It’s them again! Flippin’ Newcastle in another domestic cup.
I’m sure they’re sick of the sight of us too but…c’mon! Shake it up a bit more for flip’s sake!
First up are The Magpies at home in the league – the fourth time we will have met each other in just three months with, now, a fifth meeting lined up at their place for 8:00pm (GMT) on Saturday 7th March; another farcical kick-off time.
v Newcastle United
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| Etihad Stadium |
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which: 10/11).
A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):
____________________Haaland____________________
__Marmoush__________________________Samenyo__
___________Silva(C)______________Foden___________
_____________________Rodri_____________________
O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes
___________Dias(VC)_______________Guehi__________
__________________Donnarumma_________________
Subs: Trafford, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Khusanov, Stones, Gonzalez, Cherki, Reijnders and Savinho.
Gigi in goal.
Nico-O-, Ruben, Marc and Matheus make up the back-4, occasional 3.
Rodders just in front of those.
Omar, Bernardo, Phil and Antoine are four attackers all behind a returning [from niggles] Erling up front.
James, who continues to be linked with a summer move away, carries on as reserve stopper. Defensive replacement options come in the shape of Rayan-A-, Rico, Abdukodir and John, with Nico-G-, Rayan, Tijjani and a returning [from injury] Savinho make up four midfield / wing options from the bench.
Notable absences:
- Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.
- Josko Gvardiol – Out with a fractured tibia, for which he has had surgery. On 23rd January, we were informed that it will be at least 2 more months before the Croatian international might be ready to return, which takes him up to the end of March.
- Max Alleyne – Not selected.
- Nathan Ake – Not selected.
- Mateo Kovacic – Back in training with his teammates as he attempts to put nine months of injury / rehabilitation behind him.
- Jeremy Doku – Still not recovered from an unspecified leg injury that he received on 28th January; an injury which appears to be taking longer to resolve than initially expected. Unknown return date.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
If Foden performs as we all know he can [instead of starting Cherki] then yes, absolutely.
Result?
After slumping in the league with a draw followed by three defeats…bang, BANG, BANG! Three wins in three different competitions; 11 goals scored and 3 conceded. I think that’s what you can call a return to form, don’t you?
Bloody typical. 🙄
Their opponents in those three victories? Away to a Spurs side who can’t buy a home win, away at Villa whose form is erratic and, who, played the second half with 10-men and Qarabag, away again, who are currently 2nd in the Azerbaijan Premier League. 🤷♂️
I’m taking nothing whatsoever away from Newcastle but read into those results what you like as we set to face ‘em tonight - flippin’ 8:00pm KO (GMT) on a Saturday night, FFS! I understand that it was, apparently, a Premier League decision to help Newcastle recover after a lengthy trip abroad on Wednesday night / Thursday morning but I don’t recall that same consideration ever being given to us, do you? Watch this space to see if this now changes for us in the future…
Our visitors have a few injuries to some key players too. Then again, a look at that red list above tells you that we still do too; even though it’s a much improved picture from recent weeks and months.
This will also be their fourth away fixture on the trot, including one abroad, so I suppose there could [still] be a bit of travel fatigue thrown into the mix as well…or am I overthinking on that one? Every little helps!
As for us, we’re now 7 games unbeaten with 6 wins and a draw, with a 3-1 home win against tonight’s opponent amongst them in the League Cup. In that time, we’ve scored 16 times and let in just 4; keeping 4 clean sheets along the way. 👍
Attitude and application is the key now – we have to grab the opportunity Arsenal have given us when-droppin’ points in their last two league matches and we must not squander it. We can’t simple ‘rock up’ and believe that we have this home fixture in the bag just because we won a two-legged semi-final against Newcastle 0-2 away and then 3-1 at home. This, like many games ahead of us between now and the end of May, is a ‘must win’. 💪
As with most games, this one won’t be easy, but I’m havin’ this one as a City victory.
Last little word…
As a final comment on this section, can we have this Phil Foden back please?
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: Win
Result: Won
(There was no pre-match blog posting for that game due to a holiday at the time)
Expected weather conditions during the game: Wet, breezy but mild’ish at least. The forecasted temperature will be around 11C as the ref blows his whistle to start the game, which is fairly pleasant considering we have another 4 weeks of winter remaining. 🧥🌧️☂️🍕/🥙🍺⚽
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| Solidarity |
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