…a little something extra to this fixture, for sure.
In addition to that - and despite two wins in our last two outings - I think it’s fair to say that we’ve not been quite ‘on it’ as we have been in our recent, excellent run of games and victories.
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| Etihad Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11)
A very fluid 3-2-4-1 / 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:
____________________Haaland____________________
Grealish___________________________________Foden
_________Gundogan___________De Bruyne_________
_____________________Rodri______________________
Ake______________________________________Stones
____________Dias_______________Akanji___________
____________________Ederson____________________
Subs: Ortega, Lewis, Walker, Laporte, Phillips, Silva, Palmer, Mahrez & Alvarez.
I think we might see a couple of new midfield starters Saturday afternoon – players who are returning from different medical issues and, who, haven’t featured at all or very much in the last couple of fixtures.
Ederson, I’m guessing, to return to the starting-11…although we could-well see Stefan retain his place ahead of our Champions League match on Tuesday night in Spain. There’s a lot of testing / resting players, at the moment, ahead of a crucial period of the season.
I believe we could see a more-familiar fluid back-3 / 4, which will consist of Nathan, Ruben, Manuel & John; the latter joining the midfield on occasions to combat a sure-to-be compact Leeds center.
Kalvin to start in order to give Rodri a bit of respite? It’s a possibility. However, I’m going for the Spaniard to start, once again, ahead of the England international but if I’m right; I expect Rodders to be withdrawn as soon as is possible.
The two midfielders that I was alluding to are Kevin & Phil and, once again, if my prediction is correct; they will join Jack & Ilkay across the middle.
Record-breaking Erling to start once more.
Stefan could well be our back-up keeper; Rico, Kyle & Aymeric to provide defensive cover from the side. Kalvin, Bernardo, Cole & Riyad are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’ and Julian is our reserve striker on the bench.
Notable absences:
- Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.
- Sergio Gomez – Not selected.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Yep.
Result? I very rarely, if ever, try to predict a possible formation that our opponents might send out in my pre-match blog-postings but I’ve just got a ‘gut feeling’ that our visitors might deploy a 5-5-0 against us…or, at the very at least, a 5-4-1 on Saturday afternoon (3:00pm KO BST). Either way, expect a number of navy & yellow or black & orange walls for us to try ‘n’ break down, Blues fans.
Nothing new there, I hear to ask, and you’d be correct. However – and I hope I’m very wrong here – I just get the feeling that it will come with an added dose of ‘hatchet work’ on our players.
Double-thick shinpads perhaps needed…and take heed Jack Grealish!
As I say, I hope I’m very wrong there because that’s the last thing we need at this stage of our campaign plus, I want to point out, I’m not for one second suggesting that their latest manager WILL send them out to do just that. 🤞
I think this one could be a toughie. Could…in terms of breaking down a side with a new manager at the helm hoping to galvanise a vary-much-struggling team. Then again, we could find ourselves severely-adding to the woes of a side who conceded a whopping 23 goals in just 7-league outings during April!
Patience and support from the crowd will be needed; hard work, determination and professionalism not to rise to any possible provocation will be the key for the players.
I’m going for a City win.
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: It’s mild for sure, at 14 / 15C, but it comes with showers. A light, southerly breeze accompanies all of that but nothing that will affect the match-play and, in fact, the light ‘wet stuff’ should provide a very good passing surface on top of our fantastically-maintained surface.
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| Solidarity |
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