Result first but I’d also like…

…to see a good performance from us this afternoon (12:30pm KO BST).

We were sloppy away at Aston Villa; Sevilla was no real test and was described by some as ‘a walk in the park’ for us and with wrong personnel choices in the starting 11, in my humble opinion, slowing the hell out of our attack and disrupting our rhythm against Dortmund last Wednesday night; I want 3 points, of course, but I’d love to see the right players being selected and our accurate passing, free-flowing football back.

v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Molineux

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 7/11).

Fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (possibly 2-7-1 at times):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Foden___________________________________Alvarez

_____________________________De Bruyne_________

___________Silva________________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Cancelo__________________________________Stones

_____________Ake_____________Akanji____________

 

 

____________________Ederson_____________________

Subs: Ortega, Lewis, Gomez, Dias, Phillips, Gundogan, Grealish, Palmer, Mahrez.

Ederson is the custodian of the gloves as well as our net.

I just can’t work out what Pep’s plans are going to be with our back-4 at this moment in time and I’ve almost given up trying to apply logical guesswork; just wanting to keep, instead, the same 4 that he picks in our previous outing. In fact, that’s what I’m gonna do and, so, it’s Joao, Nathan, Manuel & John in front of our Brazilian goalkeeper.

Rodders to ‘go again’ as the anchoring midfielder and this is both what I THINK Guardiola will go with as well as what I HOPE he does with the rest of the midfield, which is to go with Bernardo & Kevin in the middle with Phil & Julian flanking them.

Erling to top the lot once again before the international friendly break.

Stefan is the reserve stopper; Rico, Sergio & Ruben are the reserve defenders on the side. Kalvin, Ilkay, Jack, Cole & Riyad make up our midfield / wing options in ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

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

-       Kyle Walker – Very close to a return and he could make the match-day squad this afternoon. Following Pep’s pre-match press conference early yesterday afternoon, there was to be a further training session and assessment of the England international right-wing back before a final decision was made. I’m gonna guess that he won’t be risked in our last match before the break.

-       Aymeric Laporte – Continues to progress in training following a lengthy time out with a knee injury that he had surgery for but he won’t be ready for this fixture, according to his manager.

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

Although he’s rarely had a bad game when asked to play in the right-wing back role; it’s never sat very comfortably with me seeing John Stones in that position. I’d like to think that if we actively pursued Sergio Gomez to compete for the left-wing back position; with Kyle Walker just coming back from injury and being a doubt for this fixture then the Spaniard could start on the left; enabling Joao to move over to his natural position on the right. But hey…that’s just me.

Other than that, not only do a agree with the rest of that predicted starting 11, I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll see that very team selection, or similar at least.

Result? Our host’s league position doesn’t look too good when you first glance at the table but they’re a very tough side the break down – they’ve only conceded 4 goals in 6 league games and that’s the meanest defence in the Prem.

I’m not sure if we’ll face a back-4 or 5 today but either way, we’re sure to-also face an organised and packed midfield with the threat of counter attacks to be very wary of. Pep has quite-rightly said that if our attitude is off even ever-so-slightly this afternoon then we are likely to suffer for it.

Will their new signing Diego Costa play a part? I’ve heard everything from, ‘he’ll need a few weeks training to get himself match ready’ to, ‘he could make his debut against us’. I’ve got a feeling that he might make the bench and depending on what the scoreline is / how the game is progressing around the 60-minute mark; we could see the Brazilian born, Spanish international striker come on.

But, as I’ve already alluded to, if the right players are selected and we ‘sharpen up’ our passing and general play – along with that right attitude our manager referred to – I think we’ll ‘fly in the face’ of Wolves’ strong defensive stats and bang a few in this afternoon; regardless of whether or not they manage to break away and score at least once.

Like Crystal Palace, today’s opponents have been an occasional thorn in our side in recent seasons but I’m sticking with my confident feeling – it’s a vital City win heading into a fortnight’s domestic break.

