Predications v Slovan Bratislava

For those who read it, I said there was a decent chance that I wouldn’t get a blog posting out for this one and it’s still the case for other Champions League games until the turn of the year.

However, I managed to find a little time to cobble one together over a 2-day period, for what it’s worth, so straight to it…

v Slovan Bratislava

Tehelne Pole Stadium

12 subs allowed on the bench in this competition and Pep included eight youngsters in first team training yesterday, so some of those may travel and be part of the squad.

I’ve gone for a full bench of young, first-team-fringe players plus EDS lads to travel over to Slovakia, which will mean that two of those who trained will miss out.

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3:

____________________Haaland____________________

 

 

Doku____________________________________Savinho

_______________________________Foden___________

____________Nunes______________________________

 

_____________________Stones____________________

Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis

____________Dias_______________Akanji___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Carson, Ortega, Walker, Simpson-Pusey, Alleyne, Naylor, Wright, Kovacic, McAtee, O’Reilly, Grealish and Dickson (or Heskey).

Ederson keeps the gloves for this one.

Rico Lewis didn’t have his best game as one of two players in a defensive midfield ‘pivot’ but if I were to rate which player has been better at right-wing back this season, him or Kyle, then it’s Rico by some considerable distance for me. Therefore, I’m going for a the younger of the two England internationals to start and the rest of the defence is made up of Josko, Ruben and Manuel.

John to have a go at the Rodders role and ahead of the 30-year-old, I’m going for Jeremy, Matheus, Phil and Savinho.

Erling, despite a slight ankle concern at the weekend, has trained and should start up top tonight.

Scott and Stefan are two keepers on the side should they be needed; Kyle, Jahmai, Max and Seb are the defenders waiting for a chance to come on. Jacob, Mateo, James and Nico are four midfielders available from the bench; Jack is the only wide man in ‘the 12’ and we could see Will provide a rare striker replacement option…or that could be Jaden.

The one I’ve selected to miss out from training is Emilio Lawrence but I could well be wrong.

Notable absences:

-       Nathan Ake – Injured with either a thigh / muscle injury or a ‘hammy’. The Dutch international will be out for around 6 weeks from the date we were given the information, which was 13^th September.

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

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Injured with a groin / pelvic / hip issue and could return either just before or after the next international break.

-       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?

Yep. We need to give starts to some attacking players who were largely rested last Saturday; we need to start seeing the Phil Foden from last season soon and we need to continue the experiment of filling the Rodri position. Hopefully John is the answer. 🤞

Result?

I’ve no idea of our host’s style of play but they do top their domestic table.

The “For” and “Against” column does suggest a side who might be a bit ‘gung-ho’ – there are quite a few big wins for them mixed with a number of heavy defeats so far this season, so… 🤷‍♂️

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: Chilly but dry. It’s a fairly still, clear night and temperatures will be around the 12 to 13C mark.

Solidarity