Unpredictable is the word.
Firstly…we’re going NOWHERE! 😮
Well, not very far at least. 🛣️
After our trip to Porto last Tuesday (crackin’ win!), we’re certainly not putting in the miles over the next six weeks. Our next seven fixtures are:
- Manyoo (A) Just outside of Manchester…
- Norwich City (H)
- Sunderland (H)
- Liverpool (A) Our furthest distance – Merseyside (around 36 miles each way).
- PSG (H)
- Ipswich Town (H)
- AEK Athens (H)
Even after those seven games we’re only travelling to the Midlands…and then we’re at home again! Wow and 👍.
Addendum:
I simply cannot end that little section without making a comment regarding the festive period fixture list release. 🎅📆 Have you seen it! Clearly done by someone, or some people, who just do not like Manchester City FC nor their loyal, away-travelling fans.
- Saturday 26th December, AKA Boxing Day – Newcastle United (A) – 8:00pm KO (GMT). Yeah, thanks for that and happy f***in’ Christmas! Those away fans who will be travelling straight back to Manchester should get home about 2:00am on 27th December, if they treat themselves to a service station stop-off on the way home.
- Then, despite a big list of Premier League fixtures on Wednesday 30th December, we’ve been given another game just 72-hours and 15-minutes later on Tuesday 29th December and are away at Everton, 8:15pm KO this time. Yeah, once again, cheers and happy f***in’ new year too!
Knobheads.
v Manyoo
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| Scaffold Trafford |
I think our manager will go for both Premier League and derby experience with his starting line-up today…
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11.
A fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / / 4-3-3:
_____________________Haaland(VC)__________________
__Semenyo_______________________________Ndiaye__
_________________________________Foden___________
__________Fernandez______________________________
_____________________Anderson___________________
Gvardiol____________________________________Nunes
___________Guehi(VC)_______________Dias(C)__________
___________________Donnarumma(VC)________________
Subs: Rulli, Ait-Nouri, O’Reilly, Khusanov, Reis, Bouaddi, Kovacic, Cherki and Elias.
Gianluigi in goal.
At the back I’m going for Josko, Marc, Ruben and, following his stop-start beginning to his season, Matheus to make it two starts in a row.
Elliot to resume his starting place in the side in deep midfield and I think he’ll start with Enzo and Phil for company; with the latter possible getting the nod not because of form but his usual impact that he has in derbies.
Antoine left, Iliman right and Erling up front.
Geronimo is the one and only back-up stoper today; Rayan-A-, a returning from back niggles, Nico, Abdukodir and Vitor make up four defenders on the side. Midfielders and wide attackers come in the form of Ayyoub, Mateo, Rayan-C- and Allan.
Notable absences:
- Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.
- Rico Lewis – Not selected.
- Jeremy Doku – Still out with a calf injury. Expected return was 2 to 3 weeks from 21st August 2026. He sounds close to a return 👍 but not quite yet.
Do I agree with Enzo’s (predicted) line-up?
Yes…but hoping that if Foden does start ahead of Cherki he not only plays very well but that Cherki can then make a secondary impact on the game as a sub if / when called upon.
Result?
Derby games are so very unpredictable a lot of the time with form often going out of the window and replaced by emotions. What’s also unpredictable form our hosts’ point of view is that, just like Chelsea have been over the last few seasons, Manyoo continue to be the masters of win-draw-lose-repeat. Even United fans don’t know what they’re going to get from their team each time they turn up or tune in.
Then there’s the fact that with so many new summer signings by both clubs, they’ll be plenty of players with no experience of the Trafford-Manchester derby. Even our manager hasn’t experienced one, as main boss at least.
If logic was to prevail then, on form, this is ours to lose. We’re in terrific shape with 4 wins from 4 matches played in 2 difference competitions; scoring 9 and conceding 2 with two cleans sheets already.
Will time make a difference? By the time the game kicks off today (4:30pm KO BST), we’ll have had around 4-½ days of rest and preparation and they will have had just 2-½.
As for The Red Devils, if they get it right on the day they do very much have the tools to pose a dangerous attacking threat from the midfield upwards – they’ve scored just as many leagues goals as we have, despite sitting 11th before the weekend fixtures began. On the other hand, their defence is as flimsy as a cardboard box left out in the rain.
I can see goals at both ends on Sunday afternoon / early evening but I think we’ll score more. I’m going for a City win.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: Win
Result: Lost
See what I mean?! 🙄
(Pre-match blog posting from that game)
Expected weather conditions during the game: The autumn equinox doesn’t actually start until 23rd September this year and so for me it’s still summer. Therefore, I say with little surprise that it’s going to be a lovely 21C today with a forecasted “feels like” of 23C. With sunshine and white-fluffy clouds, it makes for a lovely afternoon to watch footy. 😎🍺⚽
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| Solidarity |
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