Knocked out of the F.A. Cup last Saturday by the Championship’s bottom side; they have a last 6 in the league of W L L D L W and were beaten by us twice last season in the space of just 20 days
Sounds easy this one, doesn’t it?
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| Gtech Community Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 7/11).
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 (occasional 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
Savinho____________________________________Silva
________De Bruyne_______________Foden__________
____________________Kovacic____________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
____________Ake_______________Akanji___________
____________________Ederson____________________
Subs: Ortega, Simpson-Pusey, Gundogan, McAtee, Nunes, O’Reilly, Doku, Grealish and Mubama.
Perhaps aside from the keeper, but I don’t know for sure of course, I’m going for the same side that faced West Ham 10-days ago. That being…
Ederson in net.
A back-4, occasional 3 (being mindful of dangerous counter attacks should we decide to-occasionally push one of our wing-backs into midfield) of Josko, Nathan, Manuel and Rico.
Mateo gets the deep midfield role and in more advance positions, I think we’ll see Savinho reinstalled on the left, Bernardo on the right with Kevin and Phil in the middle.
All line up behind Erling who had a much-needed 10-days off after being ever present this season.
Stefan will be our back-up keeper, should he not start; Jahmai could be our only recognised defender on the side. Ilkay, James, Matheus and Nico make up four midfielders on the bench; we have two wingers in ‘the 9’ in the shape of Jeremy and Jack and we could even see Divin continue to be part of the matchday squad as reserve striker. Despite still having 4, possibly 5 first team players out for this one; that starting 11 and subs bench is starting to feel a little healthier, don’t you think?
Notable absences:
- Kyle Walker – Has asked to leave the club and, therefore, I can’t imagine him being part of any matchday squad.
- John Stones – Making progress with an ongoing foot injury. Pep informed us in his pre-match press conference that John was possibly capable of playing 40-45 minutes but he doesn’t want a repeat of what we’ve witnessed this season, where John has returned too soon in order to help his team / teammates out and has then been forced to take further time out; having aggravated the problem area in his foot.
- Ruben Dias – Out with his second muscular injury of the season. Going off the initial assessment and information given, the Portuguese international has another week or so recovery time remaining. On 10th January, Pep said that the Portuguese international was getting better.
- Rodri – Out for the season with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury. Surgery was completed months ago and the slow road to recovery continues.
- Oscar Bobb – We were treated to some good news in Pep’s pre-match press conference ahead of our game against Salford City – after training alone for a few weeks, the Norwegian international has resume partial training with his teammates.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Yep.
Result?
Sounds easy this one, doesn’t it? Sounds easy this one, doesn’t it? Sounds easy this one, doesn’t it? Sounds easy this one…
So why do I have a slight feeling of trepidation about this fixture as I begin to prepare this piece early on Sunday morning; not long after an 8-0 F.A. Cup victory? Why, after a draw and two victories in the league before last Saturday’s emphatic win, am I not chest-thumping and ROARING my way into this fixture? Probably because I’m a Blue of a certain vintage and know better.
Maybe it’s because even though we won our last league game 4-1, we still looked to have a soft centre…and our hosts have Bryan Mbeumo. Maybe it’s because we still looked really flaky at the back at times against The Hammers…and they have Yoane Wissa. Both players have scored 22-league goals between them and when they’re in the mood – plus other attacking / creative players The Bees have in their ranks – they can hurt any side they come up against…and quite often do.
We’re gonna need that once excellent partnership of Ake & Akanji to fire up once again and we’re going to have to hope like hell that both Gvardiol and Lewis remember that they are defenders first and foremost and attack-supporting wing-backs second.
They’ll be wanting to banish the bad feeling of being dumped out of the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup at home to lower-league opposition ASAP and the crowd, I’m sure, will be booing every time Mateo Kovacic touches the ball; following his…robust tackle of Yoane Wissa in the reverse fixture back in September, which left the Congo international missing for the following 3 to 4 games.
Do I think they’ll score? Yeah, I think there’s a decent chance of that tonight. Do I think we’ll score more? If our general improvement and confidence continues then I can envisage that too. Therefore, I’m havin’ this one down as a City win.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: Win
Result: Won
(Pre-match blog posting from that game)
Expected weather conditions during the game: Calm, a little chilly (7C) with variable cloud. Perfect conditions for the players; fans are advised to wrap up warm…and enjoy themselves!
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| Solidarity |
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