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 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1 (occasional 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland___________________
Grealish_____________________Foden________Silva
__________De Bruyne___________________________
_____________________Rodri____________________
Gvardiol_________________________________Walker
_____________Ake______________Akanji__________
____________________Ederson___________________
Subs: Ortega, Lewis, Dias, Stones, Kovacic, Nunes, Bobb, Doku & Alvarez.
Well then…I was very surprised to hear from Pep in his pre-match press conference, part-1 yesterday afternoon, that Ederson had been in training; was “feeling good”, following his shoulder injury last time out, and was available for this one.
Does he, therefore, start? Mmmmm…possibly, I thought, but perhaps they won’t risk him just yet / so soon.
Then, when I listened to the embargoed section / part-2 early this morning, despite needing to speak to his medical staff one more time before a final decision is made; our manager appeared more convinced that Ederson would be okay to start later today, seeing as there was no actual damage to the shoulder joint, just initial pain. That’s what I’m going for then – Ed in net.
A likely – and possibly strongest? – back-4 of the ever-improving Josko; increasingly-dependable Nathan & Manuel and often ‘vital-cog’ Kyle.
Rodders in front of those.
Ahead of the Spanish international, I think we’ll see Jack on the left, Bernardo on the right with Kevin & Phil in the middle of the midfield / wing department.
I’m going for Erling to start ‘up top’.
Stefan is our keeper insurance on Saturday evening; Rico, Ruben & John are the defenders on the side (there’s a good, short video about Rico here from the BBC – a really good insight to the lad and his background / mentality). Mateo, Matheus, Oscar & Jeremy are the midfielders / wingers in ‘the 9’ and I think we’ll see Julian start from the bench this evening.
Notable absences:
- Sergio Gomez – Not selected.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Result? A run of 7 games in all competitions without a win, including a home defeat to Championship side Coventry City in the F.A. Cup quarter final, was halted only by a narrow, 2-1 home win against league strugglers, Luton Town last time out. I think it’s fair to say that a side who largely surprised [in a positive way] a lot of people earlier-on in the season has hit a bumpy part of the road in recent weeks and I’m guessing their manager can’t wait for the season to end now, so that he can properly ‘put his stamp’ on his side during the summer transfer window; an opportunity he didn’t quite get last year when he ‘took the helm’ at Molineux.
However, it won’t have gone unnoticed by many-a-City fan, I’m sure, that Wolves have, in the last few seasons more often or not, dealt us a blow in one or both of our league encounters. This season has been no exception to that; coming away from their place in September, as we did, with a 2-1 defeat.
The stats from that game say that we had 68% of the possession and restricted the home side to just 1 shot on target; as we helped them to complete their victory by starting ‘em off with a Ruben Dias own goal. However, despite our dominance overall, I do clearly recall that we definitely lost the ‘midfield battle’ that day; with both Nunes & Kovacic in particular struggling badly to cover for the missing Rodri.
All credit to our hosts, also, for getting their ‘game plan’ right on the day and we can ill-afford a similar outcome this weekend to say the very least.
That being said, I think we’re looking at a completely different set of circumstances now. For a start, in addition to-having no Rodders for that fixture, we also had no John Stones, no Kevin De Bruyne OR Bernardo Silva and “only” had 8 on the bench, which included two keepers and a certain Kalvin Phillips; another game where the ex-Leeds man couldn’t get in the starting 11, despite the absence of Rodri.
We’re in a very good place, personnel-wise, and have had a rare, 6-days off. We’re also 31-games unbeaten in all competitions, let’s not forget. Complacency? That’s rarely an issue for us under Guardiola and that’s most-definitely key, especially at this stage of the season. 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: Early dampness should start to clear up around about kick-off time (5:30pm BST). It will have been quite wet for around 24-hours before our game commences so there should be a bit of a sheen on the grass, which should suit our quick-passing game. Not too cold, at 13 or 14C, and there’s little in the way of a breeze. Dry for the journey home / to the pub…
Solidarity
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