It was as recent as 7th January 2024 when we last faced The Terriers. It was at home in the 3rd Round of the F.A. Cup, where we came out of it 5-0 winners.
But it’s one of those fixtures that drums up some fond memories for me.
Of course…
Yes, of course I have to mention ‘the 10-1’. I remember that it was chilly, slightly misty Saturday afternoon and as pepper-loaded Maine Road pies were being munched into by many around me and foamy beers were being drunk likewise; light began to fade and the giant floodlights flickered into action.
The visitors, in a yellow & black-check top, had the better of the start and could have been a couple of goals up in the first 8 to 10-minutes. At that point, it just felt like another arduous exercise of standing in the cold watching us struggle…in Division 2 (now Championship)! Prior to this fixture, our previous three home results read, Manchester City 2-3 Sheffield United, Manchester City 1-1 Barnsley and Manchester City 1-1 Middlesbrough, so you can understand that the first 10-minutes or so felt a bit same ol’ same ol’.
Of course, any City fan of a certain vintage will tell you the outcome and how it unfolded and, for me as a 16-year-old, it felt like we’d won a cup; rather than having just collected 3-league points in early November. Another thing that stood out for me was just after the whistle was blown – the 19,583 crowd felt, and sounded, more like 35,000+. There was a real buzz about the place both inside and outside Maine Road’s walls.
I couldn’t wait to get home and share the excitement with my dad and, equally, I couldn’t wait to watch – and tape – the highlights. I still have the original VHS cassette with written label stuck inside the box cover.
Even on Sunday morning I still had that excitable feel. We didn’t get Sunday papers delivered to my mum and dad’s house and we didn’t always buy a Sunday paper either. I did that morning - I couldn’t wait to read about the whole 90+ minutes; seeing if the journalist shared my astonishment at what I had witnessed.
After arriving back home with the paper I remember feeling a little deflated, as we were nowhere to be found on the back-3 or 4 pages. I think we were as many as 5-pages in from the back. I suppose we were in Division 2 but still…it was 10-1 for flip’s sake!
So, foolishly smelling blood five months later, I purchased an away ticket and a club coach ticket for the return league game at their place. We lost 1-0. 🙄😂
Still, fond memory Number 2 was visiting Huddersfield’s old ground, Leeds Road. It was a proper old fashioned ground and what I clearly recall, and was quite fond of despite the fact that it looked a bit decrepit, was their huge side terrace which looked similar to the Kippax Stand.
A couple of years prior to that and just before I got my first (junior) season ticket, ANY opportunity to listen to or watch City I would grab. I recall one recorded TV highlight of an away trip to Huddersfield Town when we had a black ‘n’ red-striped away kit. We won 0-2 and, at the time, I was in awe of Clive Wilson’s attacking threat. Here are the goals from those brief highlights.
So, there you have it – some of the reasons this fixture evokes fond memories for me, even the one where we lost away…again.
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| Accu Stadium |
It’s always slightly trickier to predict a starting 11 in the early round of the domestic cups; especially the League Cup, I would suggest. But, here goes…
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 11/11.
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-6-0 (occasional 3-6-1):
________________________________________________
_____________________Bobb______________________
Nunes___________________________________Savinho
_________O’Reilly_______________Foden____________
___________________Gonzalez_____________________
Gvardiol____________________________________Lewis
_____________Ake______________Stones____________
____________________Trafford_____________________
Subs: Bettinelli, Ortega, Mfuni, Dias, Rodri, Mukasa, Silva, Reijnders, Doku.
Not only would I expect James to come in for this competition but it was confirmed by our manager yesterday that the England Under-21 keeper will start.
I’m going for a back-4, occasional 3, of Josko, Nathan, John and Rico.
Nico-G- comes in as our deepest lying midfielders and ahead of the Spanish Under-21 international my guess is Matheus, Nico-O-, Phil and Savinho, with Oscar possibly being given a slightly more advanced and central role in a fluid, attacking 5. Should be interesting. 🤔
With regards to the substitutions, the boss could give two keepers a trip out as matchday squad players; he could, as I’ve been suggesting lately, include Kalvin Phillips who has been training with his teammates for a number of weeks now. Equally, he may include more than just a couple of EDS players. Once again, it’s another difficult one to read.
I’m going for two reserve stoppers in the shape of Marcus and Stefan and two back-up defenders in the form of Stephen and Ruben. Rodders, Devine, Bernardo and Tijjani make up four midfielders on the side, while Jeremy gives us a wing option from the bench.
Notable absences:
- Gianluigi Donnarumma – Not selected.
- Rayan Ait-Nouri – Injured. The nature of the injury and length of time out is still unknown.
- Abdukodir Khuanov – Out with an ankle issue. We were told on 23rd September that it would be for a few games. Exact return date unknown.
