in the opener past Ederson, albeit from a debated and slightly-dodgy-looking handball in the build-up on the right.

We were a lot better in the second half…but a lot better from a low starting point, so still not great. We looked a little sharper and I did keep reminding myself that we had only-just played in the Champions League 2-½ days early, so perhaps allowances should be made for them appearing jaded.

But I think an added frustration, for me at least, was that if various players had made better decisions in front of goal in both halves and gone with their ‘first instinct’ rather than taking extra touches, we had enough chances to score another 3 or 4! That’s not fatigue, that’s a lack of confidence. But then again, our hosts had late second half chances too and I think that was a classic example of a much-deserved, ‘share of the points’.

So that’s an inconsistent start to the 2020-21 league campaign; a below-par performance but a win in our opening Champions League match and a contrasting game of 2 halves in London. What next?

Oh of course! An absolutely brilliant performance away at Marseille!

After the Hammers game and before our lads had travelled to France, I said to a mate in a text message that not only have we not looked like a Pep side but I think the manager himself needs to start picking ‘better 11s’ and try to put more ‘round pegs in round holes’. So, still on holiday, I was delighted to see the starting 11 on my phone an hour before kick-off.

I sort of had it down as a kind of…4-6-0 in my head and I’m sure it was a fluid system, as is often the case, but pundits later referred to it as a 4-3-3; with Ferran Torres right up front in the middle (I listened to the first half and watched a sometimes-buffering second on a small screen).

The selection & system worked a dream but it wasn’t just the shape of the team and very good individual performances, which we’ve been missing a lot of this season; the energy & sharpness was back! Our Gallic hosts just couldn’t cope.

Bringing us up to date…

And now we travel over the Pennines to face a side who look SO off colour and so-very-different from last season that it got a 20-minute or so debate-slot on one national radio station yesterday afternoon.

Sheffield United were never a high-scoring side last season but this season the goals really do appear to have dried up…and that’s despite splashing out £23.5M on 20-year old, England Under-21 international, Rhian Brewster from Liverpool. Just 3 goals in 6 league outings so far for The Blades and dumped out of the League Cup after scoring just 1 in ‘the 90’ before exiting via penalties at Turf Moor.

Are they ‘there for the taking’ then tomorrow afternoon? Well…IF we play like we did in Europe in midweek then I would say that there should be little doubt over the outcome. But there’s that word involving a side that can-still-very-much be classed as inconsistent this season…IF.

Read on…

v Sheffield United

Bramall Lane

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog-wise, was the Porto game: 9/11).

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:

______________________________________________

____________________Torres____________________

 

__Sterling_____________________________Mahrez__

__________________________De Bruyne___________

__________Gundogan___________________________

 

____________________Rodri_____________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

 

____________Laporte_________Dias_______________

 

 

___________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Cancelo, Garcia, Stones, Foden, Silva, Delap.

I was very tempted to suggest that all 11 ‘go again’ and although I haven’t, quite; I don’t think it’ll be all that different from our last outing.

Ederson has the gloves, of course.

Same ‘back 4’ – Oleksandr, Aymeric, Ruben & in-form Kyle.

Rodders the deepest midfielder; in-form also Ilkay just ahead of him and Kevin the most advanced / attacking central midfielder.

I think we might see Raheem revert back to the left [from last Tuesday] with largely rested [in midweek] Riyad on the right…and I think Ferran might get another go at-being the central focal point ‘up top’.

Zack is the reserve keeper; Joao, Eric & John are the defensive replacement options from the side. Phil might have to settle for a spot on the bench as a midfield change-option with Bernardo alongside him for the midfield / wing department. Surely, against Sheff-U, this would be a game to have the height option of Liam on the bench as a striker change, should it be deemed necessary. That’s what I’m going for.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Injured and no news on progress or a return date.

-       Nathan Ake – Making progress, apparently, but not ready for this game. Return date unknown.

-       Fernandinho – From the announcement of his injury the other week, he should be about 3 to 5 weeks away from a return.

