City Vs Newcastle Pre match Thread

[Marvin]

Is this actually the first time this season we have had every member of the first team squad fit and available for selection?

thinks so mate, but we are the time of the season where strongest team available is the only viable option

Newcastle reporting defensive injury problems

The ones that are fit are their better defenders though, and last time we played them in the League Cup I am sure they went into it with several players out

This is one of Newcastle's biggest remaining games of the season and there's no pressure on them so expect a good performance from them.

IF we play like we can, we will win, and win well. But I thought that against Hull, Burnley etc. This is as big as the Barcelona game for me. Win this, and then whatever happens against Barca is a bonus. Fail to win and our season could be over in 3 days. I hope the players play with the same intensity they played against Stoke but without the nerves of the 1st half

 

[mosssideblue]

Is this actually the first time this season we have had every member of the first team squad fit and available for selection?

thinks so mate, but we are the time of the season where strongest team available is the only viable option

Newcastle reporting defensive injury problems

The ones that are fit are their better defenders though, and last time we played them in the League Cup I am sure they went into it with several players out

This is one of Newcastle's biggest remaining games of the season and there's no pressure on them so expect a good performance from them.

IF we play like we can, we will win, and win well. But I thought that against Hull, Burnley etc. This is as big as the Barcelona game for me. Win this, and then whatever happens against Barca is a bonus. Fail to win and our season could be over in 3 days. I hope the players play with the same intensity they played against Stoke but without the nerves of the 1st half

+1

 

[Lopes17]

Sagna has recently been preferred to Zaba in the big games for his defensive attributes, so I can definitely see him starting v Barcelona, especially with the Neymar-Suarez-Messi front 3. And as Yaya's suspended for the first leg against Barca, the team v Newcastle has to be:

Hart

Zab VK Mangala Kolarov

Nasri Yaya Ferna Silva

Agüero Bony


and then for Barca:
Sagna Demichelis, Clichy, Fernando and Milner all have to come in, for me. Making it:


Hart

Sagna VK Demi Clichy

Ferna Fernando

Nasri Silva Milner

Aguero


can definitely see MP going for Navas > Milner, though.

 

[sam-caddick]

Bony will start in my opinion, up front with Agüero.

Can we play a defence that will stay the same for the Barcelona game, we need consistency and chopping and changing just leads to uncertainty at the back.

 

[the-ecstacy-of-eight]

It's a very difficult task to pick a "best eleven" with a full squad to pick from, I don't envy Manuel and his team one little bit. Really hope he gets it right

I'm not even thinking about Barca yet, I'm just concentrating on Newcastle for now.

IMO the back 5 which usually picks itself...

Hart
Zab - Kompany - Mangala - Clichy

...might not be as easy a task as it seems to be.

With the introduction of Bony into our ranks, by default we need to play 4-4-2 with him playing as the number 9 and Aguero as the deeper 10, and to get the best out of Bony we really need a decent supply of crosses for him to feed off. So it seems to me that if we start with Bony we either need to have Navas or Kolarov in the team.

But IMO Navas now doesn't get into the starting eleven. Silva + Nasri & Fernandinho + Yaya is by far our best midfield 4 combination. So even though Kolarov is a bit of a defensive liability, he's not as bad as some people make out and his crossing ability from the left is a necessity.

I'd get Bony in against Newcastle to hopefully hit the ground running and give Pellegrini a nice selection headache for Barca. It'd also give Barca a few headaches over the uncertainty of our starting eleven for Tuesday.

NEWCASTLE -

Hart
Zaba - Kompany - Mangala - Kolarov
Yaya - Fernandinho
Silva - Nasri
Aguero
Bony

 

[kun]

Hart
Zabaleta Kompany Mangala Kolarov
Silva Toure Fernandinho Milner
Aguero Bony

Willy; Clichy, Demichelis; Lampard, Nasri; Jovetic, Dzeko

City 4-1 'Castle

 

[jimharri]

Is this actually the first time this season we have had every member of the first team squad fit and available for selection?

thinks so mate, but we are the time of the season where strongest team available is the only viable option

Newcastle reporting defensive injury problems

The ones that are fit are their better defenders though, and last time we played them in the League Cup I am sure they went into it with several players out

This is one of Newcastle's biggest remaining games of the season and there's no pressure on them so expect a good performance from them.

IF we play like we can, we will win, and win well. But I thought that against Hull, Burnley etc. This is as big as the Barcelona game for me. Win this, and then whatever happens against Barca is a bonus. Fail to win and our season could be over in 3 days. I hope the players play with the same intensity they played against Stoke but without the nerves of the 1st half

Hopefully Collocini is playing; the bloke is an accident waiting to happen. Every time I see him playing, there's a mistake from him.

 

[Ducado]

Pre match thread of the main Newcastle Forum

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nufc-forum.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=56238.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nufc-forum.com/nufcforum/ind ... ic=56238.0</a>

 

[Sergi0 Na5r1]

Pre match thread of the main Newcastle Forum

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nufc-forum.com/nufcforum/index.php?topic=56238.0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nufc-forum.com/nufcforum/ind ... ic=56238.0</a>

Doesn't seem like much of a buzz, maybe because they've spelled the title like a diving wooney fan

 

[daztrueblue91]

I wonder if Aguero and Bony hit the ground running and we put 5 or more past Newcastle whether Pellers would be tempted to start them both against Barca.