Skoorb
Alert Team
Pep Guardiola takes his team back to London for the FA Cup fourth round this weekend after Bolton failed to hold onto their lead at Selhurst Park in last week’s replay. The short trip to Lancashire would doubtless have been preferable especially as City are due to face West Ham at the London stadium in the league on Wednesday 1st Feb.
With only Gundogan absent the City boss has an almost free hand in selecting a team with which he can be accused of ‘disrespecting the cup’. Kompany’s appearance on the bench last weekend could presage his return to the starting XI for the first time since, ironically, he injured knee ligaments at this ground in mid-November. He of course will be desperate to prove his fitness and worth given that the deadline for clubs naming their squads for the Champions League knockout rounds is imminent - midnight on 1st Feb. Of course if selected to play he will primarily be focused I am sure on getting through the entire length of his stay on the pitch however long he might be given. I am also sure that all Blues will wish him the very best of luck - after the catalogue of injuries the guy has suffered he deserves some good fortune. Delph might also feature and we may see a starting berth for Gabriel Jesus whose brief cameo against Spurs did so much to raise City spirits and which some had likened to being reminiscent of Sergio Aguero’s debut appearance against Swansea back in 2011 (although clearly without the two goals and the assist for David Silva). Pep has a history of selecting strong sides in domestic cup competitions at both Barcelona and Bayern but, whilst he is unlikely to do a ‘Klopp’ and field the EDS completely, it would not be a surprise for Garcia to feature. Although if he did field 8-9 youth players you could bet your salary he would get the media whacking him with the ‘disrespect’ charge.
I shan’t dwell unduly on that last fixture except to say that if ever there was a case to be made for limited video referee reviews to support the officials then there would be no need to look further than the incident when Walker pushed Sterling putting him off his stride when through on goal. That City ought still have had enough resilience to retain their slender lead is not questioned, but it did leave a bitter taste in the mouth nonetheless. I do not want to believe that the officials saw the foul but decided not to give the penalty - that would just drive me to madness - so must assume that the neither the referee nor his assistant actually saw the push. In which case given that the decision was so critical on so many levels (penalty; likely 3-1 scoreline; Spurs lose key player serving a suspension etc) the dragging of their feet by the footballing authorities in introducing such technology is baffling. It is being trialled in the MLS where the concern is ‘getting the decision correct’ rather than ‘risking jeopardising the authority of the referee’. Mind you given that the FA’s original selection of the officials for the match on Saturday included Darren Cann who had previously played for our opponents and who was only removed from the team assigned to the game after this was pointed out to them……..
Palace come into this game having only tasted one victory since Sam Allardyce replaced Pardew last December. With the club sitting in 18th place in the league I am quite sure that Big Sam’s focus is going to be on survival in the league and so I am not sure how much of a premium he is likely to put on progress within the FA Cup. He has bigger fish to fry let’s say.
Pep will be looking to continue the progress he has witnessed his squad has made recently. The aberration at Everton notwithstanding there is no doubt in my mind that City’s performance against Spurs was an example of Pep getting his tactics correct and the players implementing his coaching instructions. Developing consistency in delivering results whilst the squad are adapting to his plans and whilst he is shaping the squad to fit his demands was always going to be a tough ask but Saturday’s game offers another opportunity to demonstrate the progress being made collectively and individually. Pep is unafraid of making bold decisions and trying other solutions and if there is one thing that I have learned from reading my Christmas gift of the book ’Pep Guardiola, The Evolution’ by Martí Perarnau, he and his team of assistants are totally focused on winning and will be working very, very hard to deliver results for Manchester City FC. If this effort is matched by the squad and supported by the fans I have no doubt that we succeed and will see a different Manchester City in due course. Reading the book has helped me to uncover a little more of what drives Pep Guardiola and it has certainly helped me to understand what he and the senior management are striving to achieve at our club. It has also reaffirmed my belief that the club were correct to appoint him and that trying to deliver the core of what drives him on is a good fit for our football club because it is not just about the results but the way they are delivered and what that mentality means across and throughout the whole of our Manchester City FC.
Stay the course. Believe…..and let’s get the result on Saturday ;-)
Come On City!!!
Team News:
Man City:
> Out - Gundogan; Fernandinho (suspended)
> Doubt? -
Crystal Palace:-
> Out - J Benteke; Souare; Schlupp; Mutch; Wickham; Mandanda; Souare
> Doubt? -
City are without Gundogan.
For Crystal Palace there are several absentees including Wickham who seemed to have an uncanny knack of always being able to beat Joe Hart when he was between the sticks for City and Schlupp whose midfield energy will be a loss to Big Sam.
Last 8 Form (all comps):
Crystal Palace LDLLDLWL
Manchester City LWWLWWLD
Previous meeting (last 6 matches):
EPL 19/11/16 C Palace 1 Man City 2 W
EPL 16/01/16 Man City 4 C Palace 0 W
EFLC 28/10/15 Man City 5 C Palace 1 W
EPL 12/09/15 C Palace 0 Man City 1 W
EPL 06/04/15 C Palace 2 Man City 1 L
EPL 20/12/14 Man City 3 C Palace 0 W
Goals - City 16 Crystal Palace 4
Y Cards - City 9 Crystal Palace 9
R Cards - City 0 Crystal Palace 0
Factoid:
Kevin De Bruyne leads the Premier League tables for assists (9), Crosses (168) and ……hitting the woodwork which he has managed 6 times.
