Arsenal (H) - Sun 31st Mar, 16:30 | PL | Pre-Match Thread

Match Result Prediction?

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Bernardo Silva can play at right back if needed. He has done it before vs Arsenal.
 
alexmcity said:
Can see us winning no matter who plays.

People couldn't see Liverpool getting a result without Alisson, Konate, TAA, Jota....Teams can rise to the occasion. Football is not played on paper.
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Think Stones is far more integral to how we play than people appreciate. As with Rodri we are a different team without either and our build up changes. Stones is a big game player.
 
bellsouth said:
If no Akanji, then I guess it’s Rico at RB, Dias,
Ake and Gvardiol. With no defenders on the bench?
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This my concern, I know people desperately want Rico to do well...I think he is a great young squad player to bring on slowly for the next couple of years then re assess but a huge ask to play him in big games like this and later stages of champs league etc.
 
MCFC1993 said:
Kick off time 16:30 (BST).

2 weeks away so plenty of time to get ready for it. Hopefully no injuries over the international break. Hopefully De Bruyne and Grealish can get back to some sort of fitness.

This is an absolute must win. Atmosphere has to be as good as it was last season, has to be electric, Arsenal were intimidated and couldn't cope with it last season.
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Need to win against a top five side...this is the game we desperately need to
 
bondsman said:
Think Stones is far more integral to how we play than people appreciate. As with Rodri we are a different team without either and our build up changes. Stones is a big game player.
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Was great against Liverpool, someone needs to step up if unavailable.
 
Tricky_Trev said:
It’s going to be very difficult to cope with Arsenal’s press without John Stones especially. No chance Arsenal come here to sit back, they are the best team in the league off the ball and our patched up defence will give them optimism that they can suffocate us. If they mark Rodri tightly, Stones was to be our weapon. Without him, and with Rodri marked all game, where do we go to progress the ball? It’s going to be tough. Maybe we have to play long ball again to Haaland and ask KDB to be near to him. But the problem with that is we did it last season, which surprised them. Arteta is ready for it now and it won’t be as effective.
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11 players in blue shirts.
1 bench of subs
1 worlds best coach
50000 atmospheric fans.
95 minutes to win.

Immortality beckons for this club,team and fans.

"We are City, we fight to the end" !!
 
It's difficult to predict a Pep team at the best of times, but if the injuries are correct I suspect we'll line up something like:

Ortega

Lewis
Dias
Ake
Gvardiol

Rodri
Kovacic
KDB

Bernardo
Foden

Haaland

That would still leave Alvarez, Doku, Bobb and potentially Grealish on the bench. It'll be a close game anyway, but at home I still feel we'll have too much for Arsenal.
 
bondsman said:
Think Stones is far more integral to how we play than people appreciate. As with Rodri we are a different team without either and our build up changes. Stones is a big game player.
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Hope Stones is fit, but I don't think he is as integral to how we play as Rodri. Stones missed about 2/3 of the season so far and we have won about as many points as last season.
 
Tricky_Trev said:
It’s going to be very difficult to cope with Arsenal’s press without John Stones especially. No chance Arsenal come here to sit back, they are the best team in the league off the ball and our patched up defence will give them optimism that they can suffocate us. If they mark Rodri tightly, Stones was to be our weapon. Without him, and with Rodri marked all game, where do we go to progress the ball? It’s going to be tough. Maybe we have to play long ball again to Haaland and ask KDB to be near to him. But the problem with that is we did it last season, which surprised them. Arteta is ready for it now and it won’t be as effective.
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Thats it in a nutshell. This is going to be one cagey affair and an epic battle of nerves. The crowd will need to be patient because there's going to be occasions where they are cutting through us at will. Hopefully we can control the majority of possession, not play such a high line and that Kev and Erling can produce the goods to get us the win.
 
Tricky_Trev said:
It’s going to be very difficult to cope with Arsenal’s press without John Stones especially. No chance Arsenal come here to sit back, they are the best team in the league off the ball and our patched up defence will give them optimism that they can suffocate us. If they mark Rodri tightly, Stones was to be our weapon. Without him, and with Rodri marked all game, where do we go to progress the ball? It’s going to be tough. Maybe we have to play long ball again to Haaland and ask KDB to be near to him. But the problem with that is we did it last season, which surprised them. Arteta is ready for it now and it won’t be as effective.
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I'm more worried about the lack of Ederson regarding their press, which is undoubtedly very good. I love Ortega, but as we saw versus Newcastle's press, it was a stark difference between the two.
 
TrentGrisham said:
I'm more worried about the lack of Ederson regarding their press, which is undoubtedly very good. I love Ortega, but as we saw versus Newcastle's press, it was a stark difference between the two.
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Exactly what I’m worried about tbh. I’m anxiously awaiting tomorrow’s updates and praying Ederson will be healthy. I remember KDBs goal last year when Pep berated Ederson for not initially playing the long ball to Haaland. I love Ortega too, but just not sure we can have that same expectation with him, which is likely needed against arsenal. Final score: 4-1 again (:
 
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