Southampton (a) pre-match thread

[dom]

Agreed. It’s time we showed up again and started fighting.

This

 

[Marvin]

Is DeBruyne going to play or not !

No. But we're not a one man team

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

If Kompany is fit, I’d play him tomorrow for the leadership he brings and play wing backs.

Ederson
Walker
Zinchenko
Kompany
Stones
Laporte
Fernandinho
Silva
Silva
Aguero
Jesus

Wingers are out of form and being crowded out so we need something different.

 

[super_city_si]

If we can start with dinho Silva Silva then I’ll be a lot more confident.

 

[rnblade]

Ok so KDB hasn’t pitched up for this. I would rather see him 100% against the dippers.
We really need to step up and prove we are still trying to retain OUR title.
Anything less than a win would be a massive dent and crush our confidence going into toughest game of the season.

 

[Gray]

So our last two opponents not fared well since playing us, shows our performances against them were well below par.

Injuries cropping up with monotonous regularity and players out of form.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

 

[york away to this!]

Pep's talk is all about moving the ball to move the opposition. Now that everyone seems to be going at least 2 on 1 against our wide players, is it now time to have a couple of lads in disguise running straight through the middle and scoring? I'll give pep a buzz in the am to let him know what to do.

 

[bondsman]

Never been this nervous about playing Southampton before! Win tomorrow and I think we will go on and win the league anything else and I think our confidence will evaporate for the season. Come on blues

 

[ballinio]

Team needs a boost & if KDB is out I think it’s time to play Foden.

 

[balotelli's back pocket]

Okay so no Gundogan or KDB... yikes

Ederson
Walker Stones Laporte Zinchenko
Bernardo Danilo Foden
Mahrez Aguero Sane

Muric Kompany Otamendi Fernandinho Silva Sterling Jesus

 

[prestonibbo_mcfc]

I'm going for 1 - 4. I'm getting more confident as the game nears. If you asked me last Monday i'd have said 15 - 0 ;-)

 

[NorCalBlue]

Never been this nervous about playing Southampton before! Win tomorrow and I think we will go on and win the league anything else and I think our confidence will evaporate for the season. Come on blues

I was pretty nervous last season knowing we needed a win for the 100 pts...

 

[NorCalBlue]

I'm going for 1 - 4. I'm getting more confident as the game nears. If you asked me last Monday i'd have said 15 - 0 ;-)

This is a nearly impossible game to predict and could be anything from another bad loss to a thumping victory. We've been a bit fragile lately and unable to overcome the odd error and some bad luck. If nothing goes wrong, your 1-4 (or better) should be very achievable, but unfortunately we've lost our aura of invincibility now and if Southampton get any encouragement they're going to smell blood and we'll be in for a rough ride.

 

[prestonibbo_mcfc]

This is a nearly impossible game to predict and could be anything from another bad loss to a thumping victory. We've been a bit fragile lately and unable to overcome the odd error and some bad luck. If nothing goes wrong, your 1-4 (or better) should be very achievable, but unfortunately we've lost our aura of invincibility now and if Southampton get any encouragement they're going to smell blood and we'll be in for a rough ride.

I'm hoping their 1 is after our 4.

 

[gingerprince]

We have been struggling last half dozen games or more to be anywhere near our top form.

Even if KDB starts v Liverpool he's nowhere near his best, he needs run of games & he has

not had that all season. Today we really need Fernandhino to play. We need to stop the slow

ponderous build up play and 45 angle chip crosses into the box [where did they come from?]

and get back to some quick precise short passing interplay to get sane and sterling behind

the defensive line and feed Aguero/opposite winger/silvas to smash the back of the net in.

The key is Fernandhino robbing the ball higher up the pitch and feeding the silvas so we keep

pressure on their defensive line for more of the time and then they crack under the pressure.

Not rocket science, just the way we were playing whole of last year and the start of this year.

 

[Blue Til Death]

Just win City, anyway anyhow ..

 

[ballinio]

I just want to see a bit of spine & fight from the team.

 

[bluemoon32]

I just want to see a bit of spine & fight from the team.

Yep there are still slight question marks over this team when things aren't going our way, sometimes we seem to give up or cede to pressure too easily and lose our shape.
I believe we'll show what we're made of and win today and then it's game on against Liverpool , a game imo we have to win no matter what

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I watched Southampton the other night and thought they were pretty average at best. Having had an extra days rest, I think we will have enough to beat them but I doubt it will be an easy watch. 1-2

 

[Hung]

Last season, this team, minus Mahrez (who is not a good addition), blew the Premier League to pieces and won it with 100 points. We started this season in similar fashion, despite no KDB - including being clearly the better team at Anfield a couple of months ago.. A series of injuries, average luck, lack of ruthlessness on occasion and an opponent in the shape of Liverpool who have got away with it in the first half of the season has taken away that sense of invincibility we all had. However, a bad month (first one in nearly 2 years), is just that, a bad month. Liverpool are not on the same level as this City team (at least that’s what everyone, including the media, were saying 6 weeks ago). Liverpool will lose momentum, maybe through injuries, maybe through a change in fortune, and cream will rise to the top. We need to win today and on Thursday, but if we do, 4 points is nothing at this time of the year and I think we would then go on and win it. So, the players need to sharpen and fix their bayonets, get their War Face on and slice Southampton to pieces today.