-       Gabriel Jesus – Likewise, he is likely to be in contention in about a week to 10-days’ time.

-       Sergio Aguero – Making a less-speedy return from injury and still not near training with the rest of the squad.

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

Yep, happy with that.

Result? ‘Beware the wounded animal’, are the words in the back of my mind. I think, with the pressure they must-already be feeling, that they’ll give us a fight for sure.

However, in addition to what I’ve already said about our hosts, they also have a little unrest in the camp with John Lundstram kicking up a bit of a stink in recent days, apparently. That could leave a bit of a bad taste in the dressing room to add to their on-the-field woes.

‘On paper’, this should be an away win…and that’s what I’m going for. HOWEVER…we will have to show the same intensity we did in France the other day and be ‘up for the fight’ if we are to come away with all the points.

I think we ‘have our tails up now’ and, therefore I repeat; I’m going for a City win. Don’t let it slip lads…

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: Wet and REALLY windy! Gusts are forecasted to be around the 45MPH mark during the game so that ball really does need to stay as close to the grass as possible, I would suggest. The weather could well have an influence on the game and with rain falling on the pitch non-stop from late Friday night and right through the match, so could the pitch. At least it’s warm rain; 15C is the slightly odd, late October temperature…

Manchester City v Porto plus…

…a necessary blog announcement at the end of this piece.

v Porto

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 3-6-1:

____________________Aguero____________________

 

 

Sterling__________________________________Mahrez

 

__________Gundogan_________Silva_______________

 

__________________Fernandinho__________________

Ake_____________________________________Cancelo

 

______________Dias__________Walker_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Zinchenko, Garcia, Harwood-Bellis, Stones, Rodri, Palmer, Doyle, Bernabe, Foden, Torres, Delap.

Ed, of course, ‘between the sticks’.

A bit of uncertainty here with available & returning players but I’m going for Nathan to continue in a left-sided defensive role with Joao on the opposite flank. It worked last weekend and, so, I’m going for a central defensive pairing of Ruben & Kyle in-between Ake & Cancelo.

I think our new team Captain, Fernandinho, will get the deeper midfield role for this one; tucking back even further at times to act as a 3^rd central defender when the shape needs to shift ‘n’ shuffle a little.

Having an out & out striker back does now allow for our left-winger to be put back in place and, therefore, it would be an ideal opportunity to move Phil Foden back in from the left to his far more productive middle. However, ‘my gut’ tells me that the Spanish man in charge will pair Ilkay & Bernardo in the middle for this one…or is that just last night’s evening meal? Flanking those is likely to be Raheem & Riyad.

Sergio should get another start and will be, hopefully, on the end of all that creativity.

Zack is the reserve keeper; Oleksandr, Eric, Taylor & John the defensive replacement options from the side. I could be wrong there – if they’ve been secretly working Zinchenko hard in training to get his fitness levels up he could well be in ‘the 11’ instead of Ake. Rodders, Cole, Tommy, Adrian, Phil, Ferran & Liam are the midfield / wing / attacking change-options from ‘the 12’. That’s right, folks…TWELVE substitutions for this competition this season, with each manager able to bring on 5 over the maximum of 3 occasions. It’s a decision that was made to help ease player fatigue and with the fixture list as it is and will be all season (next season too from what I can tell); I for one welcome it for our players at least.

Notable absences:

-       Aymeric Laporte – Injured but, apparently, making good progress and a return is expected, “…in the next few weeks”.

-       Benjamin Mendy – Injured and a return of up to 4 weeks is a little longer than Aymeric.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – For Kevin, read Aymeric.

-       Gabriel Jesus – Not so long ago, we were told that the Brazilian forward would have to be managed very carefully so-as-to not aggravate a muscle problem at the front of one of his legs. Doing so would, apparently, risk us losing him for, “…months”. However, yesterday our manager said in his pre-match press conference that we could now see Gabriel return in a couple of weeks’ time.

