The 18 (including subs) that I think, Mancini will start with at Stoke (See below)
------------------ Hart-----------------------
------Komps (L) - Joles - Nasty-----
-Maicon---------------------------Zabba-
-----------------Garcia------------------------
----------Nasri ------ Rodwell -----------
------(F)-------- Yaya ----------------------
-------------------Tevez-----------------------
Subs: Pants, Silva, A.K. 47, Dzeko, Kolorov, Sinclair, Milner.
Can see this being the 11 that "Bobby" chooses to start against Stoke. It's vital we defend crosses properly and compete with them in the air.... a thing we were, sadly, unable to do against Liverpool, who caused us big problems, in that regard, (vis a vis skrtel heading in a corner while virtually unchallenged) at Anfield a couple of weeks, or so, ago.
I think Roberto will do so, so I've named Maicon in the starting line up, but there's no way, if I was picking the team that he would be given a full début away at Stoke - Not with the likes of Shawcross & Wilkinson, no doubt, ready and eager to crock him good & proper at the earliest opportunity
With the upcoming Madrid game in mind, I can see us, resting Silva too, (He's just not on his game at the moment, and I really cant see him influencing things that much, at the Britannia, especially if Stoke continue to employ their usual "Alehouse" tactics, and the ball is continuously in the air for the entire 90 minutes) and going with our 3 (physically) strongest available centre backs (Hence a début for Nastasic) to, hopefully, combat what, I'm sure, will be Tony Pulis's main strategy.
Result: Not usually a happy hunting ground for us, - head sez 1-1 draw, at best, but heart sez 2-1 to City.... Going with the heart as always - City 2 Stoke 1
