Please…no repeat of ’81.

Different competition but facing Spurs at Wembley brings back some sharp & life-changing memories for me form our meeting in May 1981.

It was a painful moment, football-wise, as a 9-year-old at the time but also a defining one; the details of which can be seen in bold print in the “About me” tab on my blog.

v Tottenham Hotspur

Wembley Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 10/11).

If Pep wants any chance of winning this and equalling Liverpool’s League Cup record of winning the final 4 years running, then surely, he has to put out a strong side despite the semi-final first leg of the Champions League coming up on Wednesday night.

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

____________________Jesus____________________

 

 

Foden__________________________________Mahrez

 

__________Gundogan_________Silva_____________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

 

____________Laporte___________Dias_____________

 

 

_____________________Steffen____________________

Subs: Ederson, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Sterling, Torres, Aguero.

Zack has the ‘cup gloves’ and will be keen, I’m sure, to make amends for his ‘slip up’ in the F.A. Cup semi-final last weekend.

‘Going for it’, as I’m guessing Guardiola will; possibly our strongest back-4 sees Oleksandr, Aymeric, Ruben & Kyle all start (I think Pep will recognise that we’ll need Walker’s pace with the threat of Gareth Bale playing at least some part tomorrow afternoon (4:30pm KO BST)).

Then, I’m basically going for the same 6 ahead of the defence that played so very well against Aston Villa last Wednesday – Rodders, Phil, Ilkay, Bernardo, Riyad & Gabriel.

Ederson steps back as keeper cover; Joao, Benjamin & Nathan are the only defenders on the side. Fernandinho, Kevin, who may even be fit enough to start, Raheem, Ferran and even Sergio could all make up a decent-looking 5 that provides back-up to the midfield / wing / forward departments.

A reminder that should the match go to extra time, both teams are permitted 1-extra substitution this season and teams can hold back 'normal time' subs to add to that should they wish to.

Notable absences:

-       Eric Garcia – Not selected.

-       John Stones – Suspended for the 1^st of 3, domestic games and is now-only available, domestically, for our last 3 games of the season. As for European competition, I’m just wondering whether he may also only make the bench; so that his manager can build some consistency / a partnership with Laporte & Dias for most of the remainder of the season. John could well have effectively ended his otherwise-excellent season early…

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

Sure do.

Result? The word…“depends” springs to mind.

Depends…

·         …whether Pep is gonna make wholesale changes from our last domestic outing like he did last Saturday.

·         …if he does, whether the incoming players ‘step up’ and give a better account of themselves.

·         …whether Kev will have any involvement and, if he does, how close to 100% he is given that he was only injured 8-days earlier.

·         …whether Harry Kane plays a part and, likewise, how fit he is after HIS ankle injury.

·         …what impact their 29-year-old, interim manager has on the team / how the players respond to him-being in charge of a cup final so soon after taking charge.

·         …how well we can nullify the attacking threat of, not just, but Son in particular.

In short? I think it’s so hard to call.

SO…I’m going for our manager to be bold ahead of our PSG clash this midweek coming and although he may not go with my full predicted side; I do believe he will pick a stronger one that he did against Chelsea. Obviously, there’s always a chance of injury to players but if we’re talking about recovery time / energy levels; then they’ll have a full 3 days to recover that includes just a short, 1-½ hour plane hop over to Paris.

Go into this match with some of our best quality and I’m going for us to win this in normal time, although it could be a close one. It’s a City win and a record-equalling 4 League Cup trophies ‘on the trot’, for me.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Perfect conditions to keep the players cool as they ‘leg it’ around on a big pitch. Sunny intervals and 12/13C with a brisk, easterly breeze throughout the game.

Should this have been the game…

…where Pep rotated / rested our main players and not last Saturday’s F.A. Cup semi-final?

Pep knows best?

Of course, he and his staff will have been monitoring the recovery levels of their players following the 2^nd leg game against Borussia Dortmund and, yes…the Chelsea game did only come less than 72 hours after the final whistle in Germany, which then included travel time back to the UK…before then travelling from Manchester to London.

And if they had spotted that some players were struggling a little and weren’t quite ready then yeah; I suppose it was wise to leave some of ‘em out seeing as we’re already in another domestic final and have eyes firmly set on both regaining the Premier League and at LEAST giving ourselves a crack at the Champions League by trying to get to the final for the first ever time.

But to change 8 players when we were so close to the F.A. Cup final? Eight?!

