Surprise package comes with some danger

They are a surprise for me, at least.

In fact, I think I owe their manager an apology after referring to him as a “journey man” in my prediction piece near the start of the season; a blog-posting where I put them down for relegation come May 2022.

v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 7/11).

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:

______________________________________________

 

Foden______________Sterling______________Mahrez

 

__________De Bruyne__________Silva_____________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Cancelo_________________________________Walker

 

___________Laporte____________Dias____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Zinchenko, Ake, Stones, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Palmer, Grealish, Jesus.

Before I talk about the line-up, I must add my voice to that of many City fans who were left scratching their heads at Pep’s personnel choices last Tuesday. What the ‘eck was he thinking by not resting certain key players who, by his own, very recent words, said-needed a break?!

And why, also, did he not give some minutes to some or all of the youth players he dragged over to Germany with him?!

None of that makes any sense to me and I agree with one online poster the day after the match; who pointed out that Guardiola didn’t do us any favours when considering that, apparently, clubs are eying James McAtee; a player who has just over 18-months left on his contract and Pep missed a perfect opportunity to show the lad that he has faith in him; that James does have a chance of making it at City. I just hope that the youngster is given that chance in the 3^rd round of the F.A.Cup in January.

For me, it’s a classic Pep ‘head wobble moment’ and, once again, in the Champions League too. Frustrating.

Having said all of that and in our manager’s defence; one City fan did inform me the following day (I didn’t get to see the game) that Leipzig were kicking lumps out of us for practically the whole 90+ minutes and that the referee did virtually nothing to deter their aggressiveness.

Huh, I dunno then…did Pep have some kind of insight into how our hosts were going to conduct themselves; did he have knowledge of the referee and feared that our younger players wouldn’t get any protection; with them-possibly ending the match more traumatised than anything else?

Anyway, moving on…

A bit of added guess work for this one, with several players who had knocks ‘n’ niggles having late fitness assessments this morning; just a few hours before the 12:30pm (GMT) kick off.

Ederson reclaims the gloves for this league clash.

A familiar & strong back-4 of Joao, Aymeric, Ruben and Kyle; hoping and assuming that Kyle is fresh and ready to ‘go again’ after his midweek runout and having played so many minutes so far this season.

Rodders in place as defensive midfield adds even more strength to that back line and he’ll link up with a fluid, attacking 5 of Phil, Kevin, Raheem, Bernardo and, I’m guessing, Riyad; who may get a starting reward for his goal in midweek.

Zack reverts back to the bench after his starting appearance last Tuesday; Oleksandr, Nathan and John make up the defensive personnel on the side. Fernandinho, Ilkay, Cole, Jack and Gabriel are the midfield / wing / attacking options in ‘the 9’.

We could see Gabriel start this one and perhaps Raheem on the right instead of Riyad; Jack too could ‘get the nod’ instead of Phil if Phil’s ankle is still troubling him and your guess is as good as mine as to whether Kevin is still feeling the after effects of Covid or not. There are just SO many doubts about this one. Both Aymeric and Nathan had ‘niggly issues’ too and are amongst many who will be assessed this morning…

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.

-       Ferran Torres – Out with a foot injury until around Christmas time.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Sure do.

Result? On & off over the last few seasons, our visitors have managed to take quite a few points off us and not just on their own patch either. That wasn’t the case last season, as we recorded victories both home & away against ‘The Wolves’, but I’m sort of glad we got beat on Tuesday night…and that Pep looked considerably irritated afterwards (at himself perhaps? Doubtful…) because they way the West Midlands outfit have been generally performing so far this season; they look to be a side who are difficult to break down (just 13 goals conceded in 15 league outings), whilst at the same time have it in them to break away and nick a goal / draw / win.

 

Although the midweek outcome meant absolutely nothing, result wise, I think a slightly “angry” response from us is just what we need as we return to league action against a side that can be stubborn.