- Kalvin Phillips – Not selected.
- Mateo Kovacic – Information from our manager on 17th September was that the Croatian international will be returning from injury soon.
- Rayan Cherki – Out for a 2-month period from the date of the announcement on 30th August with a thigh muscle tear.
- Erling Haaland – Out with a minor back issue. The Norwegian international is apparently expected to be okay for Saturday’s league game.
- Omar Marmoush – Out with a bruised knee ligament issue. Unknown return date but it will be a matter of weeks by the sounds of it; possibly returning either just before or just after the next international break in October.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Yep.
Result?
Prior to their last game, our host appeared to be a side who knew how to score but also had defensive frailties; scoring 15 goals and conceding 11 in just 8 league fixtures. Then on Saturday, they pulled off a 0-0 result at home. Don’t you just love football? 😆
Their highest goalscorer, Joe Taylor, only has 3 of those 15 so that tells me, quite simply, that they’ve got some goals in ‘em throughout the team, which can often be more dangerous [than one focal point scorer]. The highest number of assists comes from Alfie May with just 2. I’m not even sure what that last statistic is telling me but I’ve included it regardless.
It’s quite funny that their side should include an, ‘A. May’, as some of you might recall; former Manchester City player, Andy May, played for Huddersfield Town in ‘the 10-1’ and was the scorer of The Terriers goal that afternoon! Weird…
Cup games often throw up surprises and the neutrals love ‘em. In fact, if you have a look at the previous round, there were a number of eyebrow raisers ASIDE from the Grimsby result.
Plus the fact that when a manager changes so many of his personnel it can sometimes upset rhythm and make it difficult for an 11 to settle. The home side may well breach our defence.
In the end, however, when I look at that predicted squad of ours, I’d like to think that we’d have more than enough to progress to Round 4.
It’s a City win for me.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game: Fine and dry but as the early autumn sunshine dips on the horizon for the start of the game, the temperature will start to dip to a low of 11C by the end of the match. Perfect conditions for the players to exert themselves 🏃♂️🏃♂️➡️; perfect excuse for fans to get a warming pie down ‘em. 🧥🥧🍵🍺⚽
Can I just say a big FECK OFF to all the moaning d*ck ‘eads who, following our game against Arsenal, whined on about Pep switching to a 5-4-1 and, eventually, a 5-5-0 in the second half? I think this is the first, possibly second, time he has ever done it at Manchester City in almost 10 years and, as I say, he only did it in one half of an effin’ game FFS!
Before the players even emerged for the second half, I actually muttered to myself, “This is gonna be like The Alamo”. So I, for one, was very pleased that Pep recognised this and adapted his team accordingly as the minutes ticked by. It was just a shame we couldn’t hold out right towards the very end.
I actually thought it was well played by us and, in fact, it was Arsenal who started the match a little cautiously, which was something they too got criticised for by TV pundits at the time (I swear I’m going to start watching live football games with the volume off again, as I once did for a period of time 😒).
How many times, certainly more recently, have you heard people slag Pep off for being too stubborn for NOT adapting his team when necessary? Now he goes and does it…and gets slagged off again!
Worst still, a lot of this flak has come from so called, “people in football”, in one way or another.
Morons…
Soon after I’d got that off my chest, I read this piece online:
'A huge step in the right direction for a side still developing’
Published at 09:06 BST on Tuesday 23rd September 2025
Freddie Pye
Fan writer
A deep-lying low block is rarely associated with Manchester City, but given the confidence Pep Guardiola has in his defence this campaign, he may now have an extra weapon in his armoury.
For almost the whole game at Arsenal, City had executed the gameplan to perfection; defend in a compact set-up, attack swiftly on the break and protect any lead they gain.
When Erling Haaland did exactly that after some fine work from Tijjani Reijnders on the counter-attack, City's coaching staff deployed their wingers as wide full-backs, and dropped the midfield deeper. Embrace Arsenal's threat, place the onus on Mikel Arteta's side to break them down and take the points from north London.
City were resolute, brave and showed immense mental strength to hold their lead. When Gabriel Martinelli equalised with just minutes remaining in injury time, many supporters may have been disappointed but that feeling should turn into pride and confidence after a difficult week.
Fans should acknowledge the run of games City have endured and emerged on the other side of with seven points from a possible nine across all competitions. Remember, Guardiola's side had returned from the international break off the back of successive defeats, and had to face a Manchester United side in desperate need of points, the reigning Italian champions and Arteta's improved and bolstered Gunners.
For all the talk of capitulating in the face of adversity, defensive concerns and an inability to threaten on the break, City have proven all these assumptions to be wrong.
Sunday afternoon was a huge step in the right direction for a side still developing and also without a host of key names because of injury.
Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra
Well said that fan. 👏
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