Archive for September 2015

TOTTENHAM V MAN CITY by Dave Wood

September 28, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

So another away adventure to add to my scrapbook and let’s see what it had in store for the day.

Up bright and early to catch the 7-06 train from Berwick Upon Tweed and meet up with Mikie and Dougie who had started off 45 minutes earlier from Edinburgh, my bag was full to bursting with beer and Sliced Sausage Rolls I had made for me and the boys and on reaching my seat it was very quickly apparent that this was not going to be a dry day as the box of Koppenburg (There are loads of other Ciders available in the shops as well ;-) ) was sitting proudly on the table for ease of refills. Dougie had even brought a bag of ice which I couldn’t believe and remarkably it was still holding up by the time we reached Laaaaaaaaaaaandan. Laughs a plenty with quite a few City fans passing our table and letting us know they were blues, met up with a City Mate from Newcastle who was in First Class ( I swear we are going to get a reputation for being posh what with Muzz lording it up in there all the time and Kenny Taylor as well, not to mention the likes of Mick Hackin with his private aeroplane taking him too games ;-)   ) . We reach Kings Cross at 11am and after a quick Cig for them it was down into the Underground and Seven Sisters here we come (Not, 2 Sisters as someone said on the train lol ).

Met a group of lads on the tube, all Spurs bar 1 mate who was City, good Craic with the lads and we ended up jumping on the bus down towards the ground with them, fair play they invited us to come for a few beers but we kindly declined and headed towards the Irish Centre. Seen quite a few people we knew and ended up sitting with Mick Hackin and friends of his, team news was had and it obviously caused much debate, especially Joe being dropped but on the bench, few beers later and it was time to move on.

Safely in the ground and squeezed together as Dougies seat was meant for elsewere, Muzz and Dave arrived and the usual greetings were had and the game was under way.

City straight away where very much on the front foot and that terrible buy from Germany KDB was shining like a beacon, the blue faithful were in great voice and you sense it was a case of when not if with regards the first goal and sure as hell up steps the Ginger Nugget with a cool slot home, this lad could become a legend at City he is that composed on the ball, City continue to boss the game and your all just waiting for that 2nd one to be banged in the onion bag, minutes to go and thought best to get a head start on the crowd with regards getting a beer, as myself and others are waiting we hear a groan, to turn round a look up at the screens and see they had scored, unbelievable after dominating the half. Bit Chat and Beer, meeting other regular Away goers and it was back up for the Second half.

The fans were still peppering back into their seats when it all fell apart 5 minutes in, Lamella swung in a great cross but god knows what Caballero was thinking as he came into no mans land and done nothing, this allowed the flick on from Alderweireld to sail into the empty net and from bossing the game to within 5 minutes later we where 1 behind, plenty time so have no fear.

Sadly this seemed to knock the stuffing out of us and our back line were a bit all over the place at times, this allowed them in the back of us and looking very threatening, At the other end it was sad to see Sergio still not quite on it, it makes you wonder if he would have been better served being rested for a couple of extra games after the knock at Palace, he certainly looks out of shape right now. 1 hour gone and Spurs get a free Kick outside the box, Erikson curls a beauty of a kick over the wall and it crashes of the bar, just our luck that it falls right too Harry Kane who controls it on the volley and straight into the empty net, you cannot help but shake your head at the scenes but still hope given the time left, sadly that’s all pie eyed as we just don’t seem to be on it now, another 20 minutes and they drill home the 4th goal and for us it is time to go, get a head start up that bloody road back to 7 sisters, a black Cab is seen ahead and a little sprint is put on by myself and jump in it in front of a few annoyed others, as they say “ If you’re not fast, your last “ , jumps straight on tube back to Kings Cross which had a spurs fan who wanted to fight us all (But all in a good fun way though ) , few craics had and it was our stop, bid him and others farewell and we were on our way to our last train home but still had an hour to spare, a few more beers if you don’t mind and we find this little boozer, pints ordered then the music comes on, out pops a female with very few clothes on and its game on guys, very quickly there were more clothes on the floor than on the female, it would have been rude to not stay for another few beers and view the other pieces of art that were coming on show ;-) ,  time to move on and grab our train home, just making it with 30 seconds to spare lol.

The journey home was a hoot with a poor guy on his way to a stag do in Newcastle and was staying sober, WAS being the operative word as we soon got him joining in with us, off he went at Newcastle and on jumps a couple of young lads, 1 shouting is this for kings X, NOOOOOOOOO it’s for Edinburgh I shouted, they wouldn’t let him off and so they were now on their way to Scotland, turned out there where others and the lads were Chelsea fans, managed to calm them down and get them sorted.

Off I go at Berwick, it is now near 8pm and the motor can have a sleep over in the Station car park as not fit for driving lol. A wee walk down to Chinese, food lifted, lift sorted from mate in the bookies and arrived home around 8-30.

Absolutely belting day as per usual when going Away, spoilt by the result but quickly forgotten, obviously on seeing footage we seen shocking officials on show yet again that definitely turned the game, yes we need answers to quite a few questions regarding our own play but that cannot detract away from shambolic decisions.

So its onwards too Germany for the lads which I’ll sadly miss, but I’ll be back next Saturday at The Etihad cheering the lads on and no doubt consuming an odd beer or 3.

Dave Wood

Pre Match Thread | Sunderland v City

September 21, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Sunderland v Manchester City

Date: Tuesday 22 September 2015 19:45 BST Away
Competition: Capital One Cup

Visiting Fans|download SAFC’s Visiting Fan Guide|Contact + 44 0871 911 1200
Travel Links: AA Road watch|Rail Travel News | Metro

MCFC SQUAD NEWS

Squad(from):Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Otamendi, Kolarov, Sagna, Fernandinho, Fernando, Zuculini, Navas, Toure, De Bruyne, Sterling, Bony, Aguero
Injuries/Doubtful / Suspensions: Clichy, Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala! Delph, Silva / Nasri / .

Sunderland Squad News 

Squad (from): Pantilimon, Mannone, Stryjek, Jones, van Aanholt, Brown, Kaboul, O’Shea, Coates, Robson, Bridcutt, Cattermole, Larsson, Rodwell, Johnson, Jordi, Gómez, M’Vila, Buckley, Borini, Lens, Defoe, Graham, Toivonen, Gooch

Injuries / Doubtful / Suspensions: Matthews / Watmore, Fletcher / Kaboul??

