Crystal Palace (H) | Pre-Match Thread

[fierydan]

KO 3pm on a Saturday - novelty!

How the hell are we supposed to get to the Etihad at 3pm on a Saturday?
Wasn`t the 2am on a Sunday morning slot available.
Come on Sky,sort it out.

 

[Kenward Garg]

After the games against United and Villa, it looks to me like City are now, to use Pellegrini's parlance, in a "good moment" so I can - famous last words - see a fairly comfortable victory. Possibly 3-0.

 

[Kenward Garg]

Better without Sterling, something not right with him lately.

My uneducated guess says he's tired, physically and mentally. The altercation with Gomez the "straw that broke the camel's back".

 

[Kenward Garg]

It has been a while since we had so many players fit and performing, team selection is going to be a headache, it's going to be very hard to make it to the bench only let alone to start. Very nice problem for Pep to have though.

Aye. The squad that City have built is ridiculous. They win 6-1 on Sunday and the who's who of people missing from the first xi incl. Sane, Laporte, Sterling, Bernardo, Gundogan, Foden, Otamendi, Walker, Angelino and Zinchenko.

 

[Kenward Garg]

Which wing does Zaha play?
We need to may the quickest available full back against him

Left wing, nominally, so I'd say Walker.

 

[ninjamonkey]

I’m all for Cancelo getting a run in the team, he put in his best City performance on Sunday, but there’s no way we don’t play Walker against Zaha’s pace and power. We have to understand the opposition!

Whilst I agree with the principle of playing walker to counter the threat of Zaha, The flip side of that is Zaha isn’t going to want to track back, Cancelo can force him to play the majority of the game in his own half where it’s going to be a lot tougher to offer a constant threat or he doesn’t do his defensive work and gives us the freedom of the right to exploit. For me Cancelo needs a second game on the bounce and walker can come back in for Sheffield Utd

 

[lionheart]

After this week, with a fair wind it’s three games a week till the end of the season!

It was my understanding that we have a break from 9th - 22nd Feb as Pep has given everyone time off to relax with family. Maybe I was misinformed.

 

[northwichblue]

KO 3pm on a Saturday - novelty!

What sort of a fucking time is that, don't they know people have things to do on Saturday afternoons, the kids, shopping, pub etc.

 

[citymad]

No fixture midweek. Is this another winter break?

Looks like it.Apparently Pep has given them a morning off this week.
Hopefully we can continue this fine form against the Palace. It'd be nice to get a clean sheet and a few goals.

 

[horlock_was_super]

This date was the first I looked for when the fixtures were announced. Why? Well, it is exactly 45 years to the day and date I first attended Maine Road. Beat the barcodes 5-1 (Hammond, Tueart 3 and Bell) Went to Wembley the following February, runners up the year later. What an absolutely wonderful journey it’s been. I truly mean that, the worse it got the more I loved City! When my life was shit, good old City made it worse! Ha ha ha.
They’ve left me gutted, despondent, without hope many many times. I almost cried when we beat Stoke in 2011 (I didn’t, I am a Manc not a mard arse!) I will raise a fair few on Saturday regardless of the result, because they will always make me happy when skies are grey.