Wolves – A quick turnaround of games…

…but a good number of ‘key players’ rested last Wednesday night. 👍🏼

v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Molineux Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3:

___________________Haaland____________________

 

 

_Doku__________________________________Foden_

____________________________Alvarez____________

____________Nunes_____________________________

 

____________________Kovacic____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Ake_______________Dias_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Akanji, Phillips, Bobb & Grealish.

Back to league action and, therefore, Ederson reclaims the gloves.

A more-familiar looking backline to consist of Josko, Nathan, Ruben & Kyle.

No insult meant to Kalvin whatsoever in my suggestion that he won’t start as defensive midfielder for this one – I’m going with my gut instincts in that Pep might want to use both the Newcastle & Wolves fixtures to experiment with this role ahead of our clash with Arsenal a week on Sunday. I think Mateo, therefore, might get a chance to showcase his defensive midfield abilities at Molineux this afternoon. Ahead of the Croatian international, I think we’ll see Jeremy, Matheus, who is sure to play the part of pantomime villain as he returns to his former club; where the departure wasn’t exactly…amicable, shall we say, Julian & Phil all providing the attacking / creative work in midfield and on the wings. Jack had neither a bad nor particularly good game on his return in midweek, in my humble – it was his first start since his injury layoff and I just think that his manager might want to ease him back a little slowly…and with Jeremy only having played 22 minutes of normal time last Wednesday, well; there you go.

Erling to return ‘up top’.

Scott & Stefan are two stoppers on the bench; Sergio, Rico & Manuel are our defenders on the side. Kalvin, Oscar & Jack provide midfield / wing options in the 8 from 9 allowed on the bench.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – Making progress, apparently, but training alone for now. Still no specified return date issued.

-       Bernardo Silva – Continues to be out with a little, undefined injury and this game comes too early for the Portuguese international’s return.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Recovering from a torn hamstring / surgery. Expected return around December / January.

-       Rodri – Suspended for 2 more matches following his ‘straight red’ for violent conduct.

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

Yep.

Result? Played 6, won 1, drawn 1, losing 4 in the league and then letting an early 2-goal lead slip in the League Cup against [good] Championship opposition to lose 3-2 doesn’t sound too good at all, does it?

However, we can’t afford any complacency against a side managed by Gary O’Neil; a manager who has built a reputation of making his sides difficult to play against. Additionally, our Saturday afternoon hosts do have form in recent seasons of occasionally giving us a ‘bloody nose’. Although they don’t score bagfuls of goals in the league, they’ve only registered 1 blank and that was away from home in their opening fixture of the season back in mid-August.

For those City players and fans who might have a slight swagger in their step as they approach this game, a few ‘warning signs’ are there to be heeded, in my opinion. Pep, however, didn’t sound complacent at all in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. Good.

With a good number of players both going out and coming in to our ‘starting 11’ from our last outing and with limited preparation time between fixtures, we might see a little dodgy moment or two early on but regardless of how the match may play out over ‘the 90’, 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: After a dry and fairly sunny start to the day in the area, showers start to move in from around 1:00 or 2:00pm. Nothing too wet but it’s likely to give the pitch a bit of ‘zip’. A bit windy, with an average speed of around 10MPH. It remains a southerly breeze, however, so that’ll keep the late September temperature up at around 15C.

Solidarity

League Cup / Newcastle United predictions

A chance for some players to make their mark; a chance for some to perhaps have a little break ahead of our league game on Saturday, while a few others will have to ‘go again’, I assume.

Plus…some transfer news? 🤨

v Newcastle United

St James' Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 10/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Alvarez____________________

 

 

_Doku___________________________________Bobb_

_____________________________Foden____________

____________Nunes_____________________________

 

____________________Phillips____________________

Gomez____________________________________Lewis

____________Ake_______________Akanji___________

 

 

_____________________Ortega____________________

Subs: Carson, Ederson, Walker, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Grealish & Haaland.