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

If my predicted 11 is correct, I think that midfield does lack a little pace & urgency with both Ilkay & Fernandinho there. Personally, I’d go with Phil instead of the German but, other than that, I think it’s good ‘n’ solid with plenty of game-changers in our team. I’d like to see Ferran Torres get a go on the right - or left if not - at some stage if play allows.

Result? Being honest? In this crazy season so far, I’m finding it hard to predict domestic football so what chance do I have of ‘best guessing’ the outcome against a team I know nothing about, player-wise, and without doing research, which I don’t have the time for at the moment?!

Domestically, our visitors sit 2^nd in their table after 4 games that reads, D L W W. Their ‘for & against’ columns suggest that they are an attacking team but one that does get exposed at the back for being so; with a, F12 A6.

A high-scoring game then? Possibly. However, I think we’re getting things together at the back bit by bit and although they might breach us at least the once, I think we’ll score more than them. A home win in our first match of this season’s European campaign.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Not terrible but pretty "yuk". Drizzly / showery throught the match and with a bit of a south-westerly breeze. Temperature isn't bad though for an October evening, at 12C / 54F. Pitch should be 'well oiled' as it'll have been rained on most of the day too.

Blog announcement

Right…I’m going away for a week but the ‘when from & to’ will dictate if I'll be able to get a pre-match posting out.

·        There’s a very good chance I won’t be able to do one prior to our league game against West Ham United but then again, I might be able to. It’s a bit like that about whether I’ll get to watch the match…

·        I won’t being doing one prior to our next Champions League game away at Marseille and, if you’re at all interested, I should get to see this one.

·        There’s either no chance that I’ll be able to get a posting out ahead of our trip to Sheffield United…or there’ll be a very good chance that I will. Either way – again if you’re bothered 😊 – I’m very much hoping to watch this one, regardless.

Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read.

Manchester City v Arsenal

With little time between shifts at work, it's straight to a quick, pre-match blog posting…

v Arsenal

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 10/11).

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-6-0:

_______________________________________________

____________________Sterling____________________

 

___Torres_____________________________Mahrez___

 

_____________Foden__________Silva______________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Mendy___________________________________Walker

 

_____________Laporte________Dias_______________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Cancelo, Ake, Garcia, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Aguero.

Ed in net.

A strong-looking and exciting pairing of Aymeric & Ruben continue to build their partnership in the centre of defence, with Benny & Kyle either side of them, I think is the strong possibility.

Pep could go with a defensive pairing of Rodders & Fern in front of those but with the loss of such an attacking / creative influence in Kevin; I’m going for just one of those. Rodri is that man, I think.

Ahead of him, an attacking 4 or 5 – see that as you like – of Ferran, Phil, Bernardo, Riyad & Raheem; the latter as a “false” / makeshift striker.

Zack is the reserve stopper; a return to ‘the fold’ of Joao who makes up defensive replacement options form the side along with Nathan & Eric. Fernandinho, a returning Ilkay and possible, also returning, Sergio to make up the midfield / attacking options from ‘the 7’.

Notable absences:

-       Oleksandr Zinchenko – I dunno. Still injured? Just not selected for this one? No idea…

-       John Stones – For John, read Oleksandr…

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Came back from international duty with ‘an issue’. Apparently he might miss…”games” with it. Your guess is as good as mine as to how long that will be / what that means…

-       Gabriel Jesus – A muscle injury to the front of one of his legs appears to be more serious than, perhaps, first thought. If he is “risked” too soon, according to his manager, we could lose the Brazilian for a long time. Sounds like a good while on the side lines to me…

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

Yep.

Result? Is there any point in anyone predicting anymore? I’ll give it a go, of course...

I was leaning towards a draw; then a home win and then a draw again. With my hips & back now aching a little from all that movement, I’m going for a home win. A difficult, close game, I reckon...but 3 points to us.

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: Dull with a chance of some drizzle but nothing that will effect the game.

Predictions time.