KEY BATTLES

Sunderland have had a terrible start to the Premier League season and look in real danger of relegation. Their only victory has been in a 6v3 victory {match report} in the League Cup against League Two Exeter City with a Rodwell double and a Defoe hatrick.

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City will look to bounce back after defeat at home versus West Ham in a game which was heavily influenced by the referees inability to manage the game time and keep up with play. A terrible refereeing performance from an overweight referee with a bad attitude. A day when referee performances should be heavily scrutinized after the disgraceful scenes witnessed at Stamford Bridge where Costa made a mockery of the referee and rules of the game.

POTENTIAL LINE UPS

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HEAD TO HEAD FIXTURES – Last 10 games

  • 03/04/2011 Sunderland H PL 5-0 [IMG]
  • 01/01/2012 Sunderland A PL 0-1 [IMG]
  • 31/03/2012 Sunderland H PL 3-3 [IMG]
  • 06/10/2012 Sunderland H PL 3-0 [IMG]
  • 26/12/2012 Sunderland A PL 0-1 [IMG]
  • 10/11/2013 Sunderland A PL 0-1 [IMG]
  • 02/03/2014 Sunderland N LC 3-1 [IMG]
  • 16/04/2014 Sunderland H PL 2-2 [IMG]
  • 03/12/2014 Sunderland A PL 4-1 [IMG]
  • 01/01/2015 Sunderland H PL 3-2 [IMG]

Further information about the head to head can be found in the Bluemoon History section

You can find the full City team, match reports and Youtube videos here with footage from these matches

Referee Appointments

REFEREE: Roger East | referee history
ASST. REF. 1: Andrew Garratt
ASST. REF. 2: Richard West
4TH OFFICIAL: Darren Bond

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FA Premier League 2014/2015 City 3 v 2 Sunderland
I would recommend watching the the 3v2 [IMG] match in which YaYa and Jovetic scored great goals and 2 City old boys Rodwell and Johnson scored for Sunderland. Johnson scored from the spot after Roger East awarded a penalty for a foul from Zabaleta.

League Cup 2013/2014 Leicester 1 v 3 City 

BETTING ODDS - Oddchecker

Sunderland Away was one of the most dreaded fixtures on the calendar for the Citizens; with City going down 1v0 three times consecutively in the last 4 away games. Last seasons 4v1 victory should bring more hope.

For the pessimistic – you can get odds of 19/1 for a Sunderland 1v0 scoreline!

CITY V JUVENTUS by Dave Wood

September 17, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

CITY V JUVENTUS

 

Early set of for myself in my Scottish Borders base, caught the 11-12 from Berwick Upon Tweed, change at York with enough time to visit their bar, the least said about the pint that was placed in front of me the better, still onwards with the journey, arriving into Manchester at 14-44.

Having made arrangements to meet fellow NES member Mikie Garry, as well as a mate Dougie, who shall be joining up shortly , I popped up to the Bar in the station upon where another NES member Ian Dickson arrived to get a ticket from Mikie, a couple of pints and Ian and Mikie left to go watch the EDS game, me and Dougie went and checked into our Travelodge at Ancoats (Very central and prices you cannot grumble at).

A few pubs visited before the game whilst meeting up with a few other City mates and it was time to jump in a taxi to the stadium.

Arrived at Stadium around 7-20 and the queues were not bad, at our point (Section P) They had 1 turnstile for  paper tickets and another for season cards, made entering very quick, atmosphere was nonexistent at this point but I made my way to my seat (After going down wrong set of steps and squeezing past a full row of fans), Seeing all the laid out scarves over the seats in South Stand was brilliant and thought we were in for a spectacle(If only fans where more clued up what was happening), it was filling up nicely and a few chants where had but very sparse, still it has not kicked off yet so no worries.

The players appear in the tunnel and scarves are held aloft by most and cry’s off City, City, City revered around the ground, followed by lots of Boos as the Champions League anthem kicked in.

Under way now and City very quickly on the attack, Ball played through from Dino(Absolute Rock for City) for Sterling and great chance to go 1 up but a very weak attempt is saved by Buffon, City fans get going and it looks like we could be in for a great night. Not much to choose between both teams and The South Stand are trying to lift the crowd but is soon diminished which is very frustrating, why fans don’t want to sing is beyond me but heh ho each to their own, still nothing much happening with Sterling being marked tighter than a Celtic Fan inside the Rangers End at Ibrox ;-) . Half time and time for a seat seeing as we cannot get a beer.

2nd half gets under way and the place erupts as Sergio, KDB and Navas appear in the South Stand corner, pretty sure they had more eyes on them than the players on the pitch, obviously I was the same otherwise I wouldn’t be commenting on it, lol, Juventus have more of the ball but City get a break culminating in a Goal from Kompany(Well that was initial thoughts), thankfully it was allowed to stand which brings the fans to life, We could have doubled our lead quickly but Sterling is stopped again, 10 minutes later and it is all level, Manuel brings on KDB for Sterling and it sees a cheer from the crowd which is quickly followed by another that sees our Captain replaced by Otamendi ( We have now got Nicolas Otamendi, as well as kun n zabba ;-)   ). He initially looks to be struggling to hold the line with his fellow defenders, minutes later and we are doomed, curling shot flys past Joe and that was that, for me it was time to go and have a refreshment.

Summary for me was that Bony is a great hold up player but struggled to lead the line, don’t want to jump on his back just yet, Nasri was poor, slowing the play down too much which seen Sterling receive fewer cutting balls and in all the intensity was just not there, whilst Navas receives stick for his final ball he does offer us up true width and pace, this surely helps ease the congestion in the middle, just my opinion which may be nonsense..

Into town anyway and on the lash it was, bed after midnight and up sharp and grabbed the 5-47am train home, arrived back into Berwick just before 10am, 24 hours gone and plenty happy minutes alongside 20 sad and angry minutes, but heh ho its City and its what we have come to expect, onwards and upwards for the next journey.

