…for this game, I would guess. We saw some of that in our last outing last Wednesday night; despite the fact that our manager said he simply put the best side out that he thought could win the fixture…and it worked. 👍
However, with some guys being left out of our midweek game; with Tuesday’s away trip to Spain looming large and with some players having to ‘go again’, it’s definitely a tricky one to guage with regards to who might start and who might be protected / rested.
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| Selhurst Park |
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 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (perhaps an occasional 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
__Doku__________________________________Bobb__
____________________________De Bruyne__________
__________Kovacic______________________________
_____________________Rodri_____________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
_____________Dias______________Akanji___________
_____________________Ortega____________________
Subs: Carson, Ederson, Gomez, Stones, Nunes, Silva, Foden, Grealish & Alvarez.
Stefan definitely starts again and has been nothing less than impressive.
Despite some considerable doubts about personnel, I think we’ll see the same back-4 of improving Josko, Ruben, Manuel & Rico.
He could do with a rest but I recon we’ll see Rodders in front of those.
Midfield / wings? I think this is where we might see some changes from midweek, with Jeremy, Mateo, Kevin & Oscar all starting.
I believe we might also see a return of Erling up front but I could be wrong.
Two stoppers on the bench, with our manager giving us a fitness update yesterday afternoon; so that’s both Scott & Ederson. Sergio & John are the only defenders on the side, while Matheus, Bernardo, Phil & Jack make up the midfielders & wingers in ‘the 9’. Julian to step back as reserve striker for this one.
Notable absences:
- Kyle Walker – Still out injured and there was no update as to a possible return date.
- Nathan Ake – For Nathan, read Kyle.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Result? I have absolutely no clue whatsoever about their manager’s style, a boss they brought in last mid-February, and little about how The Eagles have been playing since his arrival, generally speaking.
However, our host’s last 5 league results look like this, W L D D L, which suggests that they are struggling a little and are most-certainly still circling around the Premier League ‘sink hole’; in danger of getting sucked into a relegation battle if they don’t pick up some points in their last 8 games. Beware the animal fighting for possible survival, is advice that should be heeded this afternoon, for sure, and this is often a tough place to visit for most sides...not least us.
It's another difficult one but I’m going for us to come home with all-3 points.
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: WOW! A massive, warm hairdryer would seem to be the best way to describe it. 66F (19C in new money) with a big dose of southerly wind from “Storm Kathleen”, which’ll be right in the faces of the City fans due to the stadium alignment.
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| Solidarity |
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