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: Lovely day for a game of footy. It should be around 15C as the game kicks off; a forecasted top temperature for the day that’s set to last throughout the match. Dry with sunny intervals but in the shade and with a brisk north-westerly breeze, it might be advisable not to go ‘short sleaved’. Perfect conditions for the players to exert themselves for 90+ minutes.

Solidarity

Game on! I think…

Maybe just turn up anyway and see what happens…

v Borussia Dortmund

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 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Foden_____________________________________Silva

_____________________________De Bruyne_________

_________Gundogan_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gomez__________________________________Cancelo

____________Dias______________Akanji____________

 

 

____________________Ederson_____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand, Ake, Stones, Phillips, Grealish, Palmer, Knight, Mahrez, Alvarez.

Ederson continues in net.

I think we’re going to see the same back-4 that faced Sevilla in our last game, so that’ll be Sergio, Ruben, Manuel & Joao.

Rodders just in front of those and in front of him, an attacking quartet of midfielders / wingers in the form of Phil, Ilkay, Kevin & Bernardo.

Erling ahead of the lot of ‘em.

Scott & Stefan are the two reserve keepers in ‘the 12’; Rico, Josh, Nathan & John make up 4 back-up defenders on the side. Kalvin, Jack, Cole, Ben & Riyad are the midfielders & wingers waiting to come on; Julian is the reserve striker. I’ve stuck John Stones on the bench following his injury lay-off but the way Pep was talking about how well he looked in training; I suppose there’s a chance he could make ‘the 11’ instead.

Notable absences:

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

-       Kyle Walker – Still out injured with a muscular issue, I think it is, and will be missing for a week to a fortnight; with the countdown clock having started on 05.09.2022 (10-days ago now). There’s still no sign of him in training and, so, I’m guessing it’s gonna be longer than a fortnight and that he’ll miss our weekend domestic game as well as this European fixture.

-       Aymeric Laporte – Back in training and looking good, by all accounts! That’s earlier than was expected, I think, and that’s good news, of course! This game is far too early for the French born, Spanish international to make the bench and although his manager believes that we’re more likely to see a return post-international friendly break; we could see him on the subs bench on Saturday.

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

Sure do – in fact, I’d say that’s about our strongest available 11 right now; taking into account both those who aren’t ready to take part at all and those who are just returning from setbacks / aren’t ready to start a game.

Result? What do I know about our German visitors?

1.    When you look through their squad, they’re a side filled with a lot of talented & experienced players; especially in the midfield department.

2.    Their Head Coach doesn’t even turn 40 until October and is already on his 4^th job with the club; having previously filled the posts of Assistant Coach, Caretaker Coach and Technical Director.

3.    Their league record so far this season reads: Played 6, Won 4, Lost 2. For 8, Against 7.

4.    They like yellow. Wow do they like yellow! Their home strip is yellow tops with black stripes, black shorts and yellow socks. Their 2^nd strip is all back but the shirt, shorts and socks all have yellow trim to some degree, which is fair enough. And their 3^rd strip? Huh…take away the black stripes from the home shirt and both their 1st & 3rd strips are practically identical! What’s the point of that?! Seriously, have a look…

5.    They are, apparently, bringing 3,000 fans with them and if they do, it’s gonna be one hell of a noisy night at the Etihad; as they amass to create their “wall” at one side of the South Stand…yes, a yellow wall, of course.

I’m certainly not going to mention the various links we have with their ex-players and whether that’ll make any difference – God the press has squeezed the flippin’ life out of that one over the last few days!

What I will say is that I think they might score and if they score first; their experienced midfield in a side back-up by 3,000 very noisy fans could make it very difficult for us to break down. So…we just need to make sure they don’t score first then.

If they do breach our defence, I still think with that [predicted] starting 11 we’ll score more. It’s 2 from 2 for us in this season’s Champions League campaign; it’s a City win in other words.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Not too bad at all…but I’d still take a jacket or coat. It’s dry and 14 / 15C doesn’t sound too bad on the face of it for a mid-September game in England but there’s a bit of a north-westerly breeze that could cause a few shivers with the sun having-already set; especially as fans make their way home and the temperature continues to slide away.

Solidarity