Stefan to get his first start of the season in net; as he will, no doubt, be ‘pencilled in’ for both domestic cup competitions. Unless the currently in form Ederson gets himself injured or suspended, will that be enough to keep the German stopper with us beyond the 2024  summer transfer window? At least one European club was rumoured to be fishing in the summer transfer window just gone.

Surely we’ll see a change in defence for this one; giving opportunities to two fringe players as well as resting / protecting those who are likely to start on Saturday. If I’m correct in that assumption, I think we’re likely to see both Sergio & Rico flanking Nathan & Manuel.

Kalvin, according to his boss, is a definite starter in the defensive midfield slot, as most City fans would have expected anyway. Ahead of the England international is a likely quartet of Jeremy, Matheus, Phil & Oscar.

Julian could well find himself pushed right up-front playing as a lone striker tonight. That’s my guess.

8 from a possible 9 on the bench once again is likely, with our EDS being considerably weakened this season following departing players both on loan as well as being sold. It’s a very young second-string squad this season and it’s already telling, as the team who are so used to finishing the season as champions currently sit 17^th after 5 games, with 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats; scoring 10 and conceding 13.

By the way, last season’s Premier League 2 table consisted of 14 sides. This season? A whopping 26! If you want an explanation of why that is, then you can read this.

Back to tonight…

Scott & Ederson provide double keeper insurance on the bench; Kyle, Ruben & Josko are the defenders on the side. Mateo & Jack are the only two midfielder / wingers waiting to get a run out, while Erling steps aside but ready to provide some additional firepower should it be needed.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – Still out with a muscle problem of some kind. Still no return date issued.

-       Bernardo Silva – Out with a little, undefined injury and could be missing for another week to 10-days.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Recovering from a torn hamstring / surgery. Expected return around December / January.

-       Rodri – Suspended for 3 matches following his ‘straight red’ for violent conduct.

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

Yep - if the idea is to make this competition, understandably, the lowest priority of the four, main cups / three domestic cups and to use it also to keep fringe players ‘ticking over’ / involved, whilst allowing first-teamers a rest; it looks like a perfect replacement 11 to me.

Result? Buoyed by a massive 0-8 win at Sheffield United last Sunday, a result that saw 8 different players hit the back of The Blades’ net; a lot of those players will be buzzing and might want to take that adrenalin onto the pitch as soon as possible.

However, if Pep is a little concerned about scheduling and possible player fatigue then their manager might be even more so; having kicked off 25-½ hours after us last weekend. I’ve no idea whether the Newcastle Manager intended to rotate his players considerably for this game / competition regardless, but that later kick-off at the weekend may just decide it for him.

Not knowing the strength of their intended side and not knowing how a much-changed City will fair, it’s a tough one to call. I was tempted, therefore, to ‘sit on the fence’ and predict a draw at full time; leading to extra time and possibly penalties.

However, I look at that still-excellent side of ours that’s also scattered with a lot of players who will be hungry to show Pep what he’s missing whenever they’re sat on the bench and as long as they don’t try TOO hard and end up over-thinking their passes & moves and allow their strengths to rise naturally to the surface, I can see a City win tonight. I think it’ll be a narrow one but it’s an away win for me.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: A bit wet and very windy, as Storm Agnes begins to effect the North East of the country later tonight. It’ll be particularly blowy towards the end of the second half with wind speeds in the 40s-MPH. The largely high-sided stands at St. James’ should mostly protect the ball on the pitch but the City fans, who are usually situated high up ‘in the Gods’ at this ground could be in for an interesting time. With the winds coming in from the south, it’s a very mild one for a night game at the end of September at around 15 or 16C.

Want some transfer news?

Yes, some late September transfer news. We’ve just made two signings!

Firstly, we signed a tall, ball-playing central defender from Manyoo, despite strong efforts from the Trafford-based side right to the very end to improve their offer and keep Harrison Parker; an ex-Arsenal Youth player who has just-turned 17.

