Top v top.

Top of the Premier League versus top of the Championship in the F.A. Cup – should make for a very good game!

v Fulham

Etihad Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

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

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

_______________________________________________

 

Sterling______________McAtee______________Mahrez

 

__________Grealish_____________De Bruyne________

 

______________________Rodri____________________

Zinchenko_______________________________Cancelo

 

_____________Ake_______________Stones_________

 

 

_____________________Steffen___________________

Subs: Carson, Wilson-Esbrand, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Foden, Silva.

9 on the bench, as is the case in the Premier League, but with 5 subs allowed at this stage of this competition, for the time being at least.

Zack should start in net and I say “should” because his has had an issue with his back recently; a niggle that saw him not travel to join his USA teammates in their World Cup qualifying endeavours. However, he was pictured enjoying himself in training a couple of days ago.

Also seen in training and apparently looking sharp was a returning [from illness and/or injury] Oleksandr and I think we’ll see the Ukrainian start in the left-wing back slot this afternoon. I’m going for Joao on the opposite, defensive flank with Nathan & John in the middle of those.

Rodders has the deeper-lying midfield role and then our usual, fluid, interchangeable 5 includes Raheem, Jack, new contract-signing James, Kevin & Riyad.

Scott is likely to find himself our main back-up keeper tomorrow (although I also have a feeling that despite only returning from Brazil very recently that Ederson might be added to the bench too); new contract-signing Josh, Kyle, Ruben & Aymeric make up the defensive replacement options in ‘the 9’. Fernandinho, Ilkay, Phil & Bernardo are the midfield / wing / attacking choices on the side.

Additional thoughts:

With Walker suspended for 3 up & coming Champions League games, I think Pep might use this opportunity for Joao to refamiliarise himself with his more-traditional right-wing back role and give Oleks a much-needed run on the left too.

Our manager may see this as a chance also for Jack & Raheem to put horrible performances v Southampton behind them and I’m sure he’d agree with most Blues in that Riyad needs a game following his country's very early exit from the AFCON.

Having said all of THAT, this is the F.A. Cup…and this is Pep Guardiola we’re talking about – he could well go with his strongest available 11 and ‘bench’ 4 or 5 of those that I’ve suggested in the starting 11; hope to ‘put the tie to bed’ in the first 60 minutes or so and then bring on some of those players who, generally speaking, see fewer minutes. Of course, we’ll know all of that when the team sheet comes out at 2:00pm (GMT)…

Notable absences:

-       Ederson – Not selected / rested (or should that be resting after a very recent, long flight or two?).

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

-       Cole Palmer – Has still not trained following a small issue that he picked up the other week in the F.A Cup and will continue to be assessed over the next couple of weeks.

-       Gabriel Jesus – Has come back from international duty with a minor, niggly issue. Unknown return date but doesn’t sound like he’ll be out for too long.

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

There’s a little bit of me that looks at the left side of our defence in that anticipated line-up against a team who have shown, this season, that they most-certainly know where the net is; and it leaves me with some concerns. Of our 4 central defenders, even someone like me who thinks well of Nathan admits that he’s our 4^th best and, so, putting him next to a player who, let’s have it right, has hardly played a game for most of the season so far, could be a little risky. I might be tempted, therefore, to go with Laporte on the left-side of centre.

Something also rankles with me a little seeing Jack – a player who not only had an awful game last time out but who, for me, is on a season rating of 5/10 so far – get ahead of more-deserved players. However, I get the reason (as stated above) why he might be ‘in there’ from the start.

Other than that, it’s a nicely balanced side and gives ‘game time’ to some players who need it; without necessarily weakening the side too much, which we should definitely avoid doing against the Championship league leaders.

There’s very strong ‘reserve ammo’ on our bench too.

Result? With 28 goals to his name so far this season, putting him a whopping 19 goals ahead of his nearest, goalscoring teammate; there’s no doubt who their main threat is. Aleksandar Mitrovic has 7 assists to his name too.

