First it was Wembley / Etihad of the South, then it was Chelsea and now West Ham United; all within 22 days.
v West Ham United
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| London Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog wise, was our opening day fixture away at the aforementioned Chelsea: 8/11).
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-2-3-1:
____________________Haaland____________________
Doku________________________De Bruyne___Savinho
___________Silva________________________________
____________________Kovacic____________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
____________Dias______________Akanji____________
____________________Ederson____________________
Subs: Ortega, Walker, Ake, Stones, Rodri, McAtee, Gundogan, Nunes, who appeared to avoid being transferred out in the last few days and, presumably, now has a further opportunity to show his manager why he was wanted last summer and Grealish.
Ederson continues in net.
I see the same back-4 of Josko, Ruben, Manuel and Rico continuing and, unless Pep sees something else either in training or about our opponents that I don’t, then why not hey?
Despite getting a knock last Saturday, I think we’ll see Mateo continue in “the Rodri role” for another game at least.
The Croatian is sure to get some assistance from the slightly more advance Bernardo who joins Kevin in central midfield; while Jeremy and Savinho continue to flank all three.
Erling up top.
Stefan, who signed an extended contract in the summer around the same time that Ederson was considering his future with us, continues to deputise for the Brazilian. Kyle, Nathan and John are the rather impressive-looking defensive reserves on the side, while Rodri could be fit enough for a place on the bench and is joined by James, Ilkay, Matheus and Jack.
Notable absences:
- Phil Foden– Still not fully recovered from an illness that he contracted a week ago.
- Oscar Bobb – Out injured with a fractured leg that he received in training. Expected return is anywhere between mid-November and mid-December going off the initial assessment / information released.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Result? I haven’t seen The Hammers play this season but it’s a fairly decent start to the campaign for our hosts; taking into account also a 2nd round League Cup win against Premier League opposition (AFC Bournemouth). Domestic cup included, their 2024-25 record reads, P3 W2 D0 L1 – F4 A2. Their only defeat came in their opening day clash with Villa at home but it took a goal from the visitors 11 minutes from ‘the 90’ to grab all-3 points.
Their results so far suggest to me that they’ve become a tight outfit and still carry a potent counter-attacking threat; whilst remaining dangerous from set pieces too.
As for us, we really have taken that Community Sheild, penalty shoot-out victory and ran with it, haven’t we? Two very good performances since sees us one of only four sides with a 100% record after two league games played.
Ipswich, however, proved last weekend that we are still a little vulnerable at the back to counters and with what I’ve just said about today’s challengers, that should be of some concern to Guardiola and his staff.
That leaves me with the simple task of saying, I think they might score…but I think we’ll score more. It’s ‘3 from 3’ with a City win for me.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
(Pre-match blog posting from that game)
Prediction: Win.
Result: Won.
Expected weather conditions during the game: Bloomin’ lovely. A very pleasant 68 to 70F; a fair amount of sunshine and a fairly strong, cooling easterly breeze, which, strangely and by all accounts, comes despite it feeling humid ‘down south’. Enjoy…
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| Solidarity |
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