A few days later and on either 22^nd or 23^rd September, after parting ways with West Ham United in the summer, we snapped up Divine Mukasa, a central, attacking midfielder who turned 16 years of age in April. Divine has represented England at Under-15s, 16s and is currently part of the Under-17s, so he’s likely to know a number of our lads from his international exploits. Both sound like excellent acquisitions.

We’ve also been linked with, and most-certainly not for the first time, 19-year-old, Argentine left-wing back, Valentin Barco. The all-action, flame-haired flyer currently plays for Boca Juniors and his contract is up in 15-months’ time. He currently also represents his country at Under-20 level and the rumour is that both clubs have agreed a fee; we’re likely to make the transfer official in January and I assume, as was the case with Julian Alvarez, we’ll allow him to remain at Boca until the end of their domestic season. Think of him as a slightly pacier, slightly less robust, for now at least, version of Stuart Pearce; certainly from some of the footage I’ve watched at least. He seems to like a well-timed tackle as well as getting forward.

Solidarity

Dare I even whisper it ahead of Forest?

Don’t tell anyone I suggested it but I’ve had this feeling in the last couple of days that a side is due a right hammering, goals wise, and I THINK it might be our visitors from Nottingham this afternoon.

Second home game in four days and the third of FOUR, back-to-back 3:00pm kick off times in the league. City fans are being treated well at the moment, in my opinion – have we travelled back in time to the 80s / 90s?

v Nottingham Forest

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

_Doku__________________________________Alvarez_

____________________________Foden_____________

_____________Nunes____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Ake________________Akanji__________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Dias, Phillips, Kovacic, Bobb & Grealish.

I believe we might see a full quota on the bench for the first time in 3 games, of the now-recognised 9 subs, so here goes…

Ed in net.

A little shuffle of our defence from our last outing to keep things fresh? I think that could be the case. Therefore, I’m going for Josko & Manuel to come back into the starting 11, with Kyle & Nathan ‘going again’; giving Ruben a little rest.

Rodders is the ‘steady Eddy’ ahead of those, while our more-advanced quartet of midfielders & wingers consist of Jeremy, Matheus, Phil & Julian.

Erling ‘up top’.

Two keepers on the side in the form of Scott & Stefan; the improving Sergio, Rico & Ruban make up the defenders in that 9. Kalvin, a returning Mateo, Oscar and a returning-also, Jack make up the midfielders & wingers on the side.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – Still out with a muscle problem of some kind. Still no return date issued.

-       Bernardo Silva – Out with a little, undefined injury and could be missing for another week, possibly two.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Recovering from a torn hamstring / surgery. Expected return around December / January.

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

Yep.

Result? I don’t often do ‘bluster’, as I have done in my opening statement - I think that if you’re not careful it can come across a little arrogant and that’s just not me. It can also lead to moments of ‘egg on yer face’ too, of course.

I’ve suggested that we might “hammer” the ‘Tricky Trees’ this afternoon and I said that knowing that they ‘sucker punched’ us at their ground last season after we dominated the match; leading to a late, 1-1 equaliser for The Reds. I said it also in the knowledge that that they have better players in their squad this season and can most-certainly counter attack their opponents to ‘good end’; albeit they’ve only registered 7 goals from 5 played in the league. Still, we need to be careful of that for sure.

But I can’t go against my instincts, which is to believe that we’re going to turn our fine start to our season – and it has been most-definitely fine to say the very least – into a real ‘statement result’ this afternoon.

The Manchester Evening News did a piece in the week just gone asking the question why we’re wasting so many chances and my posted comment read:

For me, ‘on target’ from shots hit is more important and apart from one game that stands out as being poor, which was Newcastle at home, the rest look fine to me.

Starting at Burnley with 17 shots and 8 on target, we then had 23:7, 14:4 (the Newcastle game), 30:9, 7:5, 29:15 & 37:16. It’s when we start hitting wayward, high & wide more often that I’ll show some concern.

