Next: West Ham (Home) - CapitalOne Cup
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 11:06 amCapitalOne Cup
Semi Final - First Leg
Manchester City v West Ham United
Etihad Stadium, City of Manchester
Wednesday 8 January 2014
Kickoff: 1945 GMT
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Assistants: Stuart Burt & Michael McDonough
Fourth Official: Howard Webb
TV Coverage in UK: Sky Sports 1 HD (Sky 401) and Sky Sports 1 (Sky 407)
Coverage starts at 1900 GMT
----
The Opposition:
Fat Sam has got it all wrong ... surely if he wanted to progress in a Cup, the FA Cup tie against a Championship side (Nottingham Forrest) was a better bet than a two-legged tie against Manchester City ...
Had he done that, played a stronger team over the weekend, then rested players and played kids against us, and switch back to the main players for their crucial weekend tie Away at Cardiff ... everyone in their camp would be happy, the pundits on TV and Radio (that haven't stopped blasting him since their 5-0 thrashing), and all of us here would all be happy ...
Never mind, would also have given him a next round tie at home in FA Cup against a League One Preston North End or Championship side Ipswich Town ...
But he didn't do that ... and given he is the 13th highest paid manager in the world ... yes, in the world ... he must have done something right somewhere (even if it was to convince his paymasters for him to be so high up on that list) ... so he must have his reasons and should be respected for that. Most obvious being, he's putting all his eggs in our tie here ... he thinks he can catch us, perhaps like they did Spurs Away (twice this season) ... but really?
I personally think he has lost it ... he was expecting to be fired a few weeks ago, and since then every game he thinks this'll be it, but it hasn't happened yet so his own kid of lazy demeanor is showing in his body language, be it during the games on the sidelines or at pre and post match pressers ... Anyway, that's that, let's talk the game at hand ... oh, and before I forget, David Moyes is a football genius ;)
The Tie:
So on paper (and in the minds of a majority of fans), this is one of those ties where we just need to trun up and we can win this ... well, we have seen in the past, it doesn't quite work like that ... Blackburn Rover showed that, right ... oh, wait this is at Etihad so surely we will be putting 4+ past them ... errr, no, not quite ... remember Crystal Palace?
Yes, it is a two-legged tie which makes us huge favorites to get through ... yes, it is at the Etihad where we have been somewhat unreal lately, so again makes us favorite for the first leg ... but that's the key, we need to make sure we do enough in the first leg, being at home and all, that we go into the second tie with at least a 2 (or 3) goal advantage ... and leave anything for the Away leg. Just easier that way surely, and hope Pelligrini has learnt from the Blackburn replay ... start with a strong XI and high intensity, then sub the people you want to rest or lower the gear when you are 2-3 goals ahead, and not the other way around.
This whole two legged affair does undermine the whole Cup competition. As much as I should be excited about this being a Semi-Final, knowing that we will have a second leg to mend things if caught napping just undermines the whole knock-out, a game away from Wembley feeling for this one ... Newcastle Away on the weekend is already staring as the biggest game of this week, and that will influence Peligrini's team selection as well ...
Team Prediction:
Komps, Zabba and Kola will come in the back line. One of Nasti and Lescott will take the fourth spot in the defence ahead of Panti. The Fedy/Yaya duo will come in front of them. It's a home game so unless Pellegrini wants to rest one of the two available strikers, we'll see them both up front. Leave the space for two in the mid-field, which could be any of Silva, Nasri, Navas and Milner, depending on how Nasri's legs are (seen putting ice on the bench after being subbed on New Year's day) and perhaps keeping an eye on the weekend fixture as well. This game is however calling for Jovetic ... that's why we bought him, that's why we have four strikers ... but given he's been missing, even if he is suddenly fit, don't think he'll make the starting XI, bench maybe ...