Dave Wood

 

Pre Match Thread | Man City v West Ham

September 16, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Manchester City v West Ham

Date: Saturday 19th September 2015 17:30 BST
Competition: Barclays Premier League

Visit the club|Etihad Stadium|Parking| Contact + 44 161 444 1894
Travel Links: AA Road watch|Rail Travel News|Flight Information|Metrolink service

MCFC SQUAD NEWS

Squad (from):Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany (lets hope he is OK and no calf injury), Mangala, Sagna, Fernandinho, Nasri, Navas, Toure, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Bony, Aguero
Injuries/Suspensions: Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernando, Delph

West Ham Squad News 

Squad (from): Randolph, Adrián, Spiegel, Reid, Cresswell, Tomkins, Jenkinson, Collins, Oxford, Knoyle, Kouyaté, Obiang, Noble, Amalfitano, Moses, Payet, Lanzini, Antonio, Cullen, Samuelsen, Carroll, Sakho, Jelavic, Lee
Injuries /Suspensions: Ogbonna, Song, Zárate, Valencia, O’Brien

KEY BATTLES

After plummeting out of the Europa League West Ham have started the Premier League season very well. The Hammers have picked up victories away from home against Arsenal and Liverpool and look very dangerous playing away. Central to their positive start has been Payet who has impressed with his strength, skill, power, passing range and shooting ability. The commentator during the Newcastle game likened him to Carlos Tevez which is a fairly decent comparison when you consider his strengths and style of play. Payet would appear to be an absolute steal at £10M; Payet appears in the Top European league player stats of the 2014-15 season numerous times. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) had 17 assists only bettered by Fabregas (Chelsea) 18, Messi (Barcelona) 18 and De Bruyne (Wolfsburg) 20. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) 133 was top man for most chances created finishing just above second best Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg) 111. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) 86 was second best statistically for Most crosses completed behind Kieran Trippier (Burnley) 91. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) 21 was also second for Most through-balls completed behind Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 33 with Silva 4th 18. All that considered it’s a huge surprise that West Ham managed to secure his signature firstly at such a modest price and secondly with no real competition for the 28 year old attacking midfielders signature.

I Expect Slaven Bilić will rest one of his forward 3; Carroll will possibly make way for the additional player in central midfield. West Ham had to fend off interest from three top Premier League clubs to keep hold of 16-year-old Reece Oxford and I expect that after a very established debut in the 3v0 win against Liverpool he will be given the opportunity to face Man City. Adrian is likely to return on goals after suspension despite strong performances from Randolph, either keeper should expect to be very busy defending the barrage of City attacks. I hope that we continue with the same back 7 and go for the front 4 that all City fans are desperate to see; Silva, Sterling, De Bruyne and Aguero. Chelsea v Arsenal is the early kick-off and if Chelsea secure the home win and City get a victory that would place them 8 points ahead of Arsenal and 11 ahead of Chelsea before United play a tough match away at Southampton. What I would give for keeping the current logic going 3v0, 3v0, 2v0, 2v0, 1v0, 1v0. Has any team ever won the first 6 without conceding in the Premier League?

City are currently in good Kompany with 100% records in top tier football leagues; they share this accolade with Barcelona (3), Inter Milan (3), Dortmund (4), Bayern (4) and Aberdeen (7) in their respective leagues. After a disappointing performance in Europe City must bounce back with 3 points!!

[IMG]

[IMG]

POTENTIAL LINE UPS

[IMG]

HEAD TO HEAD FIXTURES – Last 10 games

  • 11/12/2010 West Ham United A PL 3-1 [IMG]
  • 01/05/2011 West Ham United H PL 2-1 [IMG]
  • 03/11/2012 West Ham United A PL 0-0 [IMG]
  • 27/04/2013 West Ham United H PL 2-1 [IMG]
  • 19/10/2013 West Ham United A PL 3-1 [IMG]
  • 08/01/2014 West Ham United H LC 6-0 [IMG]
  • 21/01/2014 West Ham United A LC 3-0 [IMG]
  • 11/05/2014 West Ham United H PL 2-0 [IMG]
  • 25/10/2014 West Ham United A PL 1-2 [IMG]
  • 19/04/2015 West Ham United H PL 2-0 [IMG]

Manchester City have scored 24 goals in the last ten games against West Ham, Aguero has 5, ______ has 5, YaYa has 4, Silva and Dzeko both scored 2, 1 own goal but which other 5 players scored once?

Further information about the head to head can be found in the Bluemoon History section

You can find the full City team, match reports and Youtube videos here with footage from these matches

Referee Appointments

REFEREE: Robert Madley 
ASST. REF. 1: M McDonough
ASST. REF. 2: M Perry
4TH OFFICIAL: C Pawson

Robert Madley has only refereed 20 to flight matches as you can see with his Match History, he has only refereed a Man City match once versusLeicester in a fairly uneventful match from a card perspective (only 1 booking) – interestingly City were only awarded 6 fouls to the 13 of Leicester.
Sent off Behrami (Watford) in last match which was a deserved red and once sent off 3 player in match between Southmptn 0:3 West Brom. I think we need to be careful in this match and ensure we don’t give the referee the opportunity to influence the game!

[IMG]

BETTING ODDS - Oddchecker

If you think that City could equal the 6v0 victory from the 2014 season you can get odds of 55-1
I think this will be a tight game, I can see us conceding as it’s inevitable it will happen eventually in the Premier League. I also think we will score and win therefore a more reasonable bet would be a City 2v1 (19/2), 3v1 (17/2), 3v2 (26/1), 4v1 (16/1) victories. Manchester City haven’t been involved in a 0 v 0 draw for 76 consecutive games since Norwich February 2014; but if you believe this scenario will occur you can get odds of 27/1 for 0v0

Pre Match – Man City v West Ham

September 15, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Manchester City v West Ham

Date: Saturday 19th September 2015 17:30 BST
Competition: Barclays Premier League

Visit the club|Etihad Stadium|Parking| Contact + 44 161 444 1894
Travel Links: AA Road watch|Rail Travel News|Flight Information|Metrolink service

MCFC SQUAD NEWS

Squad (from):Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany (lets hope he is OK and no calf injury), Mangala, Sagna, Fernandinho, Nasri, Navas, Toure, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Bony, Aguero
Injuries/Suspensions: Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernando, Delph

