Pole position…but not without defensive issues

It wouldn’t be quite “City” if we did things the easy way, would it?

v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Molineux 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:

_____________________________________________

 

Sterling________________________________Mahrez

____________________Foden____________________

________De Bruyne_____________Silva___________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko______________________________Cancelo

 

___________Laporte___________Fernandinho______

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Egan-Riley, Wilson-Esbrand, Mbete, Lavia, Gundogan, Palmer, Grealish, Jesus.

Ed in net.

Unless our manager wants to chuck a youngster or two into the ‘starting mix’ then I can only see a back-4 that consists of Oleksandr, Aymeric, Fernandinho & Joao.

Rodders to ‘sit in’ / help defend as well as link up with the 5 attackers ahead of him, who I think will contain Raheem, Kevin, Phil, Bernardo & Riyad.

Zack is the reserve keeper and then with a combined age of just 56; Conrad, Josh & Luke make up the defensive replacement options on the side. Youngsters also, Romeo & Cole, join Ilkay, Jack & Gabriel as midfield / wing / attacking choices in ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.

-       Kyle Walker – Out for the remainder of the season with an ankle issue.

-       John Stones – Out for the rest of the season with a muscular / thigh injury.

-        Nathan Ake – Hasn’t recovered in time for this game; having struggled with a hip injury sustained at Leeds United. Despite being on the bench last Sunday against Newcastle United, our manager then admitted after the game that the Dutch international would be a major doubt for this one and may, presumably-instead, be ready for West Ham United this-coming Sunday. I suppose, therefore, he COULD stick him on the bench once again tonight but what would be the point? More recent news  / update on Nathan is that Manchester City are still…”sweating” on news about him-being possibly fit for tonight’s game (8:15pm KO BST). Sounds like a desperate / rush job to me; one that could backfire if they’re not careful…

-       Ruben Dias – Out for the remainder of the season with a muscle issue in an area close to where he recently had a hamstring problem.

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

Yes…but with a caveat that having ran his guts out last Sunday; I’d like to think there would be an opportunity, at some stage not too late on, to replace Kevin; possibly giving Cole a run out depending on how the game is playing out.

Result? L L W W L W L L L D is our host’s last-10 form – is it fair to say, inconsistent? Absolutely. Would be equally fair to say fairly poor also? I’d have to say, yes.

Wolves were flying at times this season and were a real surprise to me (more on that in my end of season predictions result piece). But come late February, still in winter and with the roads occasionally slippy; they hit a long patch of ungritted surface and have been struggling to steer the car ever since; occasionally getting to grips with conditions but then losing it again just as quickly. I’ve already used the word “surprise” in that sentence and it was a big one for me to hear their home fans boo ‘em off after crashing 0-3 when hosting Brighton & Hove Albion recently.

Scoring is often an issue for them – sometimes they bang in a couple; occasionally 3 and they’ve even registered a 4 in one of those wins listing in those 10 fixtures above. But they draw so many blanks too. Whilst not being an expert on the side from the West Midlands, I think their main strength continues [from their last manager] to be work rate / competitiveness and defensive / general organisation.

Yep…it’s another team we might have to hammer at ‘long & hard’ in order to break down.

It’s an understatement to say that we’ve got some serious defensive issues – putting it really bluntly, there’s only 2 out & out defenders in our back 4; with Fernandinho being a defensive midfielder by trade whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko is a converted wing-back from his usual role of attacking left-side midfielder / winger. Rodders is gonna have to try ‘n’ grow an extra eye in the back of his head in order to help the makeshift defence that stands largely behind him.

However, if my predicted 11 is correct, what an attacking 5 Wolves are going to have to contend with; especially as two of them were completely rested last weekend (Silva & Mahrez) whilst Foden only played the final 31 minutes.

If I were the Wolves manager, I’d be telling my forward players, at least, to target our Brazilian skipper as much as possible; testing his 37-year-old legs for pace and his powers of endurance. That could be an issue as the minutes tick by but the veteran does keep himself fit ‘n’ trim.

All things considered, I’m fairly confident of a win and once we get into our rhythm; we could end up smashing a few goals in once again too. It’s an away win for me.

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

Prediction: Draw

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: Dry and a little breezy. 12 / 13C is the game temperature. The grass, beforehand, will have had some considerable rain so it should make for a-naturally ‘zippy pitch’.

Any other news?

Well…according to BBC Breakfast Sports Presenter, John Watson, this morning, Liverpool’s 1-2 away win at Aston Villa last night put the Merseyside club back at the top of the Premier League.

I would suggest that he has another look at the league table and perhaps, in future, it would be a good idea to do so before coming out with such inaccurate comments.

Huh…and some people still suggest that there isn’t a media bias towards Liverpool…

Errrrm…oh yeah! We’re about to sign Erling Haaland for £51.2M!

 

Solidarity