 

For all the positives I’ve thrown at Wolves in this piece so far, they’re very good form and run of result has started to look a little shakier in recent weeks; with their last 5 reading: L W D D L. Having said that, I feel that I must point out that their last (L) result was very, VERY close to being another draw; only for fffffff…lippin’ Liverpool to get a 94^th-minute winner at Molineux.

I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘reaction’ this week following Tuesday’s result and if most or all of those late fitness test come back positive; then added to players who WERE given the night off in midweek, I think we’re gonna see a response from us.

Our visitors, as I say, can be organised ‘n’ stubborn and they don’t concede many…but they don’t score many either. It COULD very much be a game where we have to be patient again and grind ‘em down but I’ve got a feeling that we’re gonna breach their defences quite early on and if we do, I’ve got another feeling that they’ll capitulate whilst, at the same time, offer little in response.

I’m going for a City win and one that could have a decent margin to it…

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: The game starts off with dark, murky clouds and a bit of mizzle-drizzle and this will turn to more persistent rain as the game progresses. Fans might want to make haste on their journey home or to the pub, as the rain is forecasted to get even heavier from around mid-afternoon. 6C is less cold than it has been in recent days but it does come with a bit of a blustery, southerly breeze.

All change!

Perfect opportunity to rest our main stars; give others some much-needed gametime and an opportunity, also, to give some young players some vital experience.

v RB Leipzig

Red Bull Arena

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 7/11).

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:

______________________________________________

 

Foden______________Sterling______________Mahrez

 

___________Palmer___________De Bruyne_________

 

__________________Fernandinho_________________

Zinchenko____________________________Egan-Riley

 

_____________Ake_____________Stones___________

 

 

_____________________Steffen ___________________

Subs: Carson, Ederson, Wilson-Esbrand, Walker, Dias, Lavia, Gundogan, McAtee, Grealish.

With 12 allowed on the bench in this competition, our manager has choosen to have “just” 9 for this one.

A change of keeper perhaps? I think so – Zack takes the gloves for this game.

A Completely difference back line to say the least, which I think will look like Oleksandr, Nathan, John and a possible ‘starting debut’ for Conrad; a defender who is largely a central but who has plenty of experience for the EDS playing in a right-sided, defensive role. I could be wrong about Conrad starting but if Kyle starts instead, then I expect the him to be swapped for Conrad either at half time or certainly before the 60-minute mark.

Fernandinho is highly likely to take over defensive midfield duties while our attacking, interchangeable 5 is likely to look like Phil, Cole, Raheem, Kevin & Riyad.

Two keepers on the bench come in the form of Scott & Ederson; Josh, Kyle & Ruben are the defensive replacement options in ‘the 9’. Romeo, Ilkay, James & Jack are the midfield / wing attacking choices from the side.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.

-       Cancelo – Not selected / rested / protected.

-       Aymeric Laporte – Not selected / rested / protected.

-       Bernardo Silva – Not selected / rested / protected.

-       Rodri – Not selected / rested / protected.

-       Ferran Torres – Out with a foot injury until around Christmas time…and heavily linked with a move away in January.

-       Gabriel Jesus – Still suffering after a knock he received (I’m being polite to the offender there) in our last outing.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Absolutely.

Result? In a way, it’s a bit of a tough one to call for more than one reason – quite a number of changes and players rested for this one from us and as for our hosts, they’ve just parted with their manager after a poor set of results but also find themselves in a position that if they better Club Bruges result in the last of the group stages game, they can still qualify for the Europa League.

So, on the one hand they might feel in a little disarray but, surely, they will want to go for a win tonight to be absolutely sure that they continue to play in a European competition this season.

Sadly for them, in my opinion, unless they have an absolute blinder; whether they ‘come at us’ for the win or not, I still think we’ll have too much for ‘em.

Pep will certainly want to remain professional and they’ll be players in our squad who will want to ‘stake a claim’ with their manager watching on. I’m going for another City win tonight.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result…

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: 1C, overcast, dry and very little in the way of a breeze. Basically, it’s a very still night, weather wise, whilst at the same time quiet in the stands; with no fans due to local Covid-19 rates.