West Ham Squad News 

Squad (from): Randolph, Adrián, Spiegel, Reid, Cresswell, Tomkins, Jenkinson, Collins, Oxford, Knoyle, Kouyaté, Obiang, Noble, Amalfitano, Moses, Payet, Lanzini, Antonio, Cullen, Samuelsen, Carroll, Sakho, Jelavic, Lee
Injuries /Suspensions: Ogbonna, Song, Zárate, Valencia, O’Brien

KEY BATTLES

After plummeting out of the Europa League West Ham have started the Premier League season very well. The Hammers have picked up victories away from home against Arsenal and Liverpool and look very dangerous playing away. Central to their positive start has been Payet who has impressed with his strength, skill, power, passing range and shooting ability. The commentator during the Newcastle game likened him to Carlos Tevez which is a fairly decent comparison when you consider his strengths and style of play. Payet would appear to be an absolute steal at £10M; Payet appears in the Top European league player stats of the 2014-15 season numerous times. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) had 17 assists only bettered by Fabregas (Chelsea) 18, Messi (Barcelona) 18 and De Bruyne (Wolfsburg) 20. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) 133 was top man for most chances created finishing just above second best Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg) 111. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) 86 was second best statistically for Most crosses completed behind Kieran Trippier (Burnley) 91. Dimitri Payet (Marseille) 21 was also second for Most through-balls completed behind Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 33 with Silva 4th 18. All that considered it’s a huge surprise that West Ham managed to secure his signature firstly at such a modest price and secondly with no real competition for the 28 year old attacking midfielders signature.

I Expect Slaven Bilić will rest one of his forward 3; Carroll will possibly make way for the additional player in central midfield. West Ham had to fend off interest from three top Premier League clubs to keep hold of 16-year-old Reece Oxford and I expect that after a very established debut in the 3v0 win against Liverpool he will be given the opportunity to face Man City. Adrian is likely to return on goals after suspension despite strong performances from Randolph, either keeper should expect to be very busy defending the barrage of City attacks. I hope that we continue with the same back 7 and go for the front 4 that all City fans are desperate to see; Silva, Sterling, De Bruyne and Aguero. Chelsea v Arsenal is the early kick-off and if Chelsea secure the home win and City get a victory that would place them 8 points ahead of Arsenal and 11 ahead of Chelsea before United play a tough match away at Southampton. What I would give for keeping the current logic going 3v0, 3v0, 2v0, 2v0, 1v0, 1v0. Has any team ever won the first 6 without conceding in the Premier League?

City are currently in good Kompany with 100% records in top tier football leagues; they share this accolade with Barcelona (3), Inter Milan (3), Dortmund (4), Bayern (4) and Aberdeen (7) in their respective leagues. After a disappointing performance in Europe City must bounce back with 3 points!!

[IMG]

[IMG]

POTENTIAL LINE UPS

[IMG]

HEAD TO HEAD FIXTURES – Last 10 games

  • 11/12/2010 West Ham United A PL 3-1 [IMG]
  • 01/05/2011 West Ham United H PL 2-1 [IMG]
  • 03/11/2012 West Ham United A PL 0-0 [IMG]
  • 27/04/2013 West Ham United H PL 2-1 [IMG]
  • 19/10/2013 West Ham United A PL 3-1 [IMG]
  • 08/01/2014 West Ham United H LC 6-0 [IMG]
  • 21/01/2014 West Ham United A LC 3-0 [IMG]
  • 11/05/2014 West Ham United H PL 2-0 [IMG]
  • 25/10/2014 West Ham United A PL 1-2 [IMG]
  • 19/04/2015 West Ham United H PL 2-0 [IMG]

Manchester City have scored 24 goals in the last ten games against West Ham, Aguero has 5, ______ has 5, YaYa has 4, Silva and Dzeko both scored 2, 1 own goal but which other 5 players scored once?

Further information about the head to head can be found in the Bluemoon History section

You can find the full City team, match reports and Youtube videos here with footage from these matches

Referee Appointments

REFEREE: Robert Madley 
ASST. REF. 1: M McDonough
ASST. REF. 2: M Perry
4TH OFFICIAL: C Pawson

Robert Madley has only refereed 20 to flight matches as you can see with his Match History, he has only refereed a Man City match once versus Leicester in a fairly uneventful match from a card perspective (only 1 booking) – interestingly City were only awarded 6 fouls to the 13 of Leicester.
Sent off Behrami (Watford) in last match which was a deserved red and once sent off 3 player in match between Southmptn 0:3 West Brom. I think we need to be careful in this match and ensure we don’t give the referee the opportunity to influence the game!

[IMG]

BETTING ODDS - Oddchecker

If you think that City could equal the 6v0 victory from the 2014 season you can get odds of 55-1
I think this will be a tight game, I can see us conceding as it’s inevitable it will happen eventually in the Premier League. I also think we will score and win therefore a more reasonable bet would be a City 2v1 (19/2), 3v1 (17/2), 3v2(26/1), 4v1 (16/1) victories. Manchester City haven’t been involved in a 0 v 0 draw for 76 consecutive games since Norwich February 2014; but if you believe this scenario will occur you can get odds of 27/1 for 0v0

Pre Match Thread – City v Juventus

September 13, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Manchester City v Juventus

Date: Tuesday 15 September 2015 19:45
Visit the club|Etihad Stadium|Parking| Contact + 44 161 444 1894
Travel Links:AA Road watch|Rail Travel News|Flight Information|Metrolink service

MCFC SQUAD NEWS

Squad Information -Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from):Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Denayer, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Sagna, Fernandinho, Nasri, Navas, Toure, De Bruyne, Bony

Injured: Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernando, Delph, Silva, Sterling, Aguero

[IMG]

Juventus SQUAD NEWS

Squad Information – Injuries

Squad (from): Buffon, Neto, Rubinho, Audero, Chiellini, Cáceres, Sandro, Barzagli, Bonucci, Rugani, Lichtsteiner, Parodi, Pogba, Hernanes, Lemina, Padoin, Sturaro, Pereyra, Vitale, Zaza, Cuadrado, Mandžukić, Dybala, Vadalá,

Injured: Morata, Evra, Asamoah, Marchisio, Khedira

[IMG]

KEY BATTLES

[IMG]

Champions League 2015-16: team-by-team guide to the group stage

Tuesday game will be a tough match-up between the pot one and pot two teams and could have a huge influence on who tops the group. Manchester City are 5th favourites to win the Champions league outright with Juventus 10th favourites. The City faithful will be keen to get off to a strong start at home and will have to make several changes to the forward line. I expect De Bruyne will start the match in a central position and will be the difference between the 2 teams. I expect Aguero, Silva and Sterling wont be risked which will eave us with only Bony as a recognized striker

Mandžukić will be the main threat leading the line for Juventus; stemming the flow from Cuardado and Pereyra could be key to ensuring a City victory and much desired clean sheet.
Pogba was linked strongly with City over the transfer window but has failed to show his promise at the start of the season. The YaYa v Pogba match up will be one of the most interesting talking points in the Matchday 1 fixtures with Pogba being touted as one of the best young talents in World football and a potential successor to YaYa Toure in the City central midfield.

