I'm just not 'aving it and...

…neither is the Spurs’ Manager, understandably.

So much chatter

For at LEAST a fortnight now, I’ve listened, as I’m sure most of you have, to so much pundit & fan talk about how tonight’s hosts might not want to…‘turn up’ in this fixture; simply because a win for Tottenham - or a draw at least - will then do their neighbours / local rivals a MASSIVE favour in the title race.

It’s bored me, it’s irritated me at times AND, with our poor league record against them at this stadium, such talk, which could provoke a response from their players, has actually made me a little more nervous than I perhaps should be; going off the current form of both sides.

Thankfully, unsurprising words from Ange Postecoglou in his pre-match press conference eased some of those feelings as he, quite rightly, expressed contempt for any such suggestion.

So, all that silliness aside…game on!

v Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

 

______Foden_______De Bruyne_________Silva______

 

____________________Kovacic____________________

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

____________Dias______________Akanji____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Ake, Stones, Nunes, Doku, Grealish & Alvarez.

Ederson in goal.

With a little doubt about Nathan Ake following early withdrawal in our last game with an ankle / foot issue, there could be a small tweak to our defence tonight. The Dutch international could start and Pep needed more time to asses him after his pre-match presser yesterday afternoon. It is, therefore, 50/50 for me and so I’m going for a back-4 of Josko, Ruben, Manuel & Kyle.

Other than that, why would our manager change, at this stage, what’s been working so-very well of late? With that in mind – Rodders to patrol just in front of those but with Mateo for close company once again.

The same, very fluid & dangerous attacking trio of Phil, Kevin & Bernardo ahead of the Spanish & Croatian pair and all behind Erling ‘up top’.

Stefan provides keeper cover; Sergio, Rico, Nathan & John are the defenders on the side. Matheus, Jeremy & Jack, who is apparently feeling better following a slight illness, are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’, while Julian is the reserve striker.

Notable absences:

-       Oscar Bobb – Not selected.

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

Yep and, on this occasion, I think it would be sensible to include left-wing back, Sergio Gomez, on the bench instead of Oscar Bobb; with some injury doubts / possible niggles regarding Nathan.

Result? I’ll take any help we can get in pursuit of a record-breaking 4^th title in a row – God knows we’ve most certainly done OUR bit; being, as we are, 33-games unbeaten in all competitions.

The ‘take anything’ offered to us right now is the fact that our hosts had 7 players ruled out with injury before yesterday’s update from their manager…they now have 8, possibly 9 I've since read also.

If you believe that teams or grounds hold some kind of dark magic over another side that simply cannot be broken then we’re not going to come away from this game tonight with the extremely vital 3-points needed. It has frustrated me how, on the many occasions we’ve visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we’ve come away with nothing. Similarly, how many times they’ve come to our ground and grabbed either something or everything.

Dark arts? No, of course not. And if we’re going to suggest something closer to reality - or science at least - such as physiological barriers in player’s heads when facing certain opposition; then I believe that the mentality / focus of our players is just way too strong at this moment in time.

I expect that we’ll face a front-footed team either from the start, like Fulham were last Saturday, or at some point in the game but, for me, this is a City win.

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

Prediction: Win

Result: Lost

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: After a fairly wet day in the area, it begins to dry out as the hours tick along towards the 8:00pm (BST) kick-off. So, it’s dry for the match with a temperature of 15C and a light, south-easterly breeze.

 

Solidarity

Mid-table is where the heart is…

…for Fulham, who have practically made it their home this season.

v Fulham

Craven Cottage

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

I’m going for our manager to put out the exact-same starting-11 & subs as he did in our last match a week ago…

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1 (occasional 3-6-1):

____________________Haaland___________________

 

 

 

____Foden_________De Bruyne_________Silva_____

 

____________________Kovacic___________________

_____________________Rodri____________________

Gvardiol_________________________________Walker

_____________Ake______________Akanji__________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Ortega, Gomez, Lewis, Dias, Stones, Nunes, Doku, Grealish & Alvarez.

Ederson continues in goal.

The back-4 looks like Josko, Nathan, Manuel & Kyle.

Rodders is the deepest of the midfielders but is likely to have Mateo close by; a player who started off okay and then really grew into last weekend’s game, I thought.

A very fluid & dangerous trio of Phil, Kevin & Barnardo attacking just ahead of the Croatian and all behind Erling ‘up top’.

Stefan is the reserve keeper; Sergio, Rico, Ruben & John continue to provide defensive cover on the side. Matheus, Jeremy & Jack are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’; Julian is the back-up striker.

Notable absences:

-       Oscar Bobb – Not selected.

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

Personally, if our manager does-indeed pick the same 11 and bench, I’d have Oscar Bobb in reserve instead of Sergio Gomez, simply because the hugely-talented Norwegian winger has more of a chance of affecting a game coming off the bench than the Spanish left-wing back, that’s all and nothing more.

However, I suppose having Nunes, Doku, Grealish AND Alvarez all on there who all do / can play wide, that’s more than enough for that department. Other than that…👍

Result? A flick through the game-week table standings at GWs 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 & 35 reveals our host’s season in a nutshell; where they largely bounced around between 10^th & 14^th, mostly resting in 12^th. Inconsistent results, to say the least, has been the cause of that pattern.

They currently sit on just 2 wins in their last 8 outings, a 3-0 triumph at home to Spurs and a 0-2 away victory at West Ham United; drawing 3 and losing 3 also. In that time, they both scored and conceded 11. Those last 8 results & stats would seem to sum up The Cottagers’ season perfectly.

At the other extreme end of the scale, consistency IS where we’re currently at with 32 games unbeaten in all competitions [in ‘the 90’ / extra time]; winning 26 and drawing 6 of those.

It doesn’t get much more contrasting than that, does it?

However, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves – with 5 goals slammed in against both The Lilywhites and The Hammers without response, they clearly know how to, on their day at least, both hurt sides as well as keep teams out.

A week off for us but Pep looked a little tired behind the eyes in the first part of his pre-match press conference yesterday (I’m not bothering with ‘Part 2’ / the embargoed section on this occasion in terms of preparing my blog-posting).

However, without being a psychologist, I got the impression that it was simply a case of having to face some (more?) crazy questions; one, even, regarding an apparent training session at Fulham’s training ground about them flying kites. Look that up if you want to; I’m not bothering and nor am I interested.

Instead, I reckon that our manager simply wanted to get past any press questioning so that he could get back to preparing his player the best he could and, of course, why the hell not - a set of players who, as well as some much-needed respite from football, were allowed to travel a bit and spend some valued time with their families in the last week. 👍  He's also probably been watching hours of recent footage of Fulham while his flock have been spread all over the place...

Will our hosts put us under some pressure in front on their own crowd in their last home fixture of the season and breach our defences? I think that’s a distinct possibility. Will our players do the same with our away fans ‘giving it their all’ to urge our players on and ‘respond in kind’ but even more so? That’s what I’m going for…and it’s a City win for me.

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: 73F+ (23C in new money) and brilliant sunshine awaits the players and they enter the pitch for the 12:30pm (BST) kick-off. Perfect sunny, warm / quite hot weather either side of the match too! Want more good stuff? If that’s a little too warm for some fans who might be taking some time adjusting to this, the first of anything like Spring weather; then there should be a nice, 10MPH+ breeze wafting around too. Enjoy! ☀🌤😎

Congratulations to our Under-18s who won the F.A. Youth Cup Final last night by beating Leeds United U’18s 4-0.

 

Solidarity