In our manager’s defence, some of those players brought in are, of course, very good – I thought Laporte had an excellent game, for example, and it reminded me how daft some City fans online sounded when the pairing of Stone & Dias was working so well; where some of ‘em effectively turned on the Frenchman by suggesting that he had ‘lost a yard’ and was a ‘spent force’ at City (WHAT THE HELL?!).

But c’mon…we were 90+ minutes away from the final of a world-famous cup final and he picks Benjamin Mendy; an out of form Joao Cancelo, a terribly out of form Raheem Sterling, a barely-played / yet to impress Ferran Torres and two defensive midfielders who are hardly blessed with pace against a pacey, counter-attacking side.

The only reason I wasn’t terribly gutted as the final whistle blew was because a certain resignation & disappointment had already wafted over me when I saw the team sheet before kick-off…and my mood didn’t improve much during the game.

Now here’s the thing for me…

Give your (much) better players 55 / 60 minutes against Chelsea; try to win the game / progress to the final and then give ‘em a full, well-deserved week off before the final of the League Cup. It might not have worked; we may still have lost but I don’t think we would have done if we’d have played Zinchenko, Walker, Foden & Mahrez at the very least for 2/3s of the match.

It would have to be a monumental disaster, now I would suggest, for us to not win the Premier League; despite the ‘closing gap’ in recent weeks. That being the case, in my opinion we could have “risked” resting some key players in THIS fixture and before another trip to Wembley; a game that’s now got an extra ‘air of uncertainty’ about it with Tottenham having dispensed with their manager on Monday, in terms of how their players will react either way to their interim manager. Of course, we’d then have the dilemma of who would be fit & raring to go once again against PSG just 3 days after facing Spurs on a big pitch / in a big occasion but, hey; that’s what happens when you’re successful in all-four cup competitions.

And now?

And now…we face a scenario whereby, come another one-off game this-coming weekend - a fixture where ‘anyone can win it on the day’ - we could find ourselves down to “just” two trophies to aim for come Sunday evening and, where, we’re now attempting that, for however long, without a back-in-form Kevin De Bruyne.

And what does Guardiola do now - play his strongest / near-strongest 11 against Villa and then repeat a ‘Wembley wobble’ by largely selecting a ‘second 11’ once again; so that big players are rested before the Champions League semi-final first leg 3 days later?

I just think that with his team selection last Saturday he’s now got the game / player rotation all ‘a bit out of kilter’…

v Aston Villa

Villa Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: A shocking 4/11!).

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

____________________Jesus____________________

 

 

Foden__________________________________Mahrez

 

__________Gundogan_________Silva_____________

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Walker

 

______________Ake___________Stones____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Cancelo, Mendy, Dias, Garcia, Laporte, Fernandinho, Sterling, Torres.

Ederson in net.

I have to believe that they’ll be full rotation in the defence from last Saturday to-both give Ruben a much-needed rest and to stretch the legs of those who haven’t played for a week or so and, therefore, I’m going for a back-4 of Oleksandr, Nathan, John & Kyle.

Rodders gets the defensive midfield role and just ahead of him - and just like my predicted defence - I can see a completely different attacking midfield department with Phil, Ilkay, Bernardo & Riyad all being asked to try 'n' provide the assists / goals in this encounter.

Will we go with a striker tonight? There’s a chance we may not but I’m going for our manager to give Gabriel another go ‘up top’.

Zack is the reserve keeper, I would think; Joao, Benjamin, Ruben, Eric & Aymeric make up the rather large contingent of replacement defenders from the side. Fernandinho – another player who has played in defence – Raheem & Ferran make up the rest of ‘the 9’.

Do you know what that bench says to me…it says that when we have just 2-key, attacking players unavailable and all other first-teamers are fit; we do seem, oddly, to be lacking in the attacking / creative department and, therefore, resort to filling most of bench with defenders; short of dipping into the EDS for a midfielder / winger / striker. I’ll be talking more on that in a close-season piece that I have swirling around in my ‘ead…

Notable absences:

-       Kevin De Bruyne – Injured with a foot / ankle issue. However, due to chatter about another matter in the pre-match press conference, there has been no update from Pep as yet as to how long our creative mastermind will be out for. Hopefully they’ll be an update soon after dust has settled over a certain football-related story.