Aleksandar Mitrovic

But he’s far from being the only attacking player we need to be wary of – 24-year-old, Welsh winger, Harry Wilson has 10 goals and 9 assists in 25 games played and holds an impressive 82% passing accuracy record. 5’ 7”, French attacking midfielder, Neeskens Kebano has also ‘pitched in’ with 8 goals and 6 assists in 29 games; whilst 2 others have 6 goals-a-piece.

Fulham are a side who are undefeated in their last 6 games; a run that’s seen them hit two teams for 6 as well as registering a 7-0’er away from home. In those 6 games, they’ve netted 24 times and have conceded 7.

As impressive as their attacking stats are, it’s that ‘against column’ that should be of interest too.

7 conceded in those last 6 games almost perfectly mirrors their league season stats of 26 leaked in 28 games – on average, they’re letting in around a goal every game and that’s something we can most-definitely exploit if we’re wearing our ‘shooting boots’ (most Blues should recognise what I’m referring to there; in that we have games where we misfire a heck of a lot despite our incredible creativity and number of chances we give ourselves).

I think they’ll definitely come to ‘have a pop at us’ and I’m sure they’re in confident mood that they can find the back of our net AND, perhaps, cause a cup upset.

I often think that we can look a little rusty after an international break and with the possibility of some fringe players starting too; that adds an extra layer of uncertainty, for me at least.

However, I’m sure both Pep and the players will want to improve on the Southampton performance and result (even though Pep sounded utterly defiant after that game that both Jack Grealish and the whole team played well) and whether we choose something like that starting 11 or ‘go stronger’; I think we’ll prevail by the end of the match (there’s no replay from ‘Round 4’).

They may well ‘breach our defences’ but I think we’ll score more - 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: Brief, sunny intervals are separated by sharp, blustery showers. 8C is the official temperature but with a fairly strong, south-westerly breeze and a damp feel to say the very least; it’s gonna feel a lot cooler in the stands, I’m sure. On the pitch, it’s the kind of weather our lads will be a little more used to than our opponents from West London, I would suggest.

 

 

Multiple boosts ahead of Southampton

Injuries clearing up, players recovered from Covid-19, which in itself seems to be retreating for now at least, and even Riyad Mahrez has come back from the African Cup of Nations early.

All good stuff (sorry Riyad)!

v Southampton

St. Mary's Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog-wise, was our fixture surrounded by so much uncertainty in the F.A. Cup against Swindon Town: 5/11).

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

_______________________________________________

 

Sterling____________________________________Silva

___________________De Bruyne__________________

_________Foden________________Gundogan_______

 

_____________________Rodri____________________

Cancelo__________________________________Walker

 

___________Laporte____________Stones___________

 

 

____________________Ederson____________________

Subs: Steffen, Wilson-Esbrand, Ake, Dias, Fernandinho, Lavia, Grealish, McAtee, Jesus.

Same ‘back 5’, goalkeeper included, that faced Chelsea last weekend, I would suggest; with Aymeric & John being rewarded with another partnership after they helped to keep a clean sheet against The Pensioners.

Rodders to ‘go again’ also as defensive midfielder and then it’s our usual, fluid, interchangeable, attacking-5 which’ll be made up of Raheem, Phil, Kevin, Ilkay & Bernardo, I reckon.

Zack is the back-up stopper; Josh, Nathan & Ruben are the defensive replacement options on the side…with the latter sure to be ‘chomping at the bit’ the most to get back into the ‘starting 11’. Fernandinho, Romeo, Jack, James & Gabriel (sounds like a strange English / international-mix boy band) make up the midfield / wing / attacking change-options in ‘the 9’.