POTENTIAL LINE UPS

[IMG][IMG]

HEAD TO HEAD FIXTURES

City and Juventus have only met 4 times with 1 win each and 2 draws.
Many think that the team that comes out on top of this head to head will top the table

Further information about the head to head can be found in the Bluemoon History section

You can find the full City team, match reports and Youtube videos here with footage from the match like this goal from our very own Brian Kidd {who interestingly played his last game for City against Borussia Monchengladbach, H, 07/03/1979}

Referee Appointments

Referee: Damir Skomina (SVN)
Assistant Referee 1: Jure Praprotnik (SVN)
Assistant Referee 2: Robert Vukan (SVN)
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Matej Jug (SVN)
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Slavko Vinčič (SVN)
Fourth Official: Manuel Vidali (SVN)
UEFA Referee Observer: Hugh Dallas (SCO)
UEFA Delegate: Jean-Louis Piette (FRA)

[IMG]

BETTING ODDS

Oddchecker

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Pre Match Thread | Palace v City

September 13, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Crystal Palace v Manchester City

Date: Sat 12 September 2015 15:00 BST Guide for visiting supporters |Contact + 44 208 768 6000
Travel Links: AA Road watch Manchester | AA Road watch London| Rail Travel News | London Underground Status & Map

MCFC SQUAD NEWS Squad Information -Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Otamendi, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Toure, Aguero, Iheanacho
Injured: Zabaleta, Clichy, Delph/ Sagna, Fernando, Bony

Palace SQUAD NEWS Squad Information -Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from): Ward, Mariappa, Hangeland, McCarthy, Dann, Bamford, Bolasie, Zaha, McCarthy, Hennessey, Chung-yong, Gayle, McArthur, Fryers, Williams, Wickham, Mutch, Souaré, Delaney, Kelly, Puncheon, Sako, Kaikai
Injured/Doubtful: Ledley, Appiah, Chamakh, Campbell/ Cabaye, Jedinak, Speroni, 

PREDICTED LINE UPS

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KEY BATTLES AND MATCH ANALYSIS

After the International Break which has seen Aguero, Silva and De Bruyne star for their individual countries excitement builds for a top of the table clash with Crystal Palace. Man City will look to dominate possession and attack with pace, Palace are known for conceding possession and attacking with pace. If ever I was shocked a match wasn’t televised it was this game, as I expect both teams to score and more than 5 goals in the game. There are rumours that Sagna picked up a knock in International duty could lead to a debut for Otamendi at right back. There is mass excitement surrounding Kevin De Bruyne signing and many fans will hope he starts this game. After two games international I expect he will come on off the bench around the 60 minute mark. I expect his debut will be in the home match against Juventus. I am selecting Delph for this match over Ferandinho as he will be tired after 2 matches in USA, I’m unsure if Nasri or Navas will start, Navas may due to his defensive capabilities and in an attempt to counter the pace of Bolasie.

Chelsea are the early kick off away at Everton, so if results go our way then we will be buzzing again going into this game. Add to that United v Liverpool match at 17:30, great to have a 3 O’ Clock Kick off.

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LAST 10 FIXTURES

REFEREE Referee Appointments:

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Has previous with Aguero


BETTING ODDS Oddchecker

I think we will need to score 3 to win this one but would love a scrappy 1v0 victory

so far it’s been 3-3-2-2 goals scored for us

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Pre-match | Man City v Watford

September 13, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Manchester City v Watford FC

Date: 15:00pm, Saturday 29th August 2015
Visit the club|Etihad Stadium|Parking| Contact + 44 161 444 1894
Travel Links:AA Road watch|Rail Travel News|Flight Information|Metrolink service
Please be advised that travel may be impacted by the Gay Pride event on in town on Saturday. There are still issues with travel along the Mancunian way – thanks @squirtyflower for the travel info

Battle of last years’ bridesmaids; Manchester City (2nd Barclays Premier League 2014/15) welcome Watford FC (2nd Sky Bet Championship 2014/15) to the Etihad stadium. The two sides have only met competitively 20 times in their history which is surprising when you consider Watford were formed in 1881 and Manchester city founded in 1894 (St Mark’s 1880). City could set a club record ten consecutive wins if they achieve victory in this match after equalling the record with a victory against Everton! Man City have significantly strengthened the defensive side of squad with the signing of Ottamendi. The transfer of De Bruyne still appears on the horizon in what has been a spectacular transfer window for the blues. Watford have been very busy in the transfer market and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few more additions before the window slams shut.

MCFC SQUAD NEWS

Squad Information -Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from):Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Denayer, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Sagna, Fernandinho, Delph, Lopes, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Toure, Aguero, Iheanacho
Injured:Clichy, Zabaleta, Fernando, Bony

WATFORD SQUAD NEWS

Squad Information - Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from): Gomes, Gilmartin, Arlauskis Nyom, Britos, Angella, Prödl, Paredes, Cathcart, Pudil, Layun, Holebas, Belkalem, Aké, Jurado, Behrami, Anya, Abdi, Watson, Capoue, Dyer, Deeney, Vydra , Forestieri, Berghuis, Ighalo, Diamanti
Injured:Doyley, Ekstrand

KEY BATTLES

City and Watford have both faced Everton and WBA this season in games where City have achieved 2 wins where Watford managed 2 draws. Before the Everton game City had achieved 38 shots this season (highest in Premier league) compared to 27 shots from Watford!