This is how I think we'll line up:
Panti
Zaba - Komps - Lescott - Kola
Navas - Ferdy - Yaya - Silva
Beast - Dzonkey
Score Prediction:
Manchester City 3 - 0 West Ham
(We just don't score 5s and 6s when Aguero is not playing)
Semi Final - First Leg
Manchester City v West Ham United
Etihad Stadium, City of Manchester
Wednesday 8 January 2014
Kickoff: 1945 GMT
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Assistants: Stuart Burt & Michael McDonough
Fourth Official: Howard Webb
TV Coverage in UK: Sky Sports 1 HD (Sky 401) and Sky Sports 1 (Sky 407)
Coverage starts at 1900 GMT
----
The Opposition:
Fat Sam has got it all wrong ... surely if he wanted to progress in a Cup, the FA Cup tie against a Championship side (Nottingham Forrest) was a better bet than a two-legged tie against Manchester City ...
Had he done that, played a stronger team over the weekend, then rested players and played kids against us, and switch back to the main players for their crucial weekend tie Away at Cardiff ... everyone in their camp would be happy, the pundits on TV and Radio (that haven't stopped blasting him since their 5-0 thrashing), and all of us here would all be happy ...
Never mind, would also have given him a next round tie at home in FA Cup against a League One Preston North End or Championship side Ipswich Town ...
But he didn't do that ... and given he is the 13th highest paid manager in the world ... yes, in the world ... he must have done something right somewhere (even if it was to convince his paymasters for him to be so high up on that list) ... so he must have his reasons and should be respected for that. Most obvious being, he's putting all his eggs in our tie here ... he thinks he can catch us, perhaps like they did Spurs Away (twice this season) ... but really?
I personally think he has lost it ... he was expecting to be fired a few weeks ago, and since then every game he thinks this'll be it, but it hasn't happened yet so his own kid of lazy demeanor is showing in his body language, be it during the games on the sidelines or at pre and post match pressers ... Anyway, that's that, let's talk the game at hand ... oh, and before I forget, David Moyes is a football genius ;)
The Tie:
So on paper (and in the minds of a majority of fans), this is one of those ties where we just need to trun up and we can win this ... well, we have seen in the past, it doesn't quite work like that ... Blackburn Rover showed that, right ... oh, wait this is at Etihad so surely we will be putting 4+ past them ... errr, no, not quite ... remember Crystal Palace?
Yes, it is a two-legged tie which makes us huge favorites to get through ... yes, it is at the Etihad where we have been somewhat unreal lately, so again makes us favorite for the first leg ... but that's the key, we need to make sure we do enough in the first leg, being at home and all, that we go into the second tie with at least a 2 (or 3) goal advantage ... and leave anything for the Away leg. Just easier that way surely, and hope Pelligrini has learnt from the Blackburn replay ... start with a strong XI and high intensity, then sub the people you want to rest or lower the gear when you are 2-3 goals ahead, and not the other way around.
This whole two legged affair does undermine the whole Cup competition. As much as I should be excited about this being a Semi-Final, knowing that we will have a second leg to mend things if caught napping just undermines the whole knock-out, a game away from Wembley feeling for this one ... Newcastle Away on the weekend is already staring as the biggest game of this week, and that will influence Peligrini's team selection as well ...
Team Prediction:
Komps, Zabba and Kola will come in the back line. One of Nasti and Lescott will take the fourth spot in the defence ahead of Panti. The Fedy/Yaya duo will come in front of them. It's a home game so unless Pellegrini wants to rest one of the two available strikers, we'll see them both up front. Leave the space for two in the mid-field, which could be any of Silva, Nasri, Navas and Milner, depending on how Nasri's legs are (seen putting ice on the bench after being subbed on New Year's day) and perhaps keeping an eye on the weekend fixture as well. This game is however calling for Jovetic ... that's why we bought him, that's why we have four strikers ... but given he's been missing, even if he is suddenly fit, don't think he'll make the starting XI, bench maybe ...
This is how I think we'll line up:
Panti
Zaba - Komps - Lescott - Kola
Navas - Ferdy - Yaya - Silva
Beast - Dzonkey
Score Prediction:
Manchester City 3 - 0 West Ham
(We just don't score 5s and 6s when Aguero is not playing)
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