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[AG7]

Manchester City v Liverpool
Etihad Stadium, City of Manchester

Thursday 26 December 2013
Kickoff: 1730 GMT

Referee: Lee Mason
Assistants: J Brooks & D Eaton
Fourth Official: Neil Swarbrick

TV Coverage in UK: BT Sports 1 HD (Sky 413) and BT Sports 1 (Sky 426)
Coverage starts at 1715 GMT

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There is only one question for the Boxing Day game ... and that's Suarez ... how will we stop him?

Well, that and we need to sort out who we play at the right-back ... as Clichy clearly is not the answer. If Pelligrini wants to play Navas on the right wing, then play Milner behind him, or better still play Boyata at right-back and Milner ahead of him on the right wing ... and keep Navas on the bench for this one. Beef up the midfield and stop them there ...

Sorry, I jumped straight into the team selection for this one but that's where all the questions lie for this crucial tie ... crucial because this is the gameweek when we can go top if Arsenal fails to win tonight against Chelsea (or even if they win here tonight but lose their next) ...

Back to the team selection issues, it's pretty clear to us all (from various threads) that he should play Negredo up front on his own and beef up the midfield but we all also know that he (Pelligrini) ain't about to do that. He's playing two up front Away from home so no way he's switching to just a lone striker at Home ... plus his man management lovey-dovey style for players will see him giving Dzonkey some more game time (which I personally would hate) ...

So here are two lines ups, one I'd like to see and one we'd probably see:

This is what I'd like to see:

Hart
Boyata - Komps - Demi - Kola
Ferdy - Yaya
Milner - Nasri - Silva
Beast

However this is what we are likely to get:

Hart
Milner - Komps - Demi - Kola
Ferdy - Yaya
Nasri - Silva
Dzonkey - Beast

Our bench will look thin for this ... with only Navas perhaps on it who can come on and change for better, rest lot will be filling the nos. like Lescott and Garcia or Guidetti again who might come to get some game time if we are four ahead with 20 odd mins to go.

What will decide this tie ... is how afraid they are of us, if they get scared and lineup to sit back and attack on counter (which is what I suspect they will do), we should win this by scoring more than they will ... but if they come at us and aren't scared and especially go one or two goals ahead early, then we'd be chasing them and that's something I wouldn't like to see ...

Score Prediction

Manchester City 4 - 2 Liverpool

No body's keeping clean sheets in this one, and although we have been scoring more freely at Home, their defense won't allow 6 in, unless they are completely below par that day ... Suarez brace will be their two goals but Beast should score two for us, perhaps one for Dzonkey and one could come from elsewhere ... maybe another Yaya free-kick special, or Navas off the bench.

C'mon City ... win this 6 - something and bookies will start thinking about paying out for the League ... draw and we live to fight another day ... lose and see the silly threads popping up here and media talking silly non-sense again ...

[Tokyo Blue]

Referee: Lee Mason

For fuck's sake.

[sheblue]

Just play the beast up on his own and bring in navas.

[AG7]

Doug, did Nasti train today? Rumours on Twitter that he could be back to partner Komps against Liverpool ...

[city72]

Doug, did Nasti train today? Rumours on Twitter that he could be back to partner Komps against Liverpool ...

Training thread about 5 down may answer your question

[South Stand Balti]

For me
Hart
Clichy kompany Denich Kolarov
Milner Fern
Nasri Yaya Silva
Beast

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Doug, did Nasti train today? Rumours on Twitter that he could be back to partner Komps against Liverpool ...

as you now know he did but it might be a little early for him to go straight back in to such a game.Pellegrini will confirm this tomorrow I am sure.

[Crossie]

I have a bad feeling about this one.

We have to keep scoring and sooner or later we'll have one of those games were it just won't go in.

Liverpool will test us much more than Arsenal due to them being fresh and us being 2 key men down.

Kompany and Nasty is critical. Please no Demi against The Biter....

[zuricity]

I have a bad feeling about this one.

We have to keep scoring and sooner or later we'll have one of those games were it just won't go in.

Liverpool will test us much more than Arsenal due to them being fresh and us being 2 key men down.

Kompany and Nasty is critical. Please no Demi against The Biter....

I think our Serbs are harder than his bite

Edit : cba looking, but don't you have a bad feeling about most of our games Crossie ?

