Team vs Liverpool

So...the biggest of the season so far and a chance for both teams to put down a marker early on.

This is a game, at home, that we really need start well, with pace in attack.

Therefore, I've got a sneaky feeling that MP may well start with Aguero, after a fitness test today. Jovetic looked shattered after 65 mins last week. Aguero's had another 7 days of full on training this week.

So...this is my team for tonight.

............................................Hart..........................................

Zaba................Vinny.......................DeM..............Kolorov....

.........................Fernando............Fernandinho....................

...............Yaya....................................................Silva..........

.......................................Aguero.........................................

..............................................Dzeko..................................

Everyone expects MP to play 442 as he nearly always does. I fancy a change because Liverpool will attack us with pace. Fernando in front of the defence for me with Yaya and Fernandinho just ahead of him. Play just Aguero up front with Navas (or Nasri) and Silva as the wider men. We should have enough about us with those 4/5 attacking players and always have 2 in front of the back 4 when needed.       


                 Hart
Zabba, Kompany, Dimi, Kolarov
               Fernando
Navas, Yaya, Fernandinho, Silva
               Aguero

I think he will start with Jovetic and bring Aguero on later. I also think Pel will play Cliche to try and contain Sterling as he is quicker than Kolarov and a better defender.

ManCityMan wrote:I think he will start with Jovetic and bring Aguero on later. I also think Pel will play Cliche to try and contain Sterling as he is quicker than Kolarov and a better defender.

I've always said that against the teams with quick players, but he's always stuck with Kolorov.

I think we'll see Henderson on the right again, with Stirling on the left - so either way, he's quicker than Kolorov and Zaba, but it'll be about our DMF's picking up the runners - ie Henderson/Coutinho. Do that part well, and I think we've got enough pace up front to trouble their CB's...as Lovren isn't the quickest and neither is Skrtel.

Hart
Zabaleta Kompany DeMichellis Kolorov
Fernando Fernandinho 
Jovetic yaya Silva
Dzeko

Liverpools weak points are undoubtedly the full back areas so expect zabaleta and Kolorov will be given license to really get at them with the 2 holding players to cover

I like your team Rich. Jovetic deserves to keep his place after his pre season.

Topdawg wrote:I like your team Rich. Jovetic deserves to keep his place after his pre season.

Yeah, but he wasn't great against Newcastle and was rightly subbed. I just hope he's not another 'sub-scorer'...a la Dzeko.

Think his preseason form should afford Jovetic another start

.................Hart
Zabaleta Kompany DeMichellis Kolorov
..........Fernando........Yaya 
.....Nasri......Jovetic.........Silva
..................Dzeko

Shaken almost right, same as last week but Zaba back and Clichi back to left back.

A big win needed because everybody is writing us off.

Not sure about Sammy. We need grafters in this game and nit sure he'll do that.

Fucking pissed wet through already.  Some sideways rain and a leaking roof. We better put on a show after all this.

Fucking pissed wet through already.  Some sideways rain and a leaking roof. We better put on a show after all this.

And that is why Dzeko will never be as good as Aguero.

Doing just enough, just wish we would start blitzing teams again. It's all so pedestrian.

And the defence rests melud! 23 seconds on the pitch!

I <3 Sergio!

Dzeko didn't play that badly Blistering - a good flick here and there and at least he wasn't as sluggish as YaYa.  I think the whole team gained confidence and played well in the second half.  Great pass from Navas - enabled that Aguero goal.  Plaudits for Navas too!!

I thought Dzeko had a decent game. Granted, he could've scored on more than one occasion, but he made a real nuisance of himself, held the ball up pretty well and even got back to defend from time to time.

But that said, he was always going to look a poor second to Jovetic, who was simply astounding. By far our most creative player on the night and fully deserving of two goals and the MotM award. I'm glad we resisted the urge to sell him, if he can keep up this kind of form then Serge is going to have his work cut out - although scoring a goal inside 30 seconds of coming on won't hurt! I hope Maureen watched that. Serge has scored two goals in 30 minutes of playing time, to Diego Costa scoring twice in 180 minutes. Better than Serge, my arse!

Agree also that Yaya wasn't on it. Maybe he's not happy at not getting a contract extension.

can't wait to watch the game was on at 03.00am this morning so will watch the recording tonight.when I get home from work via a trip to the dentist.

I didn't say he had a bad game only that 1on1s are not his forte. Probably just sounded negative. His hold up play was excellent, but Sergio proved my point within 23 seconds.

To be fair, I thought Jovetic was wasteful for the first 30 minutes. He was trying flicks and tricks (I know, his flick was brilliant for his 2nd goal) and his passing wasn't great...but suddenly, everything he did seemed to work and he was excellent. I was very impressed with his energy and work rate and he 'always' wants the ball, so gets into some great positions - a la Silva.

Have to agree with BB....I thought Dzeko was average. He held the ball up on occasions, but as the main focal striker, he just isn't clinical enough..a point proved by Aguero. Leo, not sure Sergio's place is under threat whatsoever from Jovetic, but Dzeko's certainly is. (just added - Dzeko did do well at corners against us though).

Agree with most, Yaya again looked laboured. He made a couple of half-hearted runs, but again, didn't carry them through. Maybe he needs time to get back up to speed again and we will see the best of him again when it matters...but I've got a nagging feeling he's had his best season with us and the whole summer debacle hasn't helped him or us.