The best stats so far are, by the way M.E.N., P5 league games, W5, D0, L0. F:14 (best in the league), A:3 (best in the league), GD: +11 (…best in the league).

I believe Erling Haaland might fancy himself to have a more productive afternoon and we have, also of course, Julian Alvarez; a player who is really ‘on fire’ at the moment and continues to be the excellent player most Blues thought we were getting when we signed him in January 2022.

I’m going for a City win and, just to repeat, I expect to see a fair few goals flying into our visitor’s net…but be prepared also for a possible frustrating period and a possible early’ish scare, Blues. 3-more points to us is my prediction.

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: After a REAL mixed bag in the region all week, things settle down nicely on match day. Dry, 15C, sunny intervals and just a light, south-westerly breeze. Can’t really ask for more going into late September. Happy Autumn equinox, by the way.

Solidarity

Predictions v Red Star Belgrade

Injuries and a depleted bench is the same story as last weekend…

v Red Star Belgrade

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

_Doku__________________________________Alvarez_

____________________________Foden_____________

_____________Silva_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Ake________________Dias____________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Akanji, Phillips, Nunes & Bobb.

12 subs are allowed on the side in this competition but I’m guessing with a number of injuries, the sale of at least one fringe player just before transfer deadline and a number of fringe players loaned out for the season; we’ll see just 8 once again.

Additionally, I think we’re only going to see one change in the starting 11 from last Saturday…

Ederson continues in net.

The one change that I can envisage comes in defence, with Nathan stepping in for Manuel just to ‘freshen it up’ a little; give Nathan a run and Manuel a rest. Joining the Dutch international I’m going for Josko, Ruben & Kyle to ‘go again’.

Rodders just ahead of that pack, while I think we’ll see the same, attacking quartet of Jeremy, Bernardo, Phil & Julian.

Erling up front hoping to have fine-tuned his targeting sight.

Scott & Stefan are the back-up keepers on the side, with Stefan likely to have just two more games as a reserve stopper before getting a starting place away at Newcastle in the 3^rd round of the League Cup on Wednesday 27^th September. Sergio, Rico & Manuel are the defenders in the 8 from 12, while Kalvin, Matheus & Oscar are the midfielders & winger / forward waiting for their chances.

Depending on how the match is flowing and what the scoreline is, I expect Pep will be hoping that he can make a good number of early’ish subs tonight to both rest key players and to give the likes of Gomez, Lewis, Phillips & Nunes a run-out each.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – Getting better but still not ready for this fixture.

-       Jack Grealish – For Jack, read John.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Recovering from a torn hamstring / surgery. Expected return around December / January.

-       Mateo Kovacic – For Mateo, read John also.

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

Yep.

Result? I know absolutely nothing about the standard of their league and nothing whatsoever about their side, other than the fact that they currently sit 3^rd in the table after 7 matches played with 5 wins and 2 draws; with the best goal difference in that division after 21 goals for and 7 against, which sounds fairly impressive from so few matches played so far. I’m not doing any more research beyond that, sorry.

As for us, it was a very good performance in general away at West Ham but one full of missed opportunities. Erling alone should have had at least two more, possible three.

Those missed chances, despite the good, overall display, nearly came back to bite us with the home side having dangerous players capable of picking off the opposition the blink of an eye. They very nearly did so on at least two occasions - I think Ederson may have earned some bonus payments last Saturday.

Still, we managed three goals and three very good away points but, in the Champions League, you can ill afford missed opportunities to stick the ball away for fear getting sucker punched by a side you’re not used to facing regularly if ever at all.

Despite having four, very good players out and a reduced bench, I’m guessing; I’m having this down as a home win.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Wet & windy. However, weather warnings of very heavy rain in the area should begin to ease a little for the game as the wet stuff turns a lot lighter. However, the morning & afternoon deluge will be a real test for our usually-excellent pitch and ground staff. 16C is the match temperature and they’ll be a persistent 12 to 14 MPH wind with possible gusts into the 20s. Welcome to the North West of England in September, Star fans.