-       Sergio Aguero – Similarly, no update from the last one we received, which was that he was still suffering with “niggles” and, so, I’m just gonna assume that although he may have made some progress; this game comes too soon for the Argentine. It’s hard to get my head around the fact that as we approach May, Serg has only played just over 6 hours of football!

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

Yep.

Result? Our hosts are having a strange season. They started off so very well but then tailed right off as the season progressed. I think it perfectly sums ‘em up that they sit in mid-table having lost almost as many as they’ve won.

Even Sheffield United managed a 1-0 home win against The Lions at the beginning of last month, just to add to the weirdness of their season so far.

Want more ‘Twilight Zone’ material about the Midlands side? Okay…so they’ve played one or two less games than most teams around ‘em but I don’t recall ever seeing a side sitting in (or around) 11^th place whilst, at the same time, having the 3^rd-best defensive record in the division. Teams just either side of them in the table have conceded 8 & 17 more than the ‘claret & blues’!

 

So, we’re facing a team with a good defence and a very much in-form & respected goalkeeper, in Emiliano Martinez; a much-travelled / loaned-out stopper who seems to have found stable ground at Villa Park since his £20M summer move.

I’ve said it before recently and with good reason – we’ll need both our decision-making heads & shooting boots on tonight.

Having looked at their defensive record and keeper’s form, I think it should be some cause for concern that in our last 4 domestic games we’ve “only” managed 5 goals. Why? Well…we’re better than that, putting it bluntly.

When we’re in ‘slipstream mode’ we seem to make goal-scoring look as natural as breathing but when we hit one of those periods where it looks like some of the players have blurry vision, it looks like their taking their first ever breath; with passes going astray and shots flying anywhere but ‘between the sticks’.

I think, despite expected personnel changes, we might start this one a little shakily and if we do, Villa also have attacking players who can ‘punish with ease’ (not just him but I do like the look of versatile forward, Ollie Watkins).

But it’s not like us, this season at least, to have back-to-back defeats and I’m sure they’ll be a collective desire from our lads to both get the last game out of their systems and take another step towards Premier League glory.

It could be an interesting game and perhaps even a close one but I’m going for a City win in the end.

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: For this ridiculously-late KO, 8:15PM BST, the temperature starts at around 10C; with the sun so low in the sky that the interior of Villa Park is likely to blanketed in shade and feeling cooler than that. As the sun disappears completely, the temperature drops off quickly to around 7 or 8C. There’s also a fairly brisk, north, north-easterly wind of around (average) 9MPH but the Doug Ellis Stand should shield the pitch from any wind-gust interference.

Has there been anything else happening in football this week effecting our club that needs mention?

Can’t think of anything…

The players need to use…

…the Champions League win & progression to grow in belief & increased confidence, as we head into a crucial, packed schedule that includes 4 different competitions in 4 games; starting with a real tester against a restructured Chelsea side.

v Chelsea

Wembley Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 10/11).

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

______________________________________________

 

 

Foden___________________________________Mahrez

 

________De Bruyne___Gundogan___Silva___________

 

___________________Fernandinho_________________

Zinchenko________________________________Walker

 

_____________Stones____________Dias____________

 

 

______________________Steffen___________________

Subs: Ederson, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Laporte, Rodri, Sterling, Torres, Jesus.

A change in keeper for this competition is likely to see Zack step in ‘between the sticks’.

No changes in defence from last Wednesday night’s win in Germany, though-I-reckon, with Oleksandr, John, Ruben & Kyle all protecting our goal.

Also helping to keep The Pensioners out is another change from midweek; as I’m going for our captain, Fernandinho, to start in the defensive midfield role.

In another ‘no recognised striker’ formation that I’ve suggested, I’m guessing we’ll see same attacking midfield 5; as Phil, Kevin, Ilkay, Bernardo & Riyad will be asked to ‘pull on their reserve tanks’ of energy, which I hope will have mostly refilled by the time we come to 5:30pm (BST) in the evening. Of course, any of those midfielders / wingers are capable of acting as a 'false 9' and, indeed, they may well rotate that position between them as the play dictates.

Ederson takes a rare ‘back seat’ as reserve keeper; Joao, Benjamin, Nathan & Aymeric make up the defence cover from ‘the 9’. Rodders, Raheem, Ferran & Gabriel are the midfield / wing / attacking choice-options from the side. A reminder that 5 substitutes are allowed on no more than 3 occasions in this competition this season.

Notable absences:

-       Eric Garcia – Not selected.

-       Sergio Aguero – Still hasn't recovered from a slight muscle niggle to be ready for this game.