 

We need to be ‘on it’…again.

Just ask Chelsea and a certain team from Trafford what problems Watford can cause you under their still-new boss, Claudio Ranieri.

In their last outing, they went toe-to-toe with The Pensioners; giving them a really hard time but yet, somehow, came away with no points from that particular home fixture.

It seems strange, having listened to / read some match reports, to see them still-sitting just 1 place outside of the relegation zone with just 2 wins from their 7 games under the 70-year-old Italian manager…but I have a strong feeling that their league position and recent results don’t quite paint a true picture of the threat they can carry on the pitch.

As I’ve suggested in my title, we need to be ‘sharp’ this evening (5:30pm KO GMT).

v Watford

Vicarage Road

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11).

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:

______________________________________________

 

Sterling______________Jesus______________Mahrez

 

___________Foden____________Gundogan_________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

 

____________Stones_____________Dias____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Cancelo, Ake, Laporte, Fernandinho, Palmer, Silva, De Bruyne, Grealish.

Prior to our last game, our manager had a small whinge about the limited number of players available to him and I assumed – possibly quite rightly – that it was a simple case of-having players out with ‘clean ‘n’ obvious’ injury or illness. Indeed, as team sheet came out, we saw quite a number of changes from the previous match.

However, Pep’s comments in his pre-match interview ahead of our clash with The Hornets suggests that his previous frustration may have been to do with the fact that he was told by medical staff that certain players had told them that they weren’t fit to play a part at Villa Park…but that Pep may not have fully believed those players’ protestations.

Chuck into the mix the fact that some of our players have been playing more than their fair share of minutes and are in need of a rest before they ‘burn out’ or pick up a muscle strain; and it all makes for more doubt when trying to predict a ‘starting 11’.

Ederson is the easy one to pick – he has the gloves for this one.

I get the feeling that our manager will want to protect & reward Joao with a rest for this match and with Oleksandr having a fine game in midweek; the Ukrainian has a good chance of starting once again. Kyle was out last Wednesday but is now available again…so-unless he’s one of ‘the softies’ that Guardiola was referring too (unlikely I would have thought), then he should get his place back on the right of the defence. Ruben should ‘go again’ but then it’s pretty much a 50/50 ‘toss up’ who gets to partner the Portuguese in the middle or our back line. Both players, for differing reasons, were missing last Wednesday and, so, have an equal chance of starting this evening, I would suggest. I’m going for John to ‘get the nod’.

Similar to Ederson, I think Rodders is pretty much a certainty; especially for this type of fixture.

Ahead of all of those, we’ll see our usual, fluid-5 formation and today I’m going for those to be Raheem, a returning Phil, Gabriel, rested / returning Ilkay & Riyad.

Zack is the reserve stopper; Joao, Nathen & Aymeric the back-up defenders on the side. Fernandinho, Cole, Bernardo, Kevin & Jack make up one HELL of a talented mix of midfielders / wingers / attackers in reserve.

Notable absences:

-       Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.

-       Ferran Torres – Out with a foot injury until around Christmas time…but now also with the addition of some strong ‘smoke signals’ around which suggest that not only do Barcelona want him in January; but also, Ferran himself has, apparently, asked to leave AND that there’s an agreement already in place with regards to his contract with the Spanish club! I’m a little shocked and slightly disappointed IF that’s true, I have to say…but I will add that we have some amazing, right-sided attacking talent ‘coming through’ and, so, I’m sure we won’t be without young, attacking players providing competition down that side in the very near future.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Not exactly. When I look at our next fixture away at RB Leipzig it just screams, ‘Dead Rubber’! It’s a match where key players can be given time to rest & recharge and where fringe players can be given a go, as well as youngsters given some vital experience.

Therefore, I’d like to see Joao & Bernardo start this one. Additionally, if both players are at their 100% very best; Laporte just about edges it for me over Stones…although I’d like to see Aymeric clean up some tackles and silliness from his recent performances.

I think we need to go into this match with a strong 11; go for all-3 points the best we can and then use the week ahead to fix any aches, pains & niggles.

