I’m off on holiday soon, so straight to it…
v Chelsea
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| Stamford Bridge |
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:
____________________Haaland___________________
Doku________________________Foden_____Savinho
___________Silva_______________________________
___________________Kovacic____________________
Gvardiol_________________________________Walker
_____________Ake_____________Akanji___________
____________________Ederson___________________
Subs: Ortega, Lewis, Dias, Stones, McAtee, De Bruyne, Nunes, Jack, who MAY have recovered from a hamstring niggle in time to make the bench but I’m not TOO sure ahead of the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference (such are my time constraints), and Ndala. Nico O’Reilly could get a place ahead of Ndala…
Ederson continues in net.
I’m going for a back-4 of Josko, Nathan, Manuel and Kyle but with a nod towards the fact that we have additional defenders back in training / available also.
Mateo takes up, once again, defensive midfield duties.
Workhorse Bernardo is likely to have a dual-defensive and offensive role just ahead of the Croatian, with Phil likely ahead of the just-turned 30-year-old. Either side of those? Jeremy and Savinho are my predictions, with the latter making his Premier League debut.
Erling ‘up top’, who is likely to be hoping that he gets better service on Sunday afternoon than he received last Saturday.
Stefen continues to provide keeper insurance; Rico, Ruben and John are the defenders on the side. James, Kevin and Matheus are the midfielders on the bench, while Jack and Joel are the wingers in ‘the 9’
Notable absences:
- Joao Cancelo – ‘The exile’ is actually training with the squad, according to Pep, but I’m guessing is unlikely to feature in Sunday’s squad.
- Rodri – Only arrived back for training on Wednesday and his manager has stated that there is no chance of him taking part at the weekend.
- Oscar Bobb – Out injured with a fractured leg that he received in training. He could be out for three-to-four months, we are told… ☹
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Result? Well, I think it’s another tough one to call [following a tough-to-call also, Community Shield], as are a number of opening-day fixtures, generally speaking. One thing I am definitely hoping for is that our hosts haven’t yet had enough time to work fully on their massive defensive frailties which have plagued them pre-season; no less against us in our last game in the USA, where we breached them four times.
Losing Oscar Bobb is a blow and although we’ve lost a player in, arguable, our now-strongest department, the wings; I personally had high hopes for the Norwegian international and he was reinforcing that feeling in pre-season with some excellent displays. However, it is, as I say, a department packed with talent and that’s despite the very disappointing permanent exit of youth product, Micah Hamilton earlier this week.
If we get the Jeremy Doku playing who has ‘end product’ in with his massive ‘box of tricks’ on one side of our attack; we then have the possibility exciting-looking Savinho on the other and that, along with an array of excellent midfielders, fills me with hope that we can do some damage to that flimsy-looking defence of theirs.
I think they’ll score – hopefully not four as was the case last time we visited ‘their place’ – but I’m going for an opening day, City win.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: Win
Result: Draw
(Pre-match blog posting from that game)
Expected weather conditions during the game: Very warm with plenty of sunshine. 75F (24C for those who prefer Celsius speak) is likely to feel much hotter on the pitch; although the humidity levels are low for a change and it all comes with a very light, westerly breeze. Enjoy Blues fans! 🌤😎🍻⚽
Just a reminder that they'll be no pre-match blog posting ahead of our next fixture due to the aforementioned holiday.
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| Solidarity |
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