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

Yeah, I love it. On the big pitch that is Wembley and after an energy-sapping game just 69-½ hours earlier; I think we’re gonna need a packed midfield against a side who, I reckon, will deploy similarly.

And with the fresh, fast-attacking legs of Raheem, Ferran & Gabriel on the bench as late-game options when legs are tiring on both sides; I think it’s good to have that in our armoury too.

Result? Real tough one to call, is this. There’s no doubting that Hard task master, Thomas Tuchel, has solidified his new side in the 2-½ months, there abouts, that he’s been at SW6; tightening the defence from his predecessor’s reign and building a more robust midfield, as he’s ‘chipped away’ at results; gathering mostly decent draws or good wins.

It’s not his team yet, however, and despite also progressing to the semi-final stage of the Champions League and parking themselves in 5^th place of the Prem ready to strike for a 4^th or even 3^rd-place finish; they did get walloped 2-5 at home to all-but-doomed West Brom, admittedly when down to 10 men after 29 minutes, and did lose their home leg of the quarter finals of the Champions League, so they are by no means impenetrable.

But, in the main, they are more of a solid unit than they were when we put 3 past them on 'their patch' in early January and so for me, it’s all about whether we’ve got our decision-making heads & shooting boots on because…as our opponents have solidified, they have, in general, become a little less threatening at the ‘business end’ of the pitch.

Get those crucial, in-the-box decisions right and put the correct boots on and I can see us winning this in normal time…but at the same time I can also easily envisage a draw in ‘the 90’ and then it becoming a game of who has ‘the legs’ and the concentration to finish it off. I just hope it doesn’t come to penalties, as I don’t think we’d come out of that too well...

I think our lads will be buzzing after beating a very good Borussia Dortmund side twice, 2-1, and will take that fizz into this game like having an extra man on the pitch. 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: Lovely. Not exactly t-shirt weather, especially in the shaded areas of the ground as the sun dips away, but 12C with sunny intervals sounds like a perfect evening for a game of footy.

The last time we…

…received a bucket of cold water in the face in the form of a home defeat, we went on to win 6 games in a row; scoring 16 goals and conceding just 3. If we repeat that feat, we’d find ourselves in the semi-finals of the Champions League, the final of the F.A. Cup; we’d have likely wrapped up the League title and would have another League Cup sitting in our trophy cabinet.

Sounds great…but I think some of our players need to step up a gear or two now and show some consistency for that to happen.

A quick look back on that very defeat…

First of all, I thought it was a crackin’ game – one that you just couldn’t take your eyes off for a second for fear of missing something, the pace was that frenetic. I did, for a moment, and initially missed the horrible challenge that eventually led to Leeds going down to 10-men.

We played well, in the main I thought, and pressed really, REALLY well. John Stones had an outstanding game and I was shocked to see the Manchester Evening News awarding him “just” a 7/10. He easily gets an 8.5/10 from me.

I think mentions also have to go to Nathan Ake, Fernandinho & Oleksandr Zinchenko; the latter, of which, got a rare, largely-defensive midfield role.

But…my word do we need to practice, once again, shooting and in-the-box decision making!

Lots and lots…and LOTS of credit has to go to the visitors for the way they defended (and for their clinical counter attacks) but for us to create so many opportunities and have only 7 shots ‘on target’ from 29 efforts is, once again, a little alarming…and harks back to many-a-period that has seen us shoot ourselves in the foot; leaving some City fans questioning some players abilities and even MORE City fans calling for a killer-striker to be bought ASAP. It’s hard to disagree with them for the most part.

For all his creative talent and hard work – and I really like him by the way – I thought Bernardo Silva was fairly ineffective at the weekend. And although he got the goal, I was hoping to see more from Ferran Torres’ starting opportunity; a player who, I think, has ability aplenty but seems to be suffering ‘first season settling-in syndrome’…although I say that with a big nod towards the fact that he has been getting limited ‘game time’ and, therefore, doesn’t get the opportunity to build any momentum.

Joao Cancelo too – a player seemingly re-born and reinvented but one who seems to be slowly reverting back to the less-than-impressive, expensive purchase that had many of us scratching our heads. I hope that stops and reverses very soon.

But the biggest concern for me, though, is the BIG drop-off in form of one Raheem Sterling. Putting it bluntly, he’s regressed. He’s regressed to the player many City fans warned others about when we were about to sign him way back in 2015…before he was turned into a rampaging, creative / goal machine (facts don’t lie).