Result? I’ve already said quite a bit about our hosts in my opening gambit but I just want to ‘stick a bit more detail’ on their recent set of results.

First of all, lets forget (I’m sure Watford fans will want to) their first game under their new manager when they got slammed 0-5 at home to a very much in-form Liverpool side. Since then, 2 of their defeats were by just one goal (two 1-0’ers) and even though they lost at Leicester in their last match of November, where they concede 4 goals; they still managed to breach the home side’s defence twice; a game where they also, apparently, created more chances than their hosts on the night.

And they can score. They registered 5 away at struggling Everton and 4 at home to inconsistent Manyoo, as well as netting an equaliser in the afore mentioned Chelsea clash last Wednesday.

We’ve definitely got to be ready to manage their threats, especially when you consider that we’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in our last 3 outings / victories…

But not only do we have most of our players back from injury, illness and suspension; we’re in incredible form. What I’m personally very impressed with, apart from the footballing class that we’re showing on the pitch, is the sheer hard work and comradery on view.

All of that will be needed once again and I believe it’ll be a crackin’ game; one that I’m putting down as a win for us.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result…

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Dry, at least, but chilly (around 4 or 5C). One factor that might have a small effect on the game is the stiff, westerly breeze (average 12MPH), which is forecast to sweep across diagonally from one corner to the opposite, far-side-flag. It could affect some crosses in one of the boxes, at least, should the wind ‘gust’ at times.

 

Momentum v reinvigoration

5 wins from 5 for us in all competitions is something to be heartened by, to say the very least, and I think that it makes for an interesting fixture against a side who had a terrible run of results; resulting in them departing with their manager and recruiting ex-Rangers Manager, Steven Gerrard; a decision that’s seen the new Villans’ boss get 2 wins from his first 2 games in charge.

Game on!

v Aston Villa

Villa Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 11/11).

Fluid 4-1-5-0 / 4-6-0 / 4-3-3:

______________________________________________

 

Sterling______________Jesus______________Mahrez

 

_________Gundogan______________Silva__________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Cancelo_________________________________Walker

 

____________Stones____________Dias_____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Carson, Zinchenko, Ake, Fernandinho, Palmer, Foden, McAtee, Grealish.

With our manager bemoaning slightly in his pre-match interview that he has a reduced number of fit players available for a variety of reasons, there’s a chance that we might not see a full bench compliment tonight.

I’m gonna save myself some ‘typing time’ here and on this occasion to simply say…’same 11’ as last Sunday, is my guess.

As for the bench, we might see two keepers in the form of Zack & Scott, with Oleksandr & Nathan the only two defenders on the side. Fernandinho, Cole, Phil, James & Jack are the midfield / wing / attacking choices in ‘the 9’…should we take a ‘full 20’ with us.

Notable absences:

-       Aymeric Laporte – Suspended for this game.

-       Benjamin Mendy – Suspended by the club until further notice.

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Back out from Covid-19 isolation but hasn’t yet trained; certainly not with his teammates, as yet. Therefore, this fixture is highly likely to-have come too soon for the Belgium international.

-       Ferran Torres – Out with a foot injury until around Christmas time.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yep…but I would hope there’s scope within the game to withdraw / rest some players who have put in many, many minutes so far this season. I’m sure they’d appreciate any rest they can get.

Result? This game has all the hallmarks of being a tricky fixture and I think our hosts will have their collective ‘tails up’ for this one. They could well score and give us a scare or two.

However, I believe that our momentum and quality will see us through this one. It’s another City win for me; a game I might not get to see at all or certainly, at least, not the second half (I'm glad I managed to get a blog-posting out though).

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: Flippin’ cold but dry, at least. 2C is the official [forecasted] temperature but it comes with a brisk, northerly breeze that will make it feel closer to zero or below, for sure. Warm clothing, pies & warm drinks for those in the stands that ‘feel it’; gloves for those outfield players who don’t like their ‘little pinkies’ feeling the chill, I would suggest.