Real Madrid v Manchester City
So tonight’s opponents are in disarray.
4 points from 12, 14th in La Liga. A prima donna star who’s declared himself “sad” and a boss who famously once declared himself “special” and who is now accusing his charges of lacking concentration. Football is “not their top priority” he has declared. Good.
"Nobody understands me"
Neither City or their hosts have got out of their starting blocks like the Olympic and Paralympic stars that lit up the summer and Mancini attributes this to the busy schedule of the top players. He expects it to take “6 or 7 games” before we see the real Real (and City). This encounter then has come a couple of games too soon for both clubs.
And yet for the City faithful a visit to the Bernabéu is the stuff of dreams. To be at the top table with the 9 times champions, to be breathing warm Madrid air in September, to be vying again for the Champion’s trophy, this time as Champions, is what we have craved.
"a step up from the DW Stadium"
The old adage “be careful what you wish for”, however has never been more apt. City find themselves in the “Group of Champions”. The best teams from England (that’s right Sir Alex), Spain, Germany, and Holland are pitched against one another. If 10 points wasn’t enough to progress from last year’s tricky group, what will it need for any of these teams to still be standing come the knock-out stages?
In last season’s Champion’s League opener City started well, played the extraordinary flowing football that had seen them take the Premier League by storm, but then fell short to a very competent Bayern outfit demonstrating that much feared of qualities, the hardest to fake, experience (oh and luck). City’s lack of experience was epitomised by the unfolding distraction of Tevez.
"No-one that night could have predicted that it would have a happy ending. But it did."
This year City’s squad has the swagger of champions as well as the scars of European failure to give them the extra that will be required and while no-one is looking beyond the Group stages just yet, it has been said that if this City team do progress “anything can happen”.
With a late flurry in the transfer market providing City with an ultimately fulfilling summer, Mancini’s line-up will be hard to call. He has experimented with 3 at the back, a formation which can be vulnerable out wide, so he will have to approach these champions far more conservatively.
Kompany and Lescott have been his preferred central pairing in front of a Joe Hart who is yet to keep a clean sheet. New boy Nastasic will have to wait, but there are those (you know who you are) who would make changes in this part of the field. I expect them to be disappointed.
"No man shall pass"
With the known threat that the hosts pose out wide, both fullbacks are likely to be busy. With Richards still out, Pablo Zabaleta represents a safe pair of hands on City’s right and has even added a goal threat to his game. Maicon showed well in his debut and has vast experience. He can create chaos going forward. But it is chaos going the other way that Mancini will need to avoid and that has been present in City’s early season games. He should therefore err on the side of caution.
At left back Clichy and Kolarov have so far split the responsibility equally and as they are different players, the Boss will need to select the one most likely to contain Madrid’s biggest threat in their narcissistic number 7, officially Europe’s third best (although leat popular) player. With this in mind, City has players who give good support to fullbacks and while James Milner is likely to get no further than the bench, Barry and Garcia may be expected to lend a hand when the Portuguese gets out of hand. A midfield 3 of these plus Yaya Toure seems the most likely selection and one that will be hard to break down. With Javi and Garry holding his coat, Toure may well get opportunities to penetrate and there is no-one harder to stop than a rampaging Yaya.
That said City are unlikely to rely on the counterattack to get something from this game. The best form of defence remains attack and City will need to make sure they pose a threat, or Real may run riot. The Boss declared Kun Aguero ready in his press conference, and Carlito was born ready. Not involving Tevez in the corresponding fixture this time last year led to a very difficult few months. It will be a measure of both men to see what involvement he has tonight. For me he is a likely starter. Dzeko and Balotelli may be asked to contribute, but only after the game has developed a pattern and only if City are chasing a result.
The remaining shirts will either go to those who can create or those that are asked to subdue Real’s creativity. Nasri has started the season well and Silva, celebrating his new contract has yet to show the form that saw his Spanish nickname “Chino” replaced in Manchester with “Merlin”, the wizard. One or both of these should start, provided Mancini is satisfied there is enough steel behind them. And he has plenty to call on.
And what of our Hosts? They can also call on a couple of Agentinians to bolster their attack and have an embarrassment of riches in the middle of the park. If they have a problem it is that Mourinho doesn’t seem to have settled on his best eleven and while the prolific Ozil has not been guaranteed his place, the newly acquired Modric who has yet to establish himself is tipped to start. Alonso, if selected can look forward to a City without Nigel de Jong, but may find himself short on pace against a team that’s eager to impress. Essien, on loan from Chelsea, and believed by some to be passed his excellent best, has yet to feature. (thanks DHTP)
"There'll be none of this."
All of Real's goals so far this season have come from Higuain and Ronaldo, and at 5 they have netted 4 less than the Blues, so while a threat they are far from prolific. City may not need to score more than once to come away with something, and the Real Madrid defence may be vulnerable to a very big City side at set pieces. That said all connected with City will want to turn on the style, so there will be no reliance on set pieces, and if City enjoy the possession they should, Casillas will have a busy night and may have his work cut out to show young Joe that he's still the best.
The Special One has spoken:
'My conviction is ... that we will have a proper team. I'm absolutely convinced of this.
"We will have a compact team full of solidarity where the team is the most important thing, where everyone wants to work for everyone else's sake." So that's bad news for the Sad one.
“When we win we win together, when we lose I am the one responsible”