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A key fixture in the first few games was the link up play between Silva, Sterling and Kolarov – here we can see their combined heat map. The trickery of the trio may be too much too handle for Cameroon defender Nyon who made 100% of his tackles (5) vs Everton (all tackles made in deep right back position). I expect we will see a similar positional performance from Nyom as we seen in the Everton game and expect his forward momentum will be greatly restricted.

Silva, Sterling and Kolarov Heatmap vs Chelsea(left) and West Brom (right)

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Nyom Heatmap first 2 matches – Everton (left) and West Bron (right)

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Étienne Capoue signed for a Club Record fee of 6M this season and has started well despite not being able to previously force his way into the Spurs team with only 24 appearances. I expect Watford to sit deep and Capoue and Behrami to sit directly in front of the back 4 in an attempt to shield Prödl and Cathcart.

I expect Behrami to start but not finish the game; Behrami has fantastic work-rate and is a robust, skilful, solid player but very aggressive, a rash tackler and at times can be a hothead. The intricate passing and direct driving runs of YaYa will cause many problems and he may struggle well when restricted to minimal ball possession leading to frustration. The stats don’t back this up as he has never seen two yellows to lead to red and only 2 reds in his football career so perhaps this should just be classed as a hunch. He tends to receive a yellow every 4 games so perhaps I am doing him a discredit but feel that the overall power of Man City in central midfield will be a determining power in the outcome of this match.

POTENTIAL LINE UPS

I expect Man City will start with the same 11 players who have achieved 3 wins, 8 goals and 0 conceded in the first 3 matches of the season.

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LAST 10 FIXTURES

MANAGER HEAD TO HEAD

Quique Flores replaced Slavisa Jokanovic despite Watford achieving Premier League promotion at the start of the 2015 season and this will be the first head to head between the 2 managers in England. Flores is the 5th Watford manager in the space of ten months in what has been a turbulent period of managerial change; Watford Football club will surely be hoping for improved stability with Flores at the reigns.

Watford Managers in last 10 months

Pellegrini is a vastly more experienced manager with 27 years experience compared to 11 years for Flores. The 2 managers are very familiar and have had many duals in La Liga; Pellegrini as manager of Villareal, Real Madrid & Malaga and Flores as manager of Getafe, Valencia & Atlético Madrid. Pellegrini has had substantially more success with 9 wins to 3 and 1 draw between the managers.

LaLiga Head To Head

  • 01/05/2005 Primera División 2004/2005 – Villarreal 4v0 Getafe
  • 12/12/2004 Primera División 2004/2005 – Getafe 1v2 Villarreal
  • 05/11/2005 Primera División 2005/2006 – Villareal 1v0 Valencia
  • 04/01/2006 Copa del Rey 2005/2006 – Villareal 0v2 Valencia
  • 11/01/2006 Copa del Rey 2005/2006 – Valencia 1v0 Villarreal
  • 22/03/2006 Primera División 2005/2006 – Valencia 1v1 Villarreal
  • 07/01/2007 Primera División 2006/2007 – Villareal 1v0 Valencia
  • 26/05/2007 Primera División 2006/2007 – Valencia 2v3 Villarreal
  • 26/08/2007 Primera División 2007/2008 – Valencia 0v3 Villarreal
  • 07/11/2009 Primera División 2009/2010 – Atlético Madrid 2v3 Real Madrid
  • 28/03/2010 Primera División 2009/2010 – Real Madrid 3v2 Atlético Madrid
  • 19/12/2010 Primera División 2010/2011 – Málaga 0v3 Atlético Madrid
  • 07/05/2011 Primera División 2010/2011 – Atlético Madrid 0v3 Málaga

Referee Appointments

REFEREE:
Mark Clattenburg

ASST. REF. 1: S Beck

ASST. REF. 2: J Collin

4TH OFFICIAL: J Adcock

BETTING ODDS

Oddchecker

Manchester City record win against Watford is 3v0; looking at the odds the bookies think this could be beaten, with best odds only @ 4-1 for Man City to win by 4 Or More Goals

Pre-match | Everton v Man City

September 13, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Everton FCv Manchester City
Date: 16.00pm, Sunday 23rd August 2015

Guide for visiting supporters |Getting to Goodison|Contact + 44 151 556 1878
Travel Links: AA Road watch Manchester | AA Road watch Liverpool| Rail Travel News

MCFC SQUAD NEWS - Squad Information -Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Denayer, Clichy, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Sagna, Fernandinho, Fernando, Lopes, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Toure, Aguero, Bony, Iheanacho

Injured: Fernando,Delph, Zabaleta

Everton SQUAD NEWS - Squad Information -Injuries/Suspensions

Squad (from): Robles, Howard, Stanek, Stones, Jagielka, Coleman, Browning, Galloway, Oviedo, Cleverley, McCarthy, Barry, Barkley, Deulofeu, Besic, Osman, Kone, Lukaku, Mirallas, Naismith, McAleny

Injured: Baines, Gibson, McGeady, Pienaar, Hibbert

PREDICTED LINE UPS

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Sagna deserves to retain the right back spot but think Zabaleta may be used for this game.

MATCH ANALYSIS AND KEY BATTLES 

Manchester City and Everton are both going into this game on a high after 3v0 wins against direct competitors. Manchester City were dominant against Chelsea; a fantastic team performance causing many pundits to reconsider who the title favourites are. The fans witnessed a record attendance at the Etihad and were treated to fluid, progressive, attacking flowing football; an absolute joy to watch! Aguero on his return was fired up, a constant threat, lead the line and scored a passing accuracy of 95%; misplacing one pass the entire game. David Silva sang “Ring a Ring o’ Roses” as he danced around the Chelsea midfield, he ran circles round Matic and Ramires all game much to their fristration. The Chelsea midfield and attack whimpered “A pocket full of posies; A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down” as they looked to exploit the leniency shown by Atkinson.

Everton played brilliantly, utilizing the counter attack excellently in what was always a tough away fixture against Southampton. Lukaku exhibited why he is one of the highest rated young strikers in the Premier League with an awe inspiring performance. Lukaku was unplayable showed composure, strength and determination; was a constant threat down the left flank and centrally with his direct powerful running. He finished his two goals brilliantly and was clear man of the match. Barkley showed why he is rated one of the best Home grown talents in the Premier League. The Everton defence was impenetrable with strong performances from Stones and Jagielka centrally and a fit Tim Howard between the sticks is one of the best keepers in the Premier League.

