MAN CITY v Liverpool – The PREVIEW: City’s Probable Team
24 Aug
After a hard-fought opening day win against Newcastle, the visit of Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium on Monday night will pose an altogether more demanding challenge. Last season’s top two come face to face, and while it may be a push to expect Brendan Rodgers’s men to mount another title tilt, they will force City to be somewhere near their best if they are to grab the three points.
In terms of team selection, Pablo Zabaleta is likely to replace Gael Clichy on the right of defence, but with Eliaquim Mangala still short of match fitness, the central defensive partnership of Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis will remain the same. Fernandinho is pushing for a starting role, perhaps with Yaya Touré pushing further forward, but we have seen Manuel Pellegrini’s attacking instincts on many occasions and it would be a slight surprise if he were to play three in midfield.
Yaya Touré is 8/1, Aleks Kolarov 21/1 and Vincent Kompany 26/1 to score the first goal of the game!
Sergio Aguero made a goalscoring impact off the bench last weekend and he’ll be competing with Stevan Jovetic for a place alongside Edin Dzeko up front. Jesus Navas’s pace is another option for the manager, but the Spaniard will likely be introduced as a game-changing substitute.
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Here is the side Pellegrini could select:
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Prediction: MAN CITY 2 – 1 Liverpool – It’s always hard to predict just how both sides will compete, bearing in mind how early on in the season this game takes place, but it may not be the fluent, all-entertaining encounter many expect. I’ll back goals from Stevan Jovetic, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling.
To play a team like Liverpool that plays a high pressing fast paced games against opponents, you need to have a very mobile midfield to play fire with fire.I would love to have Fernandinho and Fernando pair in starting line up, then push Yaya up, with Navas on the right only one striker upfront. Sergio would be great as start [with Dezko coming later as sub] as he has scored against liverpool in previous games would have a big psychological factor.
I don’t want MP to play with two midfielders. We really have to control the center and not be overrun by Liverpool’s midfielders. Henderson, Gerrard, Allen (or Lucas, whoever starts) will be against Yaya and Ferni. Add to that that Coutinho is not a natural striker and he will play behind Sturridge and not next to him and you realise under how much pressure our midfield will be.
We HAVE to play with 3 midfielders. I would play 4-2-3-1 with Fernando and Toure the midfielders and Silva in his no.10 role to torment Gerrard who couldn’t cope with Merlin’s light feet and excellence in quick play.
Perhaps we need Milner more than we need Navas right now. Or perhaps I am still blinded by that magestic Milner-Silva commuunication during the Anfield’s game.
If we play as I said, I guess we will win with 3-1. If we play with two midfielders.. Well, I don’t want to think about it.
I suspect VfaB has nailed it, Siamack.
I too like the idea of having both Fernie’s in the side,with Yaya playing a No 10 role,and we may see that in CL games and some of the more difficult PL away games but probably not at home.
Mancini used to take off a forward and bring on another defensive midfielder, throwing Yaya forward, when we needed a game changer, and we could see Pellers use that option this season now that we have genuine class contenders in those roles.
We really should win this, we are stable, have improved the squad in the less strong areas and are at home. They have lost Suarez, brought in a slack handful of new faces, are away from home and collapsed at the end of last season.
So why am I so uncertain about this game?
Its the same uncertainty that has hounded me for the last 40 years !!!!!!!!!!!
Nothing like EPL to rack the nerves.
1-1 for me
Liverpool and Everton are two teams I always feel uncertain about. To me having both Fernie’s in the side makes sense as Liverpool does not have much build-up play, usually they play compact and then try to disposes you around center area and then hit you fast by passing the Ball to the Coutinho – Sterling – Sturridge triangle. We all know Yaya is a liability defensively and having both Fernies while Yaya being pushed up should ease the defensive hole in the midfield and at the sametime improve our attack by letting Yaya do what he does best.