Liverpool has dropped 3 huge points at home to Crystal Palace. City are 2 points ahead having played an extra game than us. We win today and we go back to the top. We win today and we go three crucial points ahead of Liverpool with only 6 games to go. Every game is a cup final now for the boys and Mikel.
Team News
Strange decision to start Zinchenko ahead of Kiwior, because Kiwior has been doing better than Zinni and one bad game doesn’t mean we are going to hamper his confidence. If it’s purely for rotational purpose, I can live with it. Gabriel Jesus makes his way into the starting XI with Rice anchoring the midfield alone with Havertz playing the more forward role today. Trossard starts today ahead of Martinelli whom I think will come-in at some point to give Saka some rest.
Frankly, I had hated the concept of playing Havertz as CF but he has been doing better up top than he does in midfield. Gabriel Jesus does the dirty work but is not as clinical in front as you would expect your CF to be. Trossard gives me some hope though.
Liverpool is suffering the way we did last season. One loss and everything has gone bonkers for them. They were unbeaten at home from god knows when, and suddenly Atlanta wins 3-0 and they can’t even keep Crystal Palace to a draw. City, on the other hand, have gone full beast mode.
We need to win today. At any cost. First, because Pep is not going to drop any points now and the only way we win the league is by winning all our games. Second, I hate Aston Villa.
Right, a very short one today. See you during the game.
Havertz
No Partey is a problem. He already has a foot into the departure lounge without a suitable replacement being available. They sell us Havertz and buy Palmer for under two thirds of the price. Poch is turning him into a star – I wonder how many players El B will turn into stars or will he want to spend Stan’s bucks and buy ready made at a premium price.
Tony & Norg—thanks for the kind words and encouragement…I certainly wasn’t angling for any such reactions, although it may appear otherwise, but it’s nice to hear nonetheless…must agree with you Tony regarding KP’s “gift of the gab” narrative…I always took it as a huge compliment when Pedro’s fluffer brigade were convinced that I was KP in disguise
there’s no doubt that Poch has done a decent job with this rather bloated and unsettled side, but they’ve still got some rather glaring issues in all 3 phases…Enzo has been a flop, Jackson can’t finish his chances and they don’t have a reliable CB tandem; not to mention, they’ve likewise suffered a whole host of longer term injuries…that said, I do think they turned a corner recently, which is why Poch has released the handbrakes a bit
it’s clear that Poch inherited a team rife with individual talent, but they’re inability to play as a cohesive unit, at both ends of the pitch, required him to dumb-down his plans early on…slowly but surely they’ve figured their shit out and have performed at a much higher level than their position in the standings would suggest…they still have a ways to go, but I think if they can get the next window right, they could make a precipitous jump up the standings next season, especially if Palmer can continue to score at a similar rate
as for today’s fixture, it appears as if Lady Luck is still shining upon us when it comes to facing opponents with key injuries, so this should be a fairly one-sided affair…from a formational standpoint, I would stick with a back 4, as Chelsea will want to create width with his backers at times…now if they’re short-staffed at that position, which is a very real possibility, I might consider deploying MA’s rotational back 3 tactics, but only if Rice sits deep and they ditch the whole LB inverted shit show…this seems rather unlikely though, as MA is determined to make that work, for whatever nonsensical reason, so he will probably utilize a scheme that I’m generally not a fan of, which would see Havertz up top, Rice playing in a more advanced role and Jorginho in the DM hole with an inverted backer to his left…to be fair, considering who Chelsea will likely start at the back, this might actually be our best plan on this particular day, but it could make for some rather ugly football
I think we win tonight and relatively comfortably. Despite their recent improvement in form, Chelsea are a shadow of their former selves. 3-1 – Vieira’s mate KH with a no-celebration screamer!
Hi Tony
Very kind of you but I just like letting it go on here among friends.
Sunday was a frustrating 1 – 0 defeat at Bridgend which leaves County out of the Europa Conference qualifiers on GD. A real season of ups and downs leaving you thinking about little setbacks at key points of the season. My highlight was a well fought victory up at Caernarfon in a madly sloping ground not too far from the castle and shaking hands with the manager and players as they came off. It’s a terrific club and they’re on the up so hope for next season. Junior loves his footy and he and his mates were in their element.
KP – it should be an easy win tonight but somebody seems to have sewn the arse cheeks of our players together – real squeaky bum time. I would not be surprised if 2-2 is the final score.
Partey is playing – a good sign.
Tony
Very nice comment earlier – thankyou.
Tonight is as are all of our remaining matches a must win. City haven’t looked as good this season, probably a bit of a hangover from last seasons treble and they’ve made hard work of a few matches. That could see them have a slip we need to put them under pressure to make one.
Palmer being out for Chelsea is a huge boost for us.
No excuses.
Marc-I’ve likewise made mention of City’s lack of juice at times…as you said, it could be in part the hangover effect, but i would also add that Pep’s offseason acquisitions haven’t done enough to offset what was lost…in regards to this evening, Palmer being out is another gift from the gods which we can’t afford not to take advantage of…this race could easily come down to the final weekend, just not too sure what teams will still be in the mix
Ambarish – you ‘here’ mate? Or still partying like it’s 1999?
not a fan of Marts becoming a second fiddle option, especially on a day when Chelsea is missing their two best RBs…Tross can’t provide the proper width, but he’s likely starting because he’s considered the most clinical option up front nowadays…hopefully Partey and Tomi perform well tonight and remain healthy
how apropos that he would score immediately upon me posting my above comments…please keep in mind I did say he was the most clinical option LOL
Great build up, great finish not great keeping.
Alpha Tross. Dead ringer for Paul Dickov and that CL referee strikes again.
TRVL
Mate tell me I’m not going to win the Euromillions on Friday or bang Margot Robbie!
Nasty challenge on Tomi there.
Chelsea is so injury depleted that they’re actually starting a back 4 who have never played together and have likewise made call-ups from the academy, which wouldn’t be so unusual if it weren’t for the fact that they started the season with an incredibly bloated roster
Havertz doing his usual deer in the headlights routine…nothing worse than having a Striker who fears having a go even in gift wrapped scenarios
TRVL
Can you imagine our season if we’d spent the money on Palmer instead of Havertz?