Solidarity

A few injuries ahead of our West Ham clash

This’ll be the second of FOUR, back-to-back league games that kick off on a Saturday at 3:00pm, by the way. 😮 I can’t recall the last time that happened nor guess when we might see that again, if ever.

v West Ham United

London Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

_Doku__________________________________Alvarez_

____________________________Foden_____________

_____________Silva_____________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Dias______________Akanji____________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Ake, Phillips, Nunes & Bobb.

Just yer 8 from a possible 9 on the bench, I think today – we’re not Chelsea and unless our manager decides to stick an additional EDS player ‘in there’, we’ve literally ran out of available players.

Ederson takes his place between the posts.

I think we’ll see a back-4 this afternoon of Josko, Ruben, Manuel & Kyle.

Rodders to roam the deepest of our midfielders, while I believe we’ll see a more advance, attacking / creative quartet of Jeremy, Bernado, Phil & Julian.

Erling to head the lot up front.

Not only may we have one player short on the bench but I think we’re likely to see two keepers on the side as well, in the form of Scott & Stefan. Three defenders, two central midfielders and one winger / forward make up the rest, which includes Sergio, Rico, Nathan, who gave us a little hamstring injury scare whilst away on international duty and, so, might be eased back in slowly, Kalvin, Matheus & Oscar.

Notable absences:

-       John Stones – It appears that a muscular issue is taking longer to heal than recently expected. Sill no return date.

-       Jack Grealish – Still out injured with, what is now being described as, a bad knock to his knee rather than a muscular issue. Unknown return date.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Recovering from a torn hamstring / surgery. Expected return around December / January.

-       Mateo Kovacic – Has a slight muscular problem and is unavailable for this fixture. No information about a possible return date but it doesn’t sound too serious.

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

Yeah, looks good!

Result? I’m not sure who is more surprised by West Ham’s start, me or West Ham fans themselves. I recall, with just a couple of weeks to go before the start of the season, a high number of concerned and frustrated Hammers fans phoning in to TalkSport as well as taking to their phones to post video rants online about the club’s lack of purchases and disorganisation in general when it came to recruitment.

Fast-forward just a few weeks and we go to a side with a record that looks like this: D W W W – F9 A4.

So, they’re sure to be buoyed by their excellent start to the season and I think what makes our hosts a particularly dangerous side to face is that, even if they have an off day today but somehow survived our various assaults; they have players such as Jarrod Bowen & James Ward-Prowse who can pull rabbits out of nowhere in a split second to sucker punch the opposition. Jarrod himself expressed the mood in the camp when he said that there’s no pressure on them when they face us this afternoon and that they see this fixture as an opportunity to test themselves.

I don’t like / can’t read quite so well first matches back after an international break – sometimes we’ve regrouped and played well right from the first blow of the ref’s whistle but I’ve also seen us, all too often, take a while to ‘rev up’. That alone makes this one a little trickier to call, aside from the fact that we have three players out, in addition to Kevin, who would have stood an extremely good chance of starting today’s match if they’d have been 100% fit.

I think this is going to be a good game and it could well be very tight for a time; although I’ve said that before about certain clashes and we’ve gone on to score in the 2^nd or 3^rd minute and not looked back.

However the game may flow, I’m having this down as a good away win for us.

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: Hot, hot, hot for mid-September. 79F (26C in new money) is the forecasted outside-stadium temperature and it is likely to feel a few degrees hotter than that at pitch level, I would guess. Unbroken sunshine too, so shades, suncream and a hat might be wise for fans attending. We might see a water break or two for the players as well. There is a fairly brisk, easterly breeze blowing across, which should help any player, fan or official who might be struggling in the late-summer / early autumn high temperature. Enjoy City fans!

Solidarity