…as we ‘hit the road’ for the first of four away games (all of ‘em far down south too!) in our next five fixtures…pandemic permitting of course.
Firstly, just a few point-opinions about our last, thrilling game…
1. I thought we were absolutely EXCEPTIONAL in the first half; 45 minutes or there abouts where 4 goals could easily have been 6 or more!
2. In the second half, their first goal was simply a case of us [still] pressing SO very high and Leicester being SO fast ‘n’ clinical in ‘counter attacking play’ that they simply bypassed and undid us.
3. However, their second was definitely down to some sloppiness on our behalf; some awful decision making / passing with a sprinkle of arrogance too, I believe, and our high-energy visitors simply pounced on the gifted opportunity.
I think that should have been an ‘alarm call’ to both the players and our manager and I mention the latter in particular because I noticed, in the second half, that Oleksandr Zinchenko had clearly been given instructions to press-on even MORE [than he/we did in the first half] and was playing further forward in that…‘inverted wing-back’ role; practically leaving us with just two, very exposed defenders in Dias & Laporte; as Cancelo was largely on the offensive too.
Just on Cancelo briefly though - I thought he had another very good game both defensively – with 2 or 3 excellent tackles in the first half in particular - as well as going forward.
4. Their third goal came from another counter attack, this time from our corner and while we managed to get players back and slow-down that particular assault; we saw Ederson make another terrific save (he had another excellent game despite conceded 3) from a crackin’ shot, which unfortunately then fell to a Leicester player’s feet who-then simply ‘tapped in’. That happens.
5. That most certainly woke us up from our apparent dazed ‘n’ confused state and, so, we pressed again and put the game out of reach with two more goals to make the final score 6-3. Yet still, before the final whist blew, both teams had chances to score 2 or more each. A crazy game - one, which, Pep referred to as, “Weird”.
Speaking of our manager – and it may seem strange to go anywhere near a critical comment after scoring another 6 goals that sees us with just 1 defeat (RB Leipzig away) and 11 wins in 12 games – but I thought he was slow to change things…and perhaps even a little arrogant (there’s that word again).
At 4-2, I believe he should, at the very least, have instructed Zinchenko to be a little more reserved in his forward play; perhaps Cancelo too. Oleksandr isn’t the best at defending (that’s a position we still need to look at soon) but with Leicester having changed their system and showing extra ‘zing’ after the break; the Ukrainian needed to be more guarded and help his defensive colleagues more.
I’m also of the opinion that it was time for some slower, tired-looking Manchester City legs to be replaced at that stage too. I also heard another Blue on the radio after the game question why, once we’d gone 5-3 up, we didn’t take the opportunity to withdraw another couple of players and give another two a ‘leg stretch’, with our next fixture just 3 days later. I tend to agree.
As God like as he is to so many football fans, myself included, he can sometimes have those strange, ‘head-scratching moments’; occasions that can sometimes – as it almost did last Sunday – be our undoing.
Little niggle-whinge over…
 |
| Brentford Community Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).
Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:
_______________________________________________
_____________________Jesus_____________________
Foden___________________________________Mahrez
_________De Bruyne_____________Silva____________
____________________Gundogan__________________
Zinchenko_______________________________Cancelo
______________Ake_____________Dias_____________
_____________________Ederson___________________
Subs: Steffen, Wilson-Esbrand, Laporte, Mbete, Fernandinho, Palmer, Grealish, Kayky, Sterling.
There are SO many doubts surrounding many of our players ahead of this game that I feel like putting all of the players names in a hat and drawing them out randomly!
- Kyle Walker is still to be seen training with his teammates having been ill / not deemed fit for quite a number of weeks now.
- John Stones was also missing from training ahead of this fixture and having not been in the match-day squad at all in our last outing with an apparent ‘knock’.
- Also missing from last Sunday’s clash was Rodri and he too hasn’t been seen preparing for our visit to the home of ‘The Bees’.
And if all of that wasn’t enough to leave us scratching our collective heads, both Joao Cancelo & Oleksandr Zinchenko were also missing from photographs taken of the outside training sessions yesterday; leading me to believe either that they were, perhaps, being given lighter coaching sessions inside / are being rested a little more or they-themselves have finally succumbed to either injury or illness.
Ederson has the gloves.
I’m going to have to assume that both Oleksandr & Joao are okay and just needed to be treated a little more tenderly than some of their playing colleagues and will flank our central defenders. With Ruben just one yellow card away from a 1-match suspension (Rodri & Silva too when I looked it up to check) I was tempted to suggest that he may be rested for this game ahead of our New Year’s Day away trip to Arsenal. That may well be the case but with Laporte also in need of a rest, I would suggest, and with him preferring to be on the left-side of central defence; I’m going with a pairing of Nathan & Ruben for this one.
I think Ilkay will be asked to play ‘the deeper role’ in midfield and ahead of the German international, I’m going for our fluid, interchangeable 5 to come in the form of Phil, Kevin, Bernardo, Riyad & Gabriel; giving the very-much-inform Raheem a rest tonight, I would say.
Zack continues to be the reserve keeper; Wilson-Esbrand to provide some sensible cover as left-wing back and is joined by defensive colleagues, Aymeric & Luke. Fernandinho, Cole, Jack, Kayky & Raheem make up the midfield / wing / attacking personnel in ‘the 9’.
Notable absences:
- Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.
- Kyle Walker – Still not fully match fit following an illness. Unknown return date.
- John Stones – Injured with ‘a knock’. Unknown return date.
- Rodri – Similar to Kyle, it appears to be the case that Rodders has been ill recently and may not be fully match fit either. Unknown return date.
- Ferran Torres – In Spain having had a medical ahead of his January transfer.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
It does leave the whole left-side of our defence a little less secure than it would do if, say, Cancelo & Laporte were ‘in there’. However, I can understand the reason for that predicted change and the rest of the side looks absolutely fine to me.
Result? This is a game I’ve marked on my calendar as one I am looking forward to watching; the reasons, which, I put in my pre-Community Shield piece way back in August. It would be ironic, therefore, if I don’t get to watch it and there is a small chance of that happening… ☹
Our hosts have LOADS of players with physical injuries going into this game, as well as an illness or two, and to make things worse; most of those out are defenders. The rest includes their goalkeeper, who started in net for their first nine league games of the season, and at least four form their midfield department.
But they are a side who ‘dig deep’ and battle for everything and although their recent form may look a little erratic (W L D W L); that combative nature and ‘never say die’ attitude does get them results.
I like ‘em and I like listening to their manager speak too.
If we have got a little disruption of our own through injuries & illness – perhaps more than my predicted starting 11 suggests – then it could upset our balance & rhythm. I can, in fact, see the home side scoring and we’ll need to match them, at the very least, for effort; regardless of whether they find the back of our net or not.
I expect a hard contest to a point…but I am going for a City win. In fact, if their many defensive injuries take their toll tonight then we could see another big scoreline in the end.
3 points to ‘The Blues’.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result…
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game: What the heck is going on with the weather?! A night-time kick-off at the end of December should look something like 0C and a chance of snow. Instead, it’s forecasted to-not-drop below 14C (that’s just 2C off-being 61F!) with nothing falling from the sky! Perfect playing conditions and nice for the fans too. Parts of the country, we are told and if you’re interested, could reach 18C on New Years Eve / New Years Day…
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