Notable absences:

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

-       Oleksandr Zinchenko – Still injured with…“a knock”, is what I understand – the “new”, slightly irritating and somewhat vague phrase being used quite often recently. Unknown return date for the Ukrainian; a player who must have some thoughts focussed towards his homeland at the moment…

-       Cole Palmer – It was reported locally just the other day that the England Under-21 international wasn’t seen in training when the press were allowed in and that he may be struggling with an injury.

-       Riyad Mahrez – Back from international duty but he isn’t going to feature in this fixture after international games played and long flights etc.

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

Sure do!

Result? Our host’s recent form is a bit patchwork-like – D W D W L – and although the look of that does suggest signs of improvement and, dare I even suggest, form; it sort of reflects, in some ways, their season so far.

Just 5 wins from 21 league games does sound fairly poor on the face of it and they have lost a third of their Premier League fixtures. However, teams in the ‘top 6’ have lost just as many as Southampton and it’s The Saints’ draw column which catches my eye. 9 in total tells a story of a side whose work rate & organisation often gets them a ‘share of the spoils’ or better; indeed, it was those very qualities against a rather lethargic & misfiring City side which earned them a 0-0 on our patch earlier on in the season.

Our players shouldn’t look at their opponent’s 12^th position in the table (as I type this) and think that this is going to be an ‘easy ride’.

Can you see them doing that? No, neither can I.

In fact, I’ve heard many pundits and fans of other teams quite rightly not just praising our side for the talent that we possess but for OUR incredible work rate; especially when we occasionally lose possession and have desire aplenty throughout the whole side to win the ball back ASAP.

So, for me, it’s a case of two very hard-working sides coming together and IF it then just boils down to who has the greater talent; then it’s a City win for me.

Take our chances; keep their danger men ‘under wraps’ and, crucially also, keep their set pieces – particularly free kicks just outside the area – to an absolute minimum and that’s what I can see the outcome being.

I'm havin' this as an away.

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

Prediction: Draw

Result: Won

(Pre-match blog posting from that game)

Expected weather conditions during the game: As the sun dips in the largely clear sky just before kick-off (5:30pm GMT), the temperature starts to plummet. Pre-match 6s & 7s soon dips to 4 and then 3C soon into the game. Nothing much of a breeze, though but my advice to fans would be to wear layers, a woolly hat ‘n’ gloves…and watch for those potentially slippy pavements after the game. I think we might see the odd player wearing gloves too but it’s a lovely, crisp evening for a game of footy, I would say.

 

v Chelsea…and beyond!

Bit of a blog announcement, really…

Seeing as most of my blog-postings are “pre-match” and considering that there’s so much uncertainty surrounding which of our players are available, or not, with regards to Covid-19; together with a somewhat-understandable secrecy surrounding who those individuals are in terms of who has caught the illness; I’ve decided, for the time-being at least, not to post a piece ahead of our game against Chelsea tomorrow afternoon (12:30pm KO GMT)…or that of near-future matches until ‘the picture’ becomes a little clearer, at least.

Of course, if there’s anything else worth commenting on that isn’t pre-match related; I will publish something.

Indeed, ahead of our next fixture, our manager has issued the following statement:

"Some people are coming; some are positive again. When you tested negative twice you come back, otherwise you stay at home isolated - like happened in the last two or three months at all the clubs”.

"We have some new cases but they want their privacy, so I cannot tell you."

There you have it, folks…

Huh…“predictions” v Swindon Town

Well…having been slowly prepping my pre-match blog-posting throughout the week, this WAS gonna be something like the piece I was going to put out…

Opportunities

Tonight’s F.A. Cup game gives Pep the perfect opportunity to rest some clearly-tiring [from our previous game / late win last Saturday] first team legs and give some ‘game time’ to both our young and fringe players.

v Swindon Town

Energy Check County Ground

I think it’s worth noting that our EDS side are at Blackburn Rovers on the same night and, so, if we do include a good number of youth players in this first-team fixture then it will dramatically weaken our second team as they face the Premier League 2 bottom side (KO just 1 hour ahead of this fixture).

