Injuries mount as The Saints…

…come to town.

Six first team injuries for us; two of ‘em long term.

v Southampton

Etihad 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 game against Wolves: 8/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1 / 2-7-1 🤪):

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Nunes___________________________________Savinho

_______________________________Foden___________

____________Silva_______________________________

 

____________________Kovacic____________________

Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis

____________Dias_______________Akanji___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Ake, Stones, McAtee, Gundogan, O’Reilly.

Ederson returns in goals after stepping aside last Wednesday for the second of three Champions League games so far this season.

With good options both at left-back and in central defence, at least, there is a little extra room for error with my predictions here. I’m going for a back-4, occasional 3 or even 2, at times I’m sure, of Josko, Ruben, Manuel and Rico. We need to be very mindful of those counter attacks whenever Gvardiol and Lewis decide to join the midfield.

Mateo is likely to be the deepest-lying midfielder, while I’m going for Matheus, Bernardo, Phil and Savinho ahead of the Croatian. Hats off to Nunes for a fine display in midweek – to repeat what one reporter said following the game, welcome to the party.

Erling, the master high-kick-volley back-heeler (what sort of shot do you call that!? 🐙), leads the line.

Scott and Stefan are two reserve keepers who make up two of “just” seven players on the side. A recently-returned Nathan plus John are two defenders waiting for their opportunity to come on, while James, Ilkay and Nico make up the rest as midfield replacement options.

No reserve wingers or forwards there, not unless we raid the EDS who have an 11:30am away fixture at West Bromwich Albion this morning.

Notable absences:

-       Kyle Walker – Out with a knee injury. Unknown return date.

-       Rodri – Injured Anterior Cruciate Ligament and will be missing for the remainder of the season.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Continues to train as he recovers very slowly and very steadily indeed from a groin / hip / pelvic issue. Unknown return date.

-       Jack Grealish – Injured. The nature of the injury is unclear but our manager informed the press staff on 23^rd October that it would be around a week to 10-days before we see the England winger in action again.

-       Jeremy Doku – Similarly, the nature of Jeremy’s medical issue has also not been made clear but on the same date, Pep did indicate that the Belgium winger would be missing through injury slightly longer than Jack.

-       Oscar Bobb – Out injured with a fractured leg that he received in training. Update: Guardiola very recently commented on the Norwegian winger’s progress and the initial estimate of a November or December return has not only ‘gone out of the window’; it’s popped through the garden, out of the front gate, onto the main street and has walked to the edge of town. We are now told that it’ll be January…or possibly even February before we see the 21-year-old back on the pitch in a City shirt. 🙄

Huffff…that injury list is now looking quite long and who’d be a winger at City at the moment, hey? 😧

It was only in the summer that I was proclaiming on my blog what a strong wing department we had but then we sold both Joel Ndala and Micah Hamilton and just two months and three injuries later; we find ourselves practically relying on a 20-year-old wide man whilst asking midfields to play out of position on the opposite flank.

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

Yep.

Result?

Our visitors have their own absences too, with a number either ruled out through injury; having late fitness assessments or are suspended. However, I’ve had a quick look at their squad and they certainly have the numbers, at least, to be able to cope with large personnel shortages.

Now, here’s an opportunity to add to, what would be, only our 5^th clean sheet in all competitions (14 matches) come Saturday tea time – Southampton have only managed to score 6 goals in 8 league outings so far this season. Surely, then, we can add to that rather dismal return of theirs this afternoon.

At the other end of the pitch, only Wolves have conceded more in the league and in their last three fixtures, the South coast side have leaked 3 goals in each match.

Yeah, of course, we could well be facing yet ANOTHER ‘two banks of five’ to break down but from what I’ve heard, their manager is unwavering in how he likes his side to play and, apparently, that’s just not his style; for better or for worse. By all accounts, some Southampton fans are losing patience with that philosophy since their promotion…

Whether it be a tight, frustrating affair or a slaughter; either way I’m going for a City win.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Pretty decent for late October. No rain, quite a bit of sunshine and 13 to 14C is not bad at all – just a medium-warm coat should do it and a pair of shades might help. Enjoy… ⛅😎⚽🍺🥧

Solidarity