A confident City side come to the Amex for another tough fixture...
News
No fresh injury concerns, as Izquierdo is the only one still out. Alzate
was not reported on but is doubtful.
Manchester City are coming off a typically confident 5-0 display against
Newcastle. There was talk of maybe a loss of form after a 1-0 defeat to
Southampton, but a side so good as City know how to respond, and they
certainly did against the Magpies.
The Albion come from a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at home. Coach Potter
returned to his trademark, possession-based football. This
decision yielded two mistakes in the opening ten minutes, courtesy of
Davy Propper and (wow) Adam Webster. Both were punished by Liverpool.
We
would pull one back and show great spirit, but in the end Liverpool were
able to kill the game off. Mo Salah worked hard in the game for a brace
and nearly completed a hat-trick.
It will take a more mistake-free performance if we're to take anything
from Saturday's game.
What to Look For
After the initial shock and frustration from the opening ten minutes, I
did come to understand Potter's reasoning in going for a more 'high risk
high reward' approach to Liverpool. It was a good game to analyze and
reflect on how much we've improved since early on in the
season.
So, I do expect him to continue with that style of football again here
with City, because it serves as another game to look at and say, "Have we
improved since the 4-0 defeat to City early in the season?". I think we
will improve, but mistakes unfortunately will also still be present.
At least one City goal will be a result of our own mistake.
Looking at that reverse fixture we generated very little in attack and
Trossard couldn't finish the chances he did have. This time around I think
he will continue in his fine form and contribute to the score sheet. He
has really enjoyed coming off that left-hand side with tremendous pace and
skill.
Call me insane- but his partner across the pitch, whether its
Gross, or Mooy, or *gasp* Jahanbakhsh, might also enjoy an attacking
performance on their side. It depends on if the midfield can release
confident, forward, clever passes.
Our goal from Liverpool came from a
good cross from Lamptey- but the space for that cross was created by a
clever no-look pass from Gross. That kind of creativity is essential
against a side like City.
In defense I think we should look for shape- will Potter give Burn the
license to roam free up forward, similar to Liverpool, or have him stay
back and let only Lamptey do the attacking? Or will both advance? It will
be interesting to see how much Potter wants to utilize his full-backs in
attack.
He did say he was concerned about Lamptey's fitness because he
runs so much so quickly that injury could come quickly (and he is right to
have that concern- you shouldn't take his quick pace for granted, it can
come with risk).
But City are one of the sides that always use full-backs in development of
their attack, with Zinchenko, Mendy, and Walker all helping form triangle
passes with their more forward players. Will Potter want to emulate this?
We will have to wait and see.
Key Players
For us it will be critical that our midfield and defense perform better
than last time out. Midfield really is the challenge against City because
they will put you under pressure and look to create space for their own
players, leaving your team stranded and reliant on perfect center-back
defending.
So, I think Potter will want to put Bissouma or Mooy in as they
are considerably better on the ball than Propper (and Propper has had a
poor run of form recently). Stephens isn't much better or worse than the
rest, but I appreciate his accurate diagonal/over the top long
passes.
For City, I could pick literally anyone, because they're all
that good.
Gabriel Jesus, Mahrez, and both Silvas provide
incredible link-up play and outstanding finishing. Ilkay Gundogan is one
of my favourite players on City and he is always a threat (on
set-pieces too). Some have called Otamendi the weak-link because he does
have a case of slipping up in poor positions, but City do have a tough
defense to crack.
Walker is aggressive on the right and Fernandinho/Rodri
are smart holding midfielders that make counter-attacks difficult. It
always seems that one of these already very talented players just step up
even further and steal the show.
Prediction
I just can't see us getting a result against such a perfect side as City.
Unless they have an off-day and we get a tremendous amount of luck (even
Potter acknowledged this), our chances are low.
4-2 to City.
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