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:

_______________________________________________

 

_____________________McAtee____________________

Grealish___________________________________Kayky

 

__________Gundogan___________Palmer___________

 

___________________Fernandinho_________________

Wilson-Esbrand____________________________Walker

 

_____________Ake______________Stones___________

 

_____________________Steffen____________________

Subs: Carson, Slicker, Lewis, Mbete, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Jesus.

Zack is highly likely to be handed this competition by his boss and, so, the American international should take the gloves tonight.

I’m going for a back-4 of Josh, Nathan, John & Kyle; the latter very much in need of some game time to help with his recovery and shake off any rustiness he may have.

I think Fernandinho will be given another starting run-out in the defensive midfield role and an-assumed, much-changed side sees our fluid, interchangeable, attacking 5 made up of Jack, Ilkay, James, Cole & Kayky.

Two reserve keepers on the bench, I’m guessing, which come in the form of Scott & Cieran. Rico & Luke may be the only defensive replacement options chosen to be on the bench, with Rodders, Kevin, Bernardo, Raheem & Gabriel making up the back-up midfielders / wingers / attackers in ‘the 9’.

9 on the bench and 5 subs allowed at this stage of this competition, for the time being at least.

Notable absences:

-       Ederson – Not selected / rested.

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

-       Joao Cancelo – Not selected / rested.

-       Oleksandr Zinchenko – Possibly not recovered in time from-having caught Covid-19; with a possible isolation date having only just about finished in time for this fixture.

-       Aymeric Laporte – Not selected / rested.

-       Ruben Dias – Not selected / rested.

-       Phil Foden – The same as Oleksandr - possibly not recovered in time from-having caught Covid-19; with a possible isolation date having only just about finished in time for this fixture.

-       Riyad Mahrez – Away on international duty.

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

I like the look of it – a good mixture of youth & experience with some ‘heavy artillery’ in reserve should we need ‘game changers’ to come on.

Result? Victory for our hosts in their last league game halted a recent slide where they lost 2 & drew 2 of their previous 4 games. That last win saw them come out 5-2 winners against 2^nd place Northampton Town; a game that saw 5 goals in a crazy, 16-minute, second half period! They currently sit 5^th in League 2 just 2-points off the play-offs after 22 (of 46) league games played.

Harry McKirdy & Tyreece Simpson are their two-main danger men, from what I can tell; Tyreece, who is in on loan from League 1 side Ipswich Town, in particular has a better conversion rate and goals-to-games ratio this season so far. Both forwards have only been at the club since the start of the season but it seems they’ve struck up a decent partnership – both weigh-in with assists too and Harry, in particular, seems very versatile in the forward positions…although it is noted that he can be a bit of a hothead / liability at times.

As for us, many changes can, of course, upset the side but having said that; any youth team players who might come into the first team are trained to play in the same style as their more-senior colleagues.

I think it’s definitely gonna be a tough and perhaps bruising encounter and whoever our starting 11 may be is almost sure to be in for a rough ride. However, they are-apparently a side who like to play out from the back and “play football”; so, I’m not suggesting for one second that they’re just a rough side who like to muscle teams out of games and ‘hoof it’.

At least one goal for them? Well, it is the F.A. Cup and, therefore, I have little doubt that they’ll pose a threat and…yes; I think they will hit the back of our net and that the home crowd will act as their ‘12^th man’.

It might take some time for us to settle ourselves into some sort of pattern but, eventually, I think we’ll progress into 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: Well, not only do our players and fans have to "endure" League 2 surroundings and all that brings with it; it's gonna be pretty chilly to say the least. 2C is the 'in game' temperature and it comes with a fairly brisk, westerly breeze too. Should be dry though, at least, as daytime rain fades away well before kick off (8:00pm GMT).

Since then - and with ‘the camp’ being decimated with Covid-19 cases both staff and players alike (7 players up to now) - who the ‘eck knows?!

Really looking forward to the game, though…