Friday 21 November 2014

3:00pm KO & no telly…

…let’s just hope, then, that we can get back to basics and back to winning ways against an in-form Welsh side.

Advantage


In desperation, perhaps admittedly, I’ll take anything at the moment.

And so with 2nd placed Southampton having to wait until Monday night for an away trip to Aston Villa, 4th placed West Ham United with a potentially tricky trip to Goodison Park and Arsenal being forced to slug it out with Manyoo at the Emirates and on TV after our game at 5:30pm; I’m looking for our players to quietly apply themselves in a professional manner and dispose of 5th place Swansea City efficiently, in order to ‘kick start’ our season. We can only HOPE that West Bromwich Albion do us some kind of favour at Stamford Bridge

Many, myself included, saw the 1-0 win against Manyoo – our ONLY win in the last 6 games in all competitions – as the game to ‘set a marker’ and move on in a positive manner. But not only wasn’t that to be the case…it wasn’t to be the case by a long stretch of anyone’s vivid imagination.

An absolute appalling display and defeat at home to CSKA Moscow, 2 red cards and followed-up by a fortunate, it has to be said, away point and general poor display against relegation-zone QPR; it was hardly the ‘lift off’ we were desperately (there’s that word again) hoping for.

In fact, chuck a few (more) injuries into the mix and it all feels a little flat and glum to say the very least at the moment.

Lift


Of course it’s Manuel Pellegrini’s job to reorganise the team and lift the players following the international break and poor run of form beforehand but I’m hoping other factors may have some positive influence.

Perhaps just having Messi & Co. hanging around the club might ‘rub off’ on us and I’m hoping that a rest for those players not joining their international team, in between intense training of course, will do them the world of good too. As for those who did travel; a change is as good as a rest is the phrase I’m clinging to.

Whatever the ‘tonic of choice’ over the last fortnight has been for our individual players; I’m keen to see whether it’s worked tomorrow.

v Swansea City


4-5-1 (4-2-3-1):

_______________Aguero_______________
 

 

 
Nasri___________Toure___________Milner
 

___________________Fernandinho_______

________Fernando_____________________

 
 

 

_________________Hart_________________
 


I’m typing this Blog posting before any team announcement and, therefore, I’m assuming with this predicted line-up that Kolarov, Kompany, Silva and Dzeko are all still unavailable through injury.

Hart to start.

Although, following ANOTHER poor display against QPR, I personally would be tempted to try Sagna at left back for this one…I doubt our manager will; as Clichy keeps his place with the absence of Kolarov (have things got that bad that I’m actually saying that?)

Mangala to get another shot at settling down to life in England; Demichelis to partner him in the middle.

Zaba on the right of defence.

Similar to both Clichy and Mangala – Fernando had another poor one and I hope he too can find his Premier League feet. Fernandinho slightly ahead of him and slightly ahead of HIM, a midfield 3 of Nasri, Yaya (advanced behind the striker) and Milner. I was tempted, at home and on a wide pitch, to suggest that Navas might get another go. However, I’m betting that Pellegrini with take Jesus’ dip in form and Milner’s consistency into account and will act accordingly.

Aguero to ‘carry on’ up front with the support of those midfield 5.

Bench pretty much as we can expect with the injuries we have; notable sideliners include Lampard and, perhaps I do suggest, Jose Angel Pozo – although there’s been a timely ‘banging of the drum’ from Scott Sinclair this week…

I’ve gone for our manager to go 4-5-1 and leave Jovetic on the bench simple BECAUSE of the lack of strikers available to us (although I have gone for him including the young Pozo). This, I feel, is simply so that he then has the option of bringing on a different menace up front if needed; a change of threat rather than starting with both in a 4-4-2.

Result? I’m going for us to have regrouped enough to overcome Swansea at home – City v City ends in a Manchester win.
 
It's good to have proper footy back...

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