How can anyone suggest he shouldn't play in this game. He has been one of our best(if not our best player) this season and he tore them to shreds at the swamp. Even though he has admittedly had a dip in form (although imo he has been much better since he sat out of the arsenal game) he is still by far our most creative player. In a tight game we need him to create chances and even if he doesn't he is guaranteed to create more space for others. Nasri has been better in the past couple of months but he is not someone who can control a game in the same way silva does and quite simply is not as good as silva.

For me he is one of the first names on the teamsheet and is a must in big games like this one. He may be slightly off form but form means nothing going into a game like this and hopefully he will take confidence from the last time he played the rags. He will have had 8 days rest and there is no doubt he will be well up for this game and for me he has to play and could well be the difference.

Agreed. We can not afford to drop Silva for this game. His link up play with Kun, Carlos and Nasri is unplayable and if we drop Silva the rags will not only gain from us by not playing him but they will gain something psychologically. We have to play our best players for the biggest games.

He looked excellent at Norwich .. then a week later he appeared a bit lethargic at Wolves .... i don't quite know what to make of it , unless he's feeling his ankle injury.

Didn't someone say in one of the other threads that it might be something personal and not necessarily an injury that was causing his inconsistency?

Can't see Mancini droppin him not for this game , one moment of magic could make the difference , he will frighten the rags to death again Just like he did at Old trashcan

Just for the fact alone that he tends to command at least two defenders every time he is on the ball he should be in the game. He may be slightly off, but every player/manager in the league knows how dangerous he is and will always have him double marked. Him playing also frees up Yaya if he is played in a more advance role to get some momentum going in those runs he can destroy them with.

silva should play , and silva will play.

silva played well v wba, and norwich.

he also played well first half at wolves.

he has to play

He'll rip them to shreds and they know it.

nah , he struggled Stavros , was well off pace , and not his usual self .....

and he started the second half in the same vein , that's why he was taken off .... he wasn't having his usual impact on the game

he'd been much more spritely at Norwich previously ....... he could have been feelin' his injury at Wolves.

I'd still start him against the rags though ...

Because he has been mostoy poor for the past three months I presume, not hard to work out really once people take their blue tinted glasses off.