With only Gundogan absent the City boss has an almost free hand in selecting a team with which he can be accused of ‘disrespecting the cup’. Kompany’s appearance on the bench last weekend could presage his return to the starting XI for the first time since, ironically, he injured knee ligaments at this ground in mid-November. He of course will be desperate to prove his fitness and worth given that the deadline for clubs naming their squads for the Champions League knockout rounds is imminent - midnight on 1st Feb. Of course if selected to play he will primarily be focused I am sure on getting through the entire length of his stay on the pitch however long he might be given. I am also sure that all Blues will wish him the very best of luck - after the catalogue of injuries the guy has suffered he deserves some good fortune. Delph might also feature and we may see a starting berth for Gabriel Jesus whose brief cameo against Spurs did so much to raise City spirits and which some had likened to being reminiscent of Sergio Aguero’s debut appearance against Swansea back in 2011 (although clearly without the two goals and the assist for David Silva). Pep has a history of selecting strong sides in domestic cup competitions at both Barcelona and Bayern but, whilst he is unlikely to do a ‘Klopp’ and field the EDS completely, it would not be a surprise for Garcia to feature. Although if he did field 8-9 youth players you could bet your salary he would get the media whacking him with the ‘disrespect’ charge.
I shan’t dwell unduly on that last fixture except to say that if ever there was a case to be made for limited video referee reviews to support the officials then there would be no need to look further than the incident when Walker pushed Sterling putting him off his stride when through on goal. That City ought still have had enough resilience to retain their slender lead is not questioned, but it did leave a bitter taste in the mouth nonetheless. I do not want to believe that the officials saw the foul but decided not to give the penalty - that would just drive me to madness - so must assume that the neither the referee nor his assistant actually saw the push. In which case given that the decision was so critical on so many levels (penalty; likely 3-1 scoreline; Spurs lose key player serving a suspension etc) the dragging of their feet by the footballing authorities in introducing such technology is baffling. It is being trialled in the MLS where the concern is ‘getting the decision correct’ rather than ‘risking jeopardising the authority of the referee’. Mind you given that the FA’s original selection of the officials for the match on Saturday included Darren Cann who had previously played for our opponents and who was only removed from the team assigned to the game after this was pointed out to them……..
Palace come into this game having only tasted one victory since Sam Allardyce replaced Pardew last December. With the club sitting in 18th place in the league I am quite sure that Big Sam’s focus is going to be on survival in the league and so I am not sure how much of a premium he is likely to put on progress within the FA Cup. He has bigger fish to fry let’s say.
Pep will be looking to continue the progress he has witnessed his squad has made recently. The aberration at Everton notwithstanding there is no doubt in my mind that City’s performance against Spurs was an example of Pep getting his tactics correct and the players implementing his coaching instructions. Developing consistency in delivering results whilst the squad are adapting to his plans and whilst he is shaping the squad to fit his demands was always going to be a tough ask but Saturday’s game offers another opportunity to demonstrate the progress being made collectively and individually. Pep is unafraid of making bold decisions and trying other solutions and if there is one thing that I have learned from reading my Christmas gift of the book ’Pep Guardiola, The Evolution’ by Martí Perarnau, he and his team of assistants are totally focused on winning and will be working very, very hard to deliver results for Manchester City FC. If this effort is matched by the squad and supported by the fans I have no doubt that we succeed and will see a different Manchester City in due course. Reading the book has helped me to uncover a little more of what drives Pep Guardiola and it has certainly helped me to understand what he and the senior management are striving to achieve at our club. It has also reaffirmed my belief that the club were correct to appoint him and that trying to deliver the core of what drives him on is a good fit for our football club because it is not just about the results but the way they are delivered and what that mentality means across and throughout the whole of our Manchester City FC.
Stay the course. Believe…..and let’s get the result on Saturday ;-)
Come On City!!!
Team News:
Man City:
> Out - Gundogan; Fernandinho (suspended)
> Doubt? -
Crystal Palace:-
> Out - J Benteke; Souare; Schlupp; Mutch; Wickham; Mandanda; Souare
> Doubt? -
City are without Gundogan.
For Crystal Palace there are several absentees including Wickham who seemed to have an uncanny knack of always being able to beat Joe Hart when he was between the sticks for City and Schlupp whose midfield energy will be a loss to Big Sam.
Last 8 Form (all comps):
Crystal Palace LDLLDLWL
Manchester City LWWLWWLD
Previous meeting (last 6 matches):
EPL 19/11/16 C Palace 1 Man City 2 W
EPL 16/01/16 Man City 4 C Palace 0 W
EFLC 28/10/15 Man City 5 C Palace 1 W
EPL 12/09/15 C Palace 0 Man City 1 W
EPL 06/04/15 C Palace 2 Man City 1 L
EPL 20/12/14 Man City 3 C Palace 0 W
Goals - City 16 Crystal Palace 4
Y Cards - City 9 Crystal Palace 9
R Cards - City 0 Crystal Palace 0
Factoid:
Kevin De Bruyne leads the Premier League tables for assists (9), Crosses (168) and ……hitting the woodwork which he has managed 6 times.