Watching Sky Sports last night and listening to Neville and Carragher dissect the defending - it was great to see just how well our defenders are playing as a unit (even though there were still a few calamities)...and with Mangala to come.

Thought Fernando did well again, Zaba was excellent down the right hand side and made a massive difference and well done MP for bringing Navas on, just as they started to get on top down their left side.

Also, a big mention to Clichy....thought he had a very good game and pretty much kept Stirling quiet for most of it.

If Yaya doesn't get up to speed quickly, I can see this as our future team:

.................................Hart.....................................

Zaba............Vinny...............Mangala.......Kolorov.

...................Fernandinho....Fernando.................

Silva........................Jovetic.....................Nasri...

...............................Aguero................................

Yaya's a shoe-in......it's in his contract .

Despite Mangalas arrival, i think Demichellis will be unlucky to get dropped...he played consistently well for a while now.

shakencity wrote:Yaya's a shoe-in......it's in his contract .

Despite Mangalas arrival, i think Demichellis will be unlucky to get dropped...he played consistently well for a while now.

Thought DeM looks great when he's next to Vinny, but when he has to come out wide to cover our LB, he looks decidedly error-prone, as per the goal last night and the way he tried to clear the ball, only to hit the back of a City player and put Lambert in. I'm being super-critical there, as he's been very good for the past 6 months...but for £32m and someone who is much quicker than DeM, as per Yaya, he'll be picked as soon as he's fit.

Interestingly, just read a piece by Neil Ashton and he thought Yaya was excellent last night. Funny how we all see things differently.



Two years ago, after Roberto Mancini delivered Manchester City’s first league title since 1968, this lot took their foot of the gas.
They coasted through the season, finishing 11 points behind Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League. Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax finished them off in group stages of the Champions League.
Those in power at City vowed that it would never be allowed to happen again.

This team, who saw off the threat of Liverpool last season, have been reconstructed under Manuel Pellegrini. They have the mentality of champions. Just look at the substitutes bench, where Bacary Sagna, Aleksandar Kolarov, James Milner, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Sergio Aguero keep each other company.
‘I came here because they are the best team in the country,’ claimed Sagna in his first interview with the club’s matchday programme. It is hard to disagree.
This team look like they mean business, which is just the way we want it after Chelsea opened the season with two victories.

It is too early in the season for anyone to start pulling away in the Premier League. The hunger is there, underpinned by the brisk and purposeful passing of Yaya Toure at the heart of City’s midfield last night.
Liverpool midfielders Philippe Coutinho and Joe Allen, in for Lucas Leiva, never got near him. When City score, as they did 102 times in the Premier League last season, no-one in the crowd looks at each other agog any more.
Yes, it really is happening.

When Stevan Jovetic follows his opener with goal made from the sweetest of moves, it is normal service. Last night, at the Etihad, it was resumed. Jovetic was exceptional, providing the classiest moment of the match when his backheeled flick to Nasri left Liverpool’s defence flat-footed. He scored and City, who made 19 passes together in the move, felt unstoppable.
There will be times when it feels routine, particularly for those who criss-cross the country to watch the champions on their travels.
At St James’ Park, on the opening weekend, it felt and looked like they were always in control. Perhaps they are saving themselves, sparing their legs as they prepare for the 38 game assault on the Premier League and the travelling that will come with their Champions League dream.

They have yet to make an impression on the competition, but the draw for the six group games, all played before Christmas, is on Thursday. It is time for City to go deep into the competition after assembling one of the strongest squads in Europe. Irrespective of their inexperience at this level, they have to do better.
City’s fans, all 40,000-plus inside this stadium, operate in real-time these days. This team can live with the best now, they proved that with this determined performance against Liverpool.
The Community Shield, the half-baked effort at Wembley earlier this month where they lost 3-0 to Arsenal, has already been forgotten.
City are only going to get bigger now that they are sitting on two Premier League titles.

At the top of the South Stand, the scaffolding is in place as the club get to work on adding another 6,000 seats to the stadium.
Next summer it will be the turn of the North Stand for some cosmetic surgery, given a facelift as they plan for the future.
In the boardroom suite, where the great and good can mingle with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak or club ambassador Mike Summerbee on matchday, they have relaxed the rules. Suit and tie is out this season, with jeans and smart trainers allowed, even in the posh part.
On the pitch, they look like the sharpest team in town.

Good read that blue.

Dimi doesn't deserve to be dropped. Mangala can be blooded gently. I thought Clichy was fantastic and his pace was needed against Sterling. Yaya seemed a bit sluggish but we still monstered Liverpool's midfield in the 2nd half and we could have got half a dozen.

Dimi did okay, but his challenge in the first half was lucky not to draw a yellow card for, it was reckless. And in the second half, Stirling did him twice at the by-line with the same move in the space of a couple of minutes. Fortunately, the third time he tried it, Clichy was there instead and he just picked the ball off him.

I personally can't see a player costing 32 million being kept at bay by a player with 32 years under his belt, really. Dimi won't last too much longer, although he's not exactly doing himself out of a job.

Agree Leo. There's no way Mangala won't play again Stoke....be a good game for him to be introduced with his size and physicality against Crouch, which would leave Vinny to mop up and organise the defence.

I'm not saying DeM hasn't done well, but last night showed he isn't great when he gets dragged out of the CB position.

No doubt, it will take Mangala a few games to get into the pace of the game - but for £32m, he should be good enough to slot straight in....that's the idea anyway.

At £32m, he should be at least good enough to slot in against lesser opponents like Stoke, at the very least!