But there’s something that just seems to ‘click’ in his head from time to time and in most seasons, which turns him into some kind of dithering mess in the final 3^rd and, most certainly, in the opposition box; despite his impressive assist & goals stats per games played.

I don’t know what it is…and I’m not sure Pep does either. Not fully anyway.

But one thing is for sure – and I’m not just pointing the finger at Raheem nor any of the others that I’ve mentioned less favourably (and I’m certainly not going to waste my time talking about Benjamin Mendy or HIS performance last Saturday) – is that with very tough, crucial games coming up in 3 cup competitions in the coming weeks, we need some of our players to step back up to the level we all know they are capable of; find that extra bit of quality and strong-mental belief & consistency to truly become, record-breaking, Manchester City legends.

v Borussia Dortmund

Signal Iduna Park

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

Fluid 5-1-4-0 / 3-7-0:

______________________________________________

 

 

Foden___________________________________Mahrez

 

___________De Bruyne________Gundogan__________

 

______________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko________________________________Walker

 

__________Laporte_____Stones______Dias__________

 

 

_____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Trafford, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Garcia, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Torres, Jesus.

Ederson continues to take charge of the gloves…although he too just needs to keep an eye on a certain aspect of his game, I would suggest; stop some silly-dangerous play and realise that, sometimes, ‘wellyin’ it’ is the preferred / safer option.

Now…I could be WAY off here by suggesting that our manager is gonna go with 3 central defenders along with 2 wing-backs…and a defensive midfield tonight (8:00pm KO BST). Then again, I could be right with the formation but-then-there-are-so-many personnel options that we have at our disposal, the permutations any numerous. Laporte could be used as left-wing back and Nathan Ake could take up the left-side of ‘the 3’ or, of course, Cancelo could be given either of the wing-back positions etc. etc. Anyhoo…I’ve gone for a back-3 of Aymeric, John & Ruben which, on paper, looks like a pretty formidable wall to say the least. Kyle is on the right and I’ve gone for Oleksandr on the left flank, despite him-playing the whole 95+ minutes last Saturday. I’ve gone for the 24-year-old Ukrainian purely on decent form and tireless work rate; something I assume his manager will have observed and will want to reward him for.

Rodders is the defensive midfielder and then, ahead of the Spaniard, it’s an attacking quartet of Phil, Kevin, Ilkay & Riyad with no striker.

“Just” yer 11 on the bench from an-allowed 12 still allows scope for 2 keepers which, in our case, comes in the form of Zack & James (sounds like a children's double act). Joao, Benjamin & Eric are the trio of reserve defenders while Fernandinho, Bernardo, Raheem, Ferran & Gabriel make up the midfield / wing / attacking change-options from the side.

Notable absences:

-       Sergio Aguero – Hasn’t made the squad due to a slight muscle injury. It’s nothing major, we are told.

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

Not only do I like the look of this set-up for this-particular fixture but I fully endorse it!

Well…I say “fully” – if I thought that Fernandinho was capable of putting in another lively shift having also played 95+ minutes just 4 days earlier, then I might be inclined to give our Brazilian skipper Rodri’s spot. Although, having said that, I would have some trepidation about that decision; having noticed in recent appearances that our captain’s old trait of becoming a little too rash in his challenges has crept back into his game, which could be a liability in such a crucial, deciding fixture.

But I’d like that set-up and if Rodri could have an 8/10 game - helping the 3 defenders behind him - then I think that would provide a very solid base to allow a marauding, attacking 4 midfielders / wingers plus 2 wing-backs to pepper the German side’s defence from all angles.

Result? I think it’s time for experienced players / leaders in our squad to step up and ‘rally the troops’ for this one and if they can create a strong mindset throughout the whole team and all play to their potential tonight; then I can honestly see us winning this leg too.

Of course, they have attacking threat in abundance but in their league fixture since we last met, which was away at mid-table Stuttgart, they conceded twice and it took an 80^th minute goal to secure all 3 points for Die Schwarzgelben.

They can be ‘got at’…and they have to come at us tonight to stand ANY chance of progression to the semis.

I think we need to score too, though, and I believe we will; especially if our attacking players have the confidence to go forward knowing that we have the personnel at the back to protect our goal…hence my prediction of how Guardiola might want to set up; giving our forward-thinking players ‘peace of mind’.