I mean , carry on having bad feelings , we seem to be winning most of them.

[South Stand Balti]

I have a bad feeling about this one. We have to keep scoring and sooner or later we'll have one of those games were it just won't go in. Liverpool will test us much more than Arsenal due to them being fresh and us being 2 key men down. Kompany and Nasty is critical. Please no Demi against The Biter....

i have a bad feeling about this too. Extra beers required in Mary Ds before kick off. I think there are more than 2 key players out as well. Zaba is missing so Micah becomes key but is out. Aguero is out so Jovetic becomes key but is out etc. A well organised defensive showing could see us through though

[Blue Since 76]

I have a bad feeling about this one.

We have to keep scoring and sooner or later we'll have one of those games were it just won't go in.

Liverpool will test us much more than Arsenal due to them being fresh and us being 2 key men down.

Kompany and Nasty is critical. Please no Demi against The Biter....

Know what you mean, but the same could be said about Suarez and if he doesn't play well, they're average. Our goals are coming from everywhere, so are less likely to just stop (although we are unlikely to keep scoring at least 4).

And I'd second your no Demichelis. I'd much prefer Lescott.

[Hutch's Shoulder]

Cheer up lads!

Last week they scored 3 at home against crap opposition and relied on Suarez to score or make all the goals. We scored four away against crap opposition and had four different scorers. One guy (Suarez) could have an off game but unlikely the whole of our goal-machine midfield will.

So long as the boys lay off the turkey and don't put it in our own net we will be fine.

[Hutch's Shoulder]

Know what you mean, but the same could be said about Suarez and if he doesn't play well, they're average. Our goals are coming from everywhere, so are less likely to just stop (although we are unlikely to keep scoring at least 4). And I'd second your no Demichelis. I'd much prefer Lescott.

Great minds, and ours, think alike !

[City64]

Suarez never does fuck all against us , red scouse however do up there game when they play us these days but we are fucking awesome at home .


Could this be the game we finally put nearly all our chances away and hit double figures ? ;-)

[AG7]

Seriously, who the fuck hires these journos ... this is Telegraph's preview of City v Liverpool ... with Aguero's photo as main picture on the article ... with the following description:

"Clach of the day: Manchester City's striker Sergio Aguero comes face to face with Liverpool's Luis Suarez at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day night"

Do they not have spell check? Clach of the day?? And do they not know Aguero is injured? Head to head with Suarez??

Oh and then according to them Phil Dowd is the ref for this ... I had to go back and double check PL website and can confirm Lee Mason is reffing us and not Phil ...

Idiots!

[Hutch's Shoulder]

Seriously, who the fuck hires these journos ... this is Telegraph's preview of City v Liverpool ... with Aguero's photo as main picture on the article ... with the following description: "Clach of the day: Manchester City's striker Sergio Aguero comes face to face with Liverpool's Luis Suarez at the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day night" Do they not have spell check? Clach of the day?? And do they not know Aguero is injured? Head to head with Suarez?? Oh and then according to them Phil Dowd is the ref for this ... I had to go back and double check PL website and can confirm Lee Mason is reffing us and not Phil ... Idiots!

That's unusually accurate for the Telegraph.

[branny]

I have a bad feeling about this one.

We have to keep scoring and sooner or later we'll have one of those games were it just won't go in.

Liverpool will test us much more than Arsenal due to them being fresh and us being 2 key men down.

Kompany and Nasty is critical. Please no Demi against The Biter....

Have a look at their away record. That should make you feel better. As impressive as the Spurs result was, they scored three when Spurs were down to ten and WHL isn't the fortress it was at the moment. Apart from that the dippers away form is worse than ours. We've only got to stop Suarez. Rodgers has to figure out how to stop our front 6. I know which problem I'd rather have.

[Alex Sapphire]

We are always shit on boxing day so its time to see if we have fixed that. For me we're going top.

[everyonehatesus]

tricky game this one and could be a belter the neutral, goals for both teams without a doubt with our defence being tested more than anyother game in the prem so far.
kun is a massive loss and Donkey boy upfront wont be enough so hoping he stays on the bench and we pack the midfield to both hold them up a little and then feed the beast.
3:2 to City but its going to be close for sure.

[Cit.revenge]

We must cover fullbacks and close moving place for Suarez and counter so 4 5 1 .