With the main, Premier League transfer window now closed (apparently Premier League clubs can still acquire teams from the lower domestic leagues – good grief it’s complicated these days!), I’ve decided to take the international break opportunity to produce & release my annual, season prediction piece.

Firstly…

…I do seriously wonder why I’m bothering with this, this season, after such a crazy, CRAZY start! And it’s left me, amongst others, thinking that it’s becoming increasingly obvious just how much influence the home crowd appears to have over games; with so many unexpected away victories and other shenanigans. Games are now, effectively, being played in ‘neutral venues’ because of the lack of fans.

And then there’s the MAD scorelines in some of those away wins as well as other matches too!

Liverpool 4-3 Leeds United

Manyoo 1-3 Crystal Palace

Leeds United 4-3 Fulham

Everton 5-2 West Bromwich Albion

Leicester City 4-2 Burnley

Newcastle 0-3 Brighton & Hove Albion

West Bromwich Albion 3-3 Chelsea (with Chelsea 0-3 down after just 27 minutes)

Brighton 2-3 Manyoo (with the winning goal coming after the final whistle and after Brighton ‘hit the woodwork’ 5 times)

West Ham United 4-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Manchester City 2-5 Leicester City

Everton 4-0 Brighton & Hove Albion

Manyoo 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool…

…and then Leicester, who put 5 past us away from home, then lose 0-3 at home to West Ham United!

Seriously? I’m supposed to predict City-game-results as well as league & cup season outcomes after all of that?!

Secondly…

…here’s last season’s prediction posting and the results of (in those links).

And now…

…for this season’s crystal ball moment, starting with how I think the Premier League table will look on Sunday 23^rd May 2021, if indeed it does manage to finish on that date or at all for that matter...

1^st        Liverpool

-------------------------------------------------

2^nd       Manchester City

3^rd        Arsenal

4^th        Everton

-------------------------------------------------

5^th        Manyoo

6^th        Chelsea

7^th        Tottenham Hotspur

-------------------------------------------------

8^th        Leicester City

9^th        Leeds United

10^th      Wolverhampton Wanderers

11^th      Southampton

12^th      Sheffield United

13^th      Newcastle United

14^th      Aston Villa

15^th      West Ham United

16^th      Brighton & Hove Albion

17^th      Crystal Palace

-------------------------------------------------

18^th      Burnley

19^th      West Bromwich Albion

20^th      Fulham

Notable points about that predicted, final table of 2020/21…starting with us:

-       We have no keeper issues – I think we’ve got one of the best around in Ederson and Zack Steffen comes with many plaudits as his back-up. Scott Carson too is a very experienced ‘No.3’.

-       The defence, excluding the left-side, has been massively improved too! I don’t think you’ll find too many Premier League teams turning down the opportunity to have, in their ranks: Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Eric Garcia, John Stones, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Kyle Walker & Joao Cancelo. I think that quality and strength-in-depth can take a few short-term injuries & suspensions and still carry us through [extra] busy fixture periods.

-       And I would say the same about our midfield / wing department too - a list that includes, Fernandinho, Rodri, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Tommy Doyle, Cole Palmer, Adrian Bernabe, Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez & Ferran Torres; all of which has me putting a big ‘thumbs up’. However, I think we are going to miss David Silva – who wouldn’t?!

But I’m sure you know what’s coming…

-       How could we possibly allow ourselves to get into a situation whereby a top club vying for every trophy that comes our way goes into a new season with Benjamin Mendy as our main left-wing back and a non-left-wing back, in Oleksandr Zinchenko, as the main competition / back up to him? Apparently, so we were told, we would’ve had-to-have off-loaded Oleksandr before even considering bringing in improvement in that area and we either couldn’t or just didn’t, for whatever reason, do that. I do actually have serious doubts, though, about how hard the club was trying to off-load Oleksandr and then bring someone in for this position earlier on in the transfer window. Why? Well, from the outside at least, it looked to me that they were then-later ‘shocked into action’ as the season started; witnessing, as well all did, some more alarming displays from the French, left-sided “defender”. Result? Ooops…too late. Best case scenario? If Zinchenko largely takes over that position from the French nightmare and performs really well there, as he has done from time to time, OR, Nathan becomes our new, perhaps slightly less-attacking, left-sided defender; then I think we might be okay. We'll…‘get away with it’. Worst case scenario? The unreliability in that area goes on to disrupt the rest of the otherwise good defence; as they are forced to ‘keep one eye on it’ and shuffle over to compensate.