This game has all the hallmarks of being a classic encounter and small margins could swing the balance of this game. In the 2014/15 season Everton have had more attempts from Direct Free-Kicks than any other team in the Premier League. Everton tend to win many freekicks on the edge of the box due to fouls on Barkley, Mirallas and Lukaku. Man City received much less fouls on the edge of the box but do have a much higher conversion rate (ranked 3rd overall for goals scored from direct free kicks) due to free kick specialists like YaYa and Kolarov. Baines is a set piece specialist, providing many assists and a real threat from set pieces and his absence through injury will be a big loss for Everton. I was looking at the free kick and distribution of fouls and was shocked by the statistics; Manchester City were awarded the least amount of fouls of any teams last season {310 to City compared to 487 for Man Utd} and City committed 50 more fouls {472 to 389} than Everton last season. This appears odd when you consider the amount of time City spend in possession of the ball; City were ranked 1st for ‘Possession in Final Third’, ‘Total Touches’, ‘Touches in Opponents Half’, ‘Touches in Final Third’ and ‘Touches in Penalty Area’ and 2nd for ‘overall possession’ and ‘overall possession in final third’. It would have made sense to me that a team on the back-foot who are defending, without the ball who need to make tackles, clearances and interceptions would commit more fouls but City aren’t in that scenario. Therfore to conclude it must be because we maintain possession of the ball for long spells of the game and when we lose the ball we press the ball aggressively; yet that doesn’t explain why the statistics are so extreme when comparing City and United. So we must consider a team who play a similar style in another league; let’s choose Barcelona as it’s no secret that this is the team that Man City aspires to replicate both on and off the pitch! I’m starting to understand why it often feels like the referee is not watching the same game as we the fans are when the sums don’t add up! Perhaps someone could explain that to me? The only logic I can see is that Eibar play in sky blue!

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I think the 2 key areas of this game will be central midfield and battle of the flanks. Midfield will be interesting as from last season’s statistics we can see that Man City won the least amount of tackles in the league compare to Everton who won the second most tackles 692 to the 932 lost for City. Everton tend to focus on attacking down the wingss and were ranked last for % Chances Created from the Centre last season. Everton predominately focus on bringing the ball out from the goal keeper and attacking down the left flank although this threat is diminished partially by the absence of Baines with Galloway or Oviedo likely to play left back, with Galloway the more likely starter despite poll from the Liverpool echo.

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LAST 10 FIXTURES

  • 20-Dec-10 Manchester City v Everton Loss 1-2
  • 07-May-11 Everton v Manchester City Loss 2-1
  • 24-Sep-11 Manchester City v Everton WIN 2-0
  • 31-Jan-12 Everton v Manchester City Loss 1-0
  • 01-Dec-12 Manchester City v Everton DRAW 1-1
  • 16-Mar-13 Everton v Manchester City Loss 2-0
  • 05-Oct-13 Manchester City v Everton WIN 3-1
  • 03-May-14 Everton v Manchester City WIN 2-3
  • 06-Dec-14 Manchester City v Everton WIN 1-0
  • 10-Jan-15 Everton v Manchester City DRAW 1-1

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MANAGER HEAD TO HEAD

Manchester City are looking for their 3rd win at Goodison since 1992, viewing the game from a positive perspective I think that City have hexed their hoodoo after beating Everton away on the 3rd of May 2014 in the run in to becoming champions. Statistics are interesting and if City get a result this time then the record books will show 7 points out 9 in last 3 trips. Pellegrini has the edge over Martinez in the last 5 fixtures with three wins and a draw. Martinez teams tend to play attacking free flowing football and he is a likable character and well-respected manager in Premier league circles after his terms at Wigan and Swansea.

Last 5 Fixtures

  • 16-Mar-13 Everton v Manchester City Loss 2-0
  • 05-Oct-13 Manchester City v Everton WIN 3-1
  • 03-May-14 Everton v Manchester City WIN 2-3
  • 06-Dec-14 Manchester City v Everton WIN 1-0
  • 10-Jan-15 Everton v Manchester City DRAW 1-1

REFEREE

Referee Appointments: Referee Anthony Taylor
http://www.football-lineups.com/referee/341/
Has officiated City games on 3 occasions, 2 wins and 1 loss against Wigan in the cup.

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BETTING ODDS

Oddchecker

Manchester City best ever result was a 6-2 away at Goodison Park in 1928, I do fancy City to go and attack Everton and if you fancy this result you can find odds of 350-1

Pre Match Thread | City v Chelsea

September 13, 2015 admin About the club, Matches No comments

Manchester City V Chelsea FC

Date: 16.00pm, Sunday 16th August 2015
Visit the club| Etihad Stadium | Parking | Contact + 44 161 444 1894
Travel Links: AA Road watch | Rail Travel News | Flight Information | Metrolink service

Manchester City (2nd 2014/15) welcome Chelsea FC (Champions 2014/15) to the expanded Etihad stadium.
This will be the first home match of the season and the first match played in front of the new level 3 South Stand, extended singing section and an expected record Etihad attendance of just under 55,000. Exciting how quickly things have changed on and off the pitch with the state of the art Etihad Campus and the expansion; makes you proud to be a blue! Astounding really when you contemplate the progress and realize it’s only just over 12 years from the day City beat Barcelona in the first game at the City of Manchester Stadium.

The stadium will surely be buzzing with excitement and should be an important influence in motivating our players, let’s continue to make the Etihad an imposing fortress!

MCFC SQUAD NEWS

Squad Information - Injuries / Suspensions

Squad (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Denayer, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Sagna, Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Lopes, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Toure, Aguero, Bony, Iheanacho

Injured: Fernando, Delph, Clichy

CHELSEA SQUAD NEWS

Squad Information - Injuries / Suspensions

Squad (from): Begovic, Blackman, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Ake, Hazard, Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Mikel, Ramires, Cuadrado, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Traore, Costa, Remy ,Falcao

Chelsea have a clean bill of health although Oscar is doubtful, Chelsea will be missing Courtois for 1 match after seeing red vs Swansea despite appealing the decision.

POTENTIAL LINE UPS

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I anticipate Mourinho will play Zouma before Oscar. The selection of Fernando could be critical in defending set pieces; playing without his added height could be a huge risk as Chelsea are clearly dominant aerially.

