I'm so tired of all the 'mind games' bollocks: managers trying to shift the pressure onto each other, players saying the opposition are favourites and so on. It's mind-numbingly tedious and seems to be even worse this year, with serial shite talkers Mourinho and Rodgers in the picture.
Back to the game, they will come at us with everything in the first twenty minutes, so we need to be a bit more cautious and pragmatic than we have been at times this season, at least for that first period. If they go with a diamond in midfield then we'll need to pin back their fullbacks, which could see (at least one of) Milner and Navas deployed on the wings for us.
I'm sure Suarez will make the most of any contact from our backline, so Kompany in particular has to control himself and not go diving in, especially around the box as their set pieces have been exceptional this year.
That said, their defence is 100% there to be got at, and if they do choose a diamond with Gerrard at the base, Silva should be able to find ample space in which to create problems for them. I think if we start Dzeko up on his own then Kolarov may play, simply to provide the kind of service that Edin needs, even if he's defensively not as strong as Clichy. A Kolarov-Milner combination on that side could work out OK. If Aguero starts, we won't rely on width to create chances as much, so Clichy would be the better option.