-       Moving on and further up the pitch - if you are reading this and you believe, on top of an array of attacking / creative midfield & wing talent, that we have enough ‘up top’ with an injury prone, aging Sergio; a slightly-injury-prone Gabriel who appears to suffer occasional confidence issues brought on by sporadic ‘game time’ and a 17-year old striker who has only just put one toe into the first team…then rest easy. If not, then be slightly concerned about a long season ahead that has had its fixtures squeezed together so tightly that you dare not blink! I’m sort of in-between…but definitely leaning towards the group of fans who believe that we should have brought in an additional, proven, quality striker. And, for me, that’s not JUST about having ‘the numbers’ in that department – by bringing in another striker we could then have the rest / rotation option on the left wing with Sterling & Jesus, just as we once had with Sane & Sterling; with new-signing Ferran Torres rotating on the right wing. Put another way, there’s room for another striker as WELL giving ‘game time’ to Jesus…it's just that'll be out-wide-left instead. Leaning that way, as I say; I think we’ve missed out once again there and it could come back to bite us.

-       Any doubts about our manager? I have heard some things recently worth considering from various sources from both City and non-City fans alike. And, slightly worrying for me personally, I have found myself…not exactly disagreeing with them at times. Has he reached his peak in this country? Has he-possibly not got the capability of counteracting the fact that, as it sometimes appears more & more lately, the opposition have worked us out? Is he sometimes too slow to change things in games and when he does; is he only 'tinkering' and intensifying his 'Plan A' rather then deploying a 'Plan B' or 'C'? I’m not entirely sure…but sometimes it does kind-a-feel like that. In fact, something I’ve been thinking more & more myself, recently, is that we are, in some ways, the architect of our own recent struggles. What do I mean by that? Well…much to our managers’ credit he has, with absolutely no doubt, changed for the better the way we play domestic football in this country. Unfortunately, so I increasingly believe, that has now been studied SO much by our rival managers that-they-are-now not only able to nullify us but are also now learning, quite astutely, how to use our own tactics to hurt us at the other end. Of course, time will tell on that theory as this season unfolds…

All things considered? That’s why I can see us retaining 2^nd place from last season (that’s me putting a nice, City spin on it). I hope and PRAY to be wrong…in the right way of course.

As for some notable points about the rest:

·         Despite a 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa recently (I can’t believe I’m typing that!), I just see Liverpool as still-too-strong; particularly in the creative / attacking department where they’ve improved even more in the window just gone! As a fan of a rival club, I truly hope they suffer 'post-season Champions syndrome’, as both we and other teams have in the past. In fact, I’m pinning some of my hopes on that very thing happening...and hope-also that we’ve just witnessed the start of it at Villa Park. If they do, then it’s our title to grab IF we can iron out last season’s silly & avoidable mistakes at the back and inconsistences in general.

·         I think Arteta will prove to be a calming influence over an Arsenal side that has improved its squad in key areas and whenever they have a wobble; I think he’s fairly quick to fix issues. That, I believe, will see ‘em with a very-creditable 3^rd. Everton look very dangerous in the attack as well as full of confidence at the moment. I think, however, that if some little doubts start to creep in when they, perhaps, don’t do so well against tougher opposition than they’ve faced so far; then with that slightly iffy defence & keeper of theirs, I think we'll see them ‘slip off’ a little over time. Still…I’m going for a very good 4^th-place finish by The Toffees this season.