We could use this perceived weakness as a strength by restricting the number of players Chelsea can commit forward leaving Sterling and Aguero forward on the last man with Silva on the edge of the box ready to pounce for a fast fluid counter attack.

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KEY BATTLES

Reading between the lines, I expect Mourinho to push Fabregas further forward for this match in hope that he can control the offensive play from this position. I believe Fabregas is much stronger than Oscar in this position and would have more impact dictating the Chelsea offensive play. Azpilicueta will be a defensive anchor on the Chelsea left allowing Hazard free reign to exploit the spaces that Fabregas will create in behind Zabaleta and between Zabaleta and Kompany. If Fernandinho and Fernando can limit the control Fabregas has and dominate this zone then this will greatly diminish the threat from Hazard and Costa.

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Silva and YaYa will be the creative stars for City supplying Sterling and Aguero.
Nasri with 4 goals in last 10 appearances will be unfortunate to miss out but think he will on this occasion; what odds for a Nasri winner from off the bench!?
The referee will require a strong performance as Matic is a very dirty player who for reasons unbeknownst to most is given freedom to kick lumps out of his opponents. The Sterling v Azpilicueta battle will be very interesting; Azpilicueta is rated one of the best defensive full backs in the league but Sterling has the speed and technical ability to devastate many defenders this season. The Chelsea defensive line tend to sit deep with Matic covering the zone directly in front of Terry but there should be space to be found by Sterling if he can utilize the switch of wings to exploit the gap that Ivanovic leaves as the more offensive full back.

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Defending with high intensity and the will to win the ball at set-pieces could be the difference between obtaining a key result in such an important fixture. We need Hart, Kompany and Mangala to be a dominant force attacking each set-piece delivery into our box. More than 35 % of goals conceded were from set-pieces last season and with this being one of Chelsea strongest attributes we must remain focused and ensure that we address this.

LAST 10 FIXTURES

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MANAGER HEAD TO HEAD

There has been vast media coverage about the Pellegrini - Mourinho head to head.
Managerial strategy, tactical knowledge, player management, mind games and media handling are key attributes when considering a manager. However the most important factor is team performance, team morale and being a good man; Pellegrin excels at this, let’s take a closer look at the history, similarities and how they differ in their approach to pursuing the title.

Both managers are well respected in football circles for their successes; it is clear Mourniho edges it from a trophy haul perspective. Both have managed Real Madrid; Pellegrini lead Madrid achieved 96 points, a club record until it was surpassed by Jose Mourinho in 2011–12 season after replacing Manuel.

The two managers have gone head to head as managers on 11 occasions, Mourinho amassed 7 wins, 3 draws and Pellegrini has achieved 1 win whilst manager of Malaga back in 2012. Mourinho teams have scored 29 goals compared to Pellegrini teams have scored 11 goals. So on the face of it that would appear that Mourinho has a clear edge over his rival.

This isn’t a shut case though when we consider the Chelsea to Manchester City head-to-head under these managers in which Chelsea lead 5 goals to the 3 of City. The fixture is usually a very tight affair, average 2 goals per game and has often been decided by an individual error or a moment of brilliance.

Mourinho has been very quiet on challenge expected from Manchester City thus far choosing a battle of words with Arsene Wenger. The lack of conflict has prompted many to question if Mourinho believes Manchester City aren’t a real danger to Chelsea title credentials.

Pellegrini is a honorable, honest, respected manager who applies integrity and ensures his main focus is improving his team not manipulating the media, referees or opposition players.
I’m sure this is one of the key reasons he is respected by his peers!
Don’t get me wrong i’m sure Mourinho is respected by other managers for his winning mentality.

I believe the charming man will engineer a clinical blow in this mental battle against Mourinho!

Madrid 7-0 Malaga | Malaga 0-4 Madrid | Madrid 3-2 Malaga | Malaga 0-1 Madrid |
Madrid 1-1 Malaga | Malaga 3-2 Madrid | Madrid 6-2 Malaga

Chelsea 2-1 Man City | Man City 0 – 1 Chelsea | Man City 1 – 1 Chelsea | Man City 1 – 1 Chelsea

SEASON EXPECTATIONS

It seems pre-season that all the talk is of Another Title For Chelsea? 
EPL Preview 2015-16 provides an interesting insight into the Chelsea title defense.
The majority of pundits have them as favourites which is hard to question due to the stability of the playing squad and ease in which they won the title last season.
That’s 4 out of 5 pundits of the 53 polled that think Chelsea will win the league this season !

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The squad stability was very apparent when selecting the best 11, I think most people could predict the majority of starters in the Chelsea line-up. On the contrary ask 10 City fans and they would all provide you a different starting 11; that’s not a knock, to me it highlights the strength of the City squad, element of surprise and that we don’t actually know our strongest starting 11. There is not a definitive answer though as there will be plenty of opportunity for all to impress, the one area perhaps we would benefit from improved stability and less rotation is in defense.

It appears Manchester City are currently flying under the radar with very few pundits predicting a title challenge and some that we will miss out on top 4!
The EPL 2015-16 Season Preview – Manchester City makes for interesting reading with City seen as somewhat an unknown. City finished trophy-less and second after what many described as a disappointing season but their were positives; many of the statistical analysis was positive, Aguero winning golden boot and Hart the golden glove (his 4th). The real damage was done mid-season when we seen a return of 15 points in 12 games, I expect that come the end of the season Manchester City will be challenging for the title with Chelsea. Let’s hope City can take the positives out of last season and learn from the mistakes.

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REFEREE
Referee Appointments: REFEREE: Martin Atkinson Bradford

Positives: Referee for our 2011 FA Cup final / 2014 Football League Cup final wins.
His First Premier league game was an away victory for Manchester City against Crystal Palace in a game where he awarded 2 penalties converted by Anelka and Andrew Johnson.

Negative: Poor time keeping lead to Michael Owen 96th-minute goal in the derby.

Atkinson has never refereed a match between the two teams so no previous history for this fixture.

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ASST. REF. 1: Stephen Child Kent
ASST. REF. 2: Mike Mullarkey Devon
4TH OFFICIAL: Jon Moss Leeds

BETTING ODDS
Oddchecker