Although a draw – and even a 3-2 defeat - would still clinch the round for us, I’m going for a City win.

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

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Largely overcast, dry, with a slight northerly breeze and nippy, at just 5 or 6C. No game-influencing conditions at all.

 

Marchin’ on together…

We just keep ‘chalkin’ ‘em off’, don’t we, regardless of the competition.

Straight to a predicted line-up for this one as I need to get this one out ASAP due to the early, Saturday KO (12:30pm BST)…and I’m going to suggest something a little out of the ordinary for this clash.

v Leeds United

Etihad Stadium

 

I’ve already said that I need to get this-particular blog-posting out quickly and to go one stage further (made the decision this morning), I’ve now decided to publish it before Pep Guardiola’s pre-match press conference due to time constraints for one reason or another; leaving more room for error in my predicted line-up section.

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 9/11).

Fluid 4-2-3-1 / 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-4-2:

____________________Aguero____________________

 

 

 

Sterling______________Jesus_______________Torres

 

_____________________________Silva_____________

__________Fernandinho__________________________

Zinchenko________________________________Walker

 

____________Laporte__________Garcia____________

 

 

____________________Ederson___________________

Subs: Steffen, Cancelo, Mendy, Ake, Dias, Rodri, De Bruyne, Foden, Mahrez.

Although there’s possibly-even a case for protecting the keeper before the very important 2^nd leg of the quester final of the Champions League on Wednesday night; I think Ederson will start ‘between the sticks’ tomorrow afternoon.

Ahead of him, I see an almost complete change to the back-4 from last Tuesday that’s likely to see Kyle being asked to start once more against The Whites and if so / if the game suits at the time, it’s likely that he’ll be subbed at some point in the second half to rest / protect him ahead of next week’s trip to Germany. The change, I believe, comes in the form of Eric, Aymeric & Oleksandr, who all step into ‘the 11’.

Fernandinho comes back as defensive midfielder and in a kind of 5-man midfield that morphs into a 2…attacking-3 / 1…attacking-4; with the Brazilian joined by Bernardo, Raheem, Gabriel - in a deeper role - & Ferran.

Sergio, I think, gets a rare season start tomorrow in a rare, also, 2-striker set up.

I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the reserve keeper situation at the moment – we saw Scott Carson get the back-up stopper job in the last Premier League game and then both Zack Steffen & James Trafford in ‘the 12’ for the Champions League clash 3 days ago. Perhaps that’s how it is at the moment; I can see logic in it and, so, ex-West Brom & Derby County man, Scott, gets in ‘the 9’ on Saturday. Joao, Benjamin, Nathan & Ruben are the defensive replacement options from the side, while Rodders, Kevin, Phil & Riyad are the only attacking midfield / wing options from the bench, as my prediction sees a lot of attacking personnel in the starting line-up.

Notable absences:

-       Zack Steffen – Not selected / protected.

-       John Stones – Not selected / rested / protected.

-       Ilkay Gundogan – Not selected / rested / protected.

UPDATE (11:10am, Saturday 10th April): 2 players are doubtful with injury niggles but have yet to be named. Obviously we'll find out in around 20-minutes' time when the team sheet is released and where we may get an explanation / more detail before KO on who they are and to what extent they are injured.

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

For this game and in these circumstances [way clear at the top of the Prem and in the middle of two crucial Champions League games] I’d say yes…definitely.

There’s still enough quality & pace in that defence (Garcia aside, pace-wise) to cope with our visitor’s marauding counter attacks, I’d say, and more than enough quality attacking threat in our side to worry an-often-leaky, Leeds defence.

It could look as though we’re leaving ourselves a little thin in the middle of the park where, possibly, the Yorkshire side might ‘pack ‘em in’ but there should be plenty of legs & work-rate in the form of Silva & Jesus to counter that.

Result? Entertainment-wise, this could either be a crackin’ game with multiple goals at both ends or a rather dull affair; whereby we set up to ‘keep ball’ and reserve our energies / not risk over-stretching ourselves ahead of Wednesday night and hope to hit THEM on the counter.

Either way, I think this is gonna be a home win with, perhaps, both sides scoring.

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: Blue skies and unbroken sunshine! Don’t get the deckchairs out just yet, though - the temperature is only gonna be around 6 or 7C with a light, northerly breeze making the ‘feels like’ temperature even chillier. Perfect, I would say, for a game of footy where high-intensity is a possibility which could, therefore, see the players being glad of cooling the air.