I’m sure Pep is too, of course.
Anyway, as the fixtures come thick ‘n’ fast, it’s another opportunity to attempt a clean sheet whilst discovering our attacking mojo once again.
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| King Power Stadium |
With the pre-match press conference being tagged onto the end, embargoed section of the Everton post-match presser, there is no way whatsoever of finding out if previously injured players will have recovered in time to be part of Sunday’s match-day squad; not unless some information gets released outside of a press conference setting.
Therefore, just for the hell of it and to make life easier on myself, I’m simply going to assume all who were injured for the last match remain so.
Why not, hey, but… 🤞
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 10/11).
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 (occasional 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
Doku____________________________________Savinho
________De Bruyne_______________Foden__________
____________________Kovacic____________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
____________Ake_______________Akanji___________
_____________________Ortega____________________
Subs: Brits, Carson, Alleyne, Simpson-Pusey, McAtee, Gundogan, O’Reilly, Silva and Mubama.
Stefan remains in net.
Nathan came off early last Thursday not with another injury, we were told, but rather fatigue; after being out for so much of the season. Therefore, assuming there’s been no after effects since that information was given, I’m going for the Dutch international to be part of a defence that contains Josko, Manuel and Rico once again. I think the defence looks so much better when Nathan is part of the back-4.
Mateo continues to be our ‘go to’ defensive midfielder in the absence of Rodders.
In my last pre-match blog posting, I suggested that Pep might give a much-needed rest to Bernardo Silva and I was wrong. So I’m going to have another go – I’m going for an attacking midfield partnership of Kevin and Phil, with Jeremy and Savinho either side once again.
Erling up front.
Two stoppers on the bench take the form of Spike and Scott; Max and Jahmai make up our defensive replacement options on another young-looking bench. James, who must be wondering how the HELL he’s not getting any game minutes, Ilkay, Nico and Bernardo are four midfield options from the side, while summer signing Divin gives us a rare striker option in ‘the 9’.
Notable absences:
- Ederson – Presumably still out with a leg injury.
- Kyle Walker – Presumably still recovering from the flu virus.
- John Stones – Presumably – and quite likely I would think – out with a reoccurrence of a troublesome foot injury.
- Ruben Dias – Out with his second muscular injury of the season. Going off the initial assessment and information given, the Portuguese international has another 2 to 3 weeks recovery time.
- Rodri – Out for the season with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury. Surgery was completed months ago and the slow road to recovery continues.
- Matheus Nunes – Presumably still out with his second unknown / undisclosed injury of the season.
- Jack Grealish – Presumably still out with a muscular issue.
- Oscar Bobb – Still recovering from a fractured leg that he received in training last August. A likely return is still deemed to be January / February.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
I mean, if he’s fit enough then we definitely need the creative craft of Kevin; although I’m fully aware that what we might gain in invention we would lose in defensive legs…if there is such a thing in our current [available] squad that is.
If we do indeed still have eight first-team players out then there really is little room for options, especially on the flanks. I highlight that particular department because although briefly excited whenever I see either Doku or Savinho darting ‘this way ‘n’ that’ towards an opponent’s penalty area, I’m more often than not left sighing as they then run into brick walls and / or get dispossessed. I am eagerly awaiting Oscar Bobb’s returns and 🤞 he suffers no ill effects from his lengthy layoff.
· Away from the wings, Nico O’Reilly is an advanced, attacking midfielder…perhaps give him a go?
· James McAtee has legs; he’s more of a box-to-boxer and in a very much struggling Sheffield United side, he still managed 12-league goals in 67 outings. Time to give the England Under-21 international (16 games, 6 goals) ‘the nod’? Apparently, five clubs, three English and two overseas, are interested in talking to us in January about James’ availability and why wouldn’t the Salford-born midfielder consider a permanent move?
· Or is it time to do what so many City fans and non-City fans alike are suggesting, which is to drop Erling Haaland in favour of an attacking midfielder (4-6-0 / 4-5-1-0)? That was something I suggested as a change of tack in my last blog posting and ALL of these – and more - are part of increasing chatter about what we / Pep can do to arrest this lengthy slump.
Injuries, INJURIES, INJURIES!
I don’t know about you but I’m sick of talkin’ about ‘em. I genuinely cannot wait until January where we can, hopefully, bring in at least three new players to, hopefully, slot right in and ease our plight.
Result?
The Foxes are in pretty dire form and that’s despite a change in manager on 29th November. Ruud van Nistelrooy watched his first game as Manager (a defeat) from stands; having yet to train with his new players. Once on the training pitch, he orchestrated a win followed by a draw; scoring 5 and conceding 3 in those two fixtures.
Looking back, it does indeed now look like ‘new manager syndrome’ took effect because since that brief resurgence, 3 defeats and 10 goals conceded all followed. However, I read Leicester fans’ comments following their Boxing Day defeat at Anfield - a game they took the lead in before eventually losing 3-1 - and a lot noted improvement in their defending. Only an excellent attacking side packed with very threatening players, such as Liverpool have, eventually broke ‘em down. ‘Do we have that threat in us any longer?’ was the first thing that crossed my mind after reading their observations.
Leicester’s keeper, who was making his season league debut, had an excellent game too I noted when watching Match of the Day.
Make no mistake Blues, just as was the case against Everton; despite their troubles we are going to have to invent the s**t out of this one if we’re are to find the back of our host’s net. And at the other end, our continued fragile defence has to be concerned with a side who, since Ruud took to their training ground, have scored in 3 of their 5 matches; including against a side, in Liverpool, who have the second-best defensive record in the Prem.
Then there’s the Jamie Vardy factor.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old missed their last outing but his Manager appeared quite confident that the England international would recover from a few knocks in time to face us. That’s something we could do without in our delicate state because, I’m sure I don’t have to remind fellow City fans; he has been a proverbial thorn in our side over the years.
I thought our home crowd last Thursday was, for the most part, deafeningly quiet. With people full of Christmas Day excesses, Boxing Day fixtures can do that to some fans; especially the early kick-offs as ours was.
Our away fans are a completely different matter, however, and we’re gonna need those fans this afternoon because the King Power supporters usually do pack a vocal wallop to help push their side on.
I have been so wavering between a draw and a win I’ve felt quite dizzy at times. If Nathan and Manuel are both fit to start and can improve their fitness and sharpness further, if we can take that slight improvement from last Thursday’s first half performance and push on rather than stagnate or, worse, go backwards and if we can find our creative spark to unlock and hurt the opposition; this is a winnable game for sure and all before we have 6 days off ahead of a home-league match. Positive momentum is within our reach if the players are prepared to grab it.
I’m doing it! I’m going for an away win. 🤞
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game: Cold…but nice. Although it’ll be dipping in the sky by the time the referee blows his whistle to start the game (2:30pm GMT), the sun will be trying its hardest to make an appearance between light cloud. 8C will be the official temperature but the ‘feels like’ will be closer to 5 or 6 in a brisk, westerly wind that will certainly take the edge of any sunshine. A lovely crisp day to blow away any festive cobwebs and perfect conditions for the players. ⛅😎🧥🎅🧣🥧🍺⚽
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| Solidarity |
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