Leicester (a) Carabao Cup QF pre-match thread

[Bluep*ss]

Hey Ric - I only have 1 change to your pick - Kun.
I posted mine 2 mins ago then I read page 12.....Doh!

 

[Bluep*ss]

Would the incentive to get the rags at the shithole first leg semi final be enough to see us past Leicester..

I remember 1970 semi at OT - 2nd Leg - 2-2 draw - City went through to beat WBA in the final - There was "handbags" from the scrotes as we (4)were
celebrating near top of whatever Matt Busby way was called at the time.Had scarf pinched.

 

[ninjamonkey]

I never said it was a priority. If it were, we'd see the same team that demolished Spuds. What I absolutely cannot understand, or abide, are "fans" trotting out shite like "I don't care if we win" or "the sooner we're out, the better". And plenty have posted those views on here. The day I'm happy we lose a game or the day I don't care if we win is the day I turn it in. And I'll never turn it in. I want us to win. Every. Single. Time. We. Play. It's that simple.

Don't be ridiculous. I've said those things but i obviously want us to win. I'm simply realistic enough to understand the constraints of being in 4 competitions until the later rounds with a small, thin squad. we have to take risks in certain games with our lineup that might result in us losing for the good of other competitions, that's an acceptable sacrifice in my eyes and clearly in the eyes of others who have said similar things.

I don't want us to lose, i'll be at the game and i'll be gutted and possibly angry if we did lose but i'd get over it a lot quicker than if we were to play a strong team and as a result pick up a key injury or tiredness results in us dropping points on Saturday and i'd recognise the reasons behind it.

There's been many examples in the past where teams have gone out to win everything and won nothing despite being the best around through the sheer fact they've taken on too much, and likewise, you constantly see the benefit teams get through playing less games, just look at the last 2 winners of the premier league for a perfect example of that.

 

[Father Paul]

You, like several other posters, don't care whether we lose or win a game. Thank Christ that the overwhelming majority of fans want us to win every game.

Yes I want to win every game but a semi final double leg in January will test us to the limit physically. We generally lose an important player in these games as well. I would be very happy to see the Rags and Chelsi kick the crap out of each other while we are at home resting for the next three points or FA cup game.

 

[Dax777]

Forgive me if I upset anyone here but, I believe Big Clubs play to win EVERY game in EVERY competition they enter.

I believe it is only the "Lickle Clubs" who don't believe they are strong enough to field their best team in EVERY match.

Mind you, having said that, our squad is so strong that we have so many options to choose from without seriously weakening the team.

But to "rest" players on a Tuesday to save them for Saturday seems very small minded indeed to me.

I want us to win the League Cup.

JJ

The resting is not for Saturday. Its for the period of heavy footballing. Yea, we are in it to win it. But playing the same guys game in game out is the type of shit that will cause them injury and missed time.

Managing your players and squad well is what BIG CLUBS do. It is the "lickle clubs" who come at it with a fan's mentality.

 

[Shirley]

There again we could face either Bournemouth, West Ham or Bristol City in the two legged semis. Always look on the bright side as they say.

 

[vmsuhail]

Cant believe im saying this as would have killed for a LC win 10 years ago but this is a game for squad players.

The tournament is a serious way of derailing us with 2 semis in Jan, field as many fringe players as possible.

it's not about resting players for Saturday. The choice to make is "Do we want to play 3 competitive matches against (most likely) Top 6 opponents for the LC or give us a chance to go strong in 3 other more important competitions, plus the possibility of 100 points and an Invincible season". A loss at Shaktar didn't do any damage for our morale, but an injury like the one happened to Negredo and DeBruyne in the previous CL semi-finals can really set us back.

 

[vmsuhail]

You, like several other posters, don't care whether we lose or win a game. Thank Christ that the overwhelming majority of fans want us to win every game.

It's not about wanting to lose, but wanting to win the bigger prizes. I still believe that if we had exited LC earlier in the 2015/16 season, we could have won the PL instead of Leicester. That Debruyne injury in the semi-final was a huge miss. That performance in the LC final could have been against Liverpool 3 days later at Anfield in the PL.

 

[yankblue]

Ridiculous starting eleven. No way that Ederson, Fernandinho, KDB or Sterling will start. Doubtful that Otamendi, Delph & Gundogan will too.

I don't see why it's ridiculous. Pep started a strong 11 for a game that meant literally nothing away at Shakhtar. This is a winnable game in a very winnable cup, and although fans see the LC as a joke/throwaway, I highly doubt that the players and coaches do.

After this game, the Christmas run in is Bournemouth, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, and Watford. So, 3 teams at or around the relegation zone, and then Watford who have won 1 game since mid-October. This is the toughest test we'll face in a while so I don't think Pep will feel any pressure to rest players to save them for the games mentioned above.

I'll happily eat my own words if we play a severely weakened 11 on Tuesday, but I don't see it happening. It may be weaker than I predicted but I don't see Pep rotating in 6-7 players as you mentioned above.

 

[starsandstripes]

I'd like to see Nico/Tosin vs Leicester and Nico/Quim against Bournemouth. As impressed as I've been with the big Quim lately, I'd hate to see Tosin struggle because of underachieving senior players around him. Which also means I don't want Yaya near the starting lineup. Bring him on as a sub.

Bravo
Danilo
Tosin
Otamendi
Zinchenko
Gundogan (Yaya)
Foden
KDB/Silva
Bernardo
Kun (Jesus)
Sane (Brahim)