- Arsenal 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion
- Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
- Manchester City ?-? Brighton & Hove Albion
After 7 games without a win, which included 6 defeats and 1 draw, our visitors, tonight, have only gone ‘n’ hit some flippin’ form with 2 back-to-back wins against top-4 contenders!
At least that should keep us on our toes; we can’t let them make it a hattrick of excellent results and this will be another test of our patience, ability to break down organised opposition as well as it being an assessment of our recovering energy levels.
Brief thoughts about our last 4 results…
Before we played the first of our 4, very testing and energy-sapping games, if someone had offered me a chance to-still be top of the league, go through to the Champions League semi-final without conceding a goal over both quarter final legs but exit the F.A. Cup by being beaten by just 1 goal…I’d have taken that without a second’s thought. Moving on…
v Brighton & Hove Albion
 |
| Etihad Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).
Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:
______________________________________________
Sterling__________________________________Mahrez
_________Foden____Gundogan____De Bruyne______
_____________________Rodri_____________________
Ake_____________________________________Cancelo
___________Laporte____________Stones___________
____________________Ederson____________________
Subs: Steffen, Zinchenko, Dias, Fernandinho, Grealish, Palmer, Silva, Jesus, Delap.
Ederson takes back the gloves and is likely to keep them for the remaining games now.
I can see a back-4 line-up of Nathan, Aymeric, John & Joao for this one.
Rodders is the deeper-lying midfielder and ahead of him is our usual, fluid, interchangeable 5 which, for this fixture, I can see being made up of Raheem, Phil, Ilkay, Kevin & Riyad.
Zack reverts to the bench as keeper cover; Oleksandr & Ruben make up the defensive replacement options on the side. Fernandinho, Jack, Cole, Bernardo, Gabriel & Liam are the midfielder / wing / attacking choices in ‘the 9’.
Notable absences:
- Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.
- Kyle Walker – Hasn’t recovered from a recent, twisted ankle and there was no news on a possible return date.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Firstly, the Dutch defender has been in good form whenever reintroduced into the side. Secondly, he’s not the biggest central defender in the league but Nathan certainly has more ariel ability than Oleksandr and that might be needed against a side containing some big players. Lastly, having, effectively, 3 central defenders on the pitch does allow them to ‘shuffle over’ on occasions to make ‘a 3’ whenever Joao decides it’s time to turn himself into an inverted wing-back / midfielder to bolster our attacking options even more.
Other than that, if we don’t start with Ruben tonight, I can see him being given 30/35 minutes in the second half depending on how things are going.
Also, I’ve decided to stick Cole Palmer on the bench purely going off Pep’s comment that, apart from Kyle, “…the other ones are better”. I could be wrong; he may just have forgotten about Cole when asked the question about the status of his players and the young, England attacking midfielder might still be receiving treatment for his long-term foot injury and slow recovery from.
Result? Wins do indeed breed confidence so I expect a south coast side rocking up at our ground with their collective chests sticking out proudly.
And it’s not just the two “shock” away results that they’ll be proud of; at Spurs in their last outing, they had 51% possession over the in-form home side, 7 more shots more than Tottenham and 5 on target to the Spurs’ 0. City beware.
I think it’s going to be interesting to see how we come out of the traps tonight – a side still rubbing its aching muscles & joints, to some degree; one that might still be licking its wounds also following a Wembley defeat to our only title rivals and perhaps a few nerves; as we find ourselves 2 points behind Liverpool going into this match. If any & all of that should happen, then I hope they can shake it off quickly because The Seagulls will no doubt smell any fear / vulnerability just like the sea-dwelling birds can smell chips.
It could be an edgy start and we might even go into the break on ‘level pegging’. I hope the home crowd keep their nerve and, furthermore, get behind the lads.
It’ll be a close affair but with just 2 trophies left for us to focus on and with a stronger 11 [than last Saturday’s] sure to start; it’s a home win for me and back to the summit of the table come 9:50pm, or there abouts.
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: Dry and decent. Of course, by the time we kick off (8:00pm BST) the sun will have almost disappeared and the temperature will start to drop from 13C to a mere 10C. That is gonna feel a little chilly with a steady, easterly breeze but it’s certainly not a bad night for footy if you dress appropriately.
 |
| Solidarity |
No comments:
Post a Comment