·         Huh…then we have Manyoo & Ole. A team PACKED with attacking, threatening talent that was added to further in the final hours of the transfer window…but with a dodgy defence to say the very least that was hardly fixed with the introduction of attacking left-wing back, Alex Telles. All of this managed by someone with a previous management CV that even gave ME hope that I could get a top football management job! When it goes well for them – and it will – they look unstoppable and when they’re in that mode, it’ll be ALL PRAISE for Solskjaer and...‘look at ‘em go’! But when the wheels come of for a time – and they will – all the question marks that are never far away about the Norwegian boss with a scary ventriloquist puppet face, will re-emerge. All that taken into consideration, as well as the strength of the teams around them, should see them finish 2 places lower than last season’s 3^rd. When they’re good, they are very good but when they’re off, Chelsea look quite shambolic at times! Tottenham fans have a few reasons to be excited this season, for sure, but I think some of their main stars are so injury prone – as well as having a flaky, unpredictable manager – I think they’ll hit quite a few bumps in the long, fixture-packed road ahead. For Leicester, read Chelsea. But when The Foxes get stuck in a rut, Brendan Rodgers sometimes looks helpless to get them unstuck. They’ll batter mores teams this season and go on good form runs but I think, ultimately, they’ll fade over time, especially when Vardy inevitably breaks down or goes through another 'dry patch'.

·         A quick mention for Leeds – I could be well wrong here and they could easily finish in a Europa spot or higher! I just wonder, though, and despite bringing in 13 players, I think it was, whether they’ll find a long season at this level - their first season back - a little too much. If I’m right with a 9^th-place finish, that should be seen as a very good achievement…it’s just that Marcelo Bielsa won’t see it that way.

·         Fulham…huh, down again for me. West Brom? They have some attacking midfield / wing talent for sure but ultimately…I think they’ll go down. And I do fear for Burnley this season. If I’m right, I think they’ve lost better players than they’ve recruited. I think Palace look as erratic as ever with performances & results, either way, that 'baffle' at times. Brighton look both lively & decent whilst, at the same time, somewhat flakey too. West ham COULD do better than I’ve suggested IF they manage to keep David Moyes away from the club! For those who don't know, he is, or has been, in Covid-19 isolation and has watched his Assistant Manager pick up their only 2 wins of the season.

City and the cups.

Finally, here’s how I think we’ll do in the cups.

League Cup                -           Final and, therefore, possible winners again.

F.A. Cup                      -           Final and, therefore, possible winners.

Champions League     -           Semi-final stage.

With regards to the League Cup - with our manager’s desperate desire to both regain the Premier League and do better in the Champions League; I honestly thought he'd use a much-weakened side in this competition.

And, indeed, he did introduce a LOT of youngsters in our first round at home to just-relegated Bournemouth. These are very-much-talented youngsters, of course, but once we’d progressed to the next round; Pep then put together a side away at Burnley, which included far more ‘first teamers’.

So, I think now, if we get past Arsenal in the next round, we should stand a very strong chance of yet-another, League Cup final!

I think we’ll ‘go in quite strong’ in the F.A. Cup and then depending on the draws – and where those fixtures lie amongst other competitions – I think we’ll parking our team bus at HA9 once again.

As for the Champions League, I just don’t think we’ve strengthened quite enough to be there just yet…once again I'm sorry to say. ☹

To ‘sign off’…

…I think Covid-19 is gonna have another HUGE impact not only on my predictions but the season in general.

We’ve already seen the virus sideline two of our own, in Laporte & Gundogan; Sadio Mane very recently as well as others. And I think that’s a crucial factor in terms of predictions & team’s consistency – you could be ‘motoring along’ quite nicely when this ‘orrible infection hits and although the health of players and people in general absolutely comes first; that could very-well derail a team and finish their season in terms of either potential trophies at one end or relegation at the other.

I most certainly don’t want to end on that ‘dour note’ but I do think that’s what lies ahead for us football fans, whoever you may follow, in the season ahead...unless a proven vaccine can be sourced soon.