City fan checking in. Don't worry I'm not BM crazy and I don't even dislike United never mind hate you guys. I do though dislike Jose (but thats another matter)
I'll probably move off to the football forum when the match starts as I won't be able to get a word in.
So I think tonight is a bigger game for us than you guys if I'm honest and imho its going to be a coin flip. Like a game of exhausted football zombies, you guys with a massive injury list and Koscielny doing his best to leave us with as big a list at the weekend.
So 22 players all pretty tired and I think that favors you guys, why? Jose will play cautious and not conceding will be priority. We will play open and naive and tired minds will lead to silly mistakes especially if we don't have Merlin in the middle which looks likely.
I'm pretty sure it'll line up something like.:
------------------------Clownio-----------------------
Navas----------Kompany-------Otamendi---------Clichy
Martial-----------------Rashford------------------Mkhi
---------------------Fernandinho----------------------
-----------------Toure--------DeBruyne----------------
-----------------Fellaini-------Herrera------------------
-----------------------Carrick--------------------------
Sterling----------------Aguero---------------------Sane
Darmian---------Blind----------Bailly-------------Valencia
------------------------DDG----------------------------
Our best chance I think will come from Sterling and Navas exploiting Darmian and Blind if they play LB, LCB. For you guys its important Martial puts in a defensive shift and doesn't let Navas and Raheem 2 on 1 Darmian. We like to play little triangles and than slip a winger in to pull back to the near post for Aguero to sneak in and I think he'll lose Blind and get a goal that way if Martial doesn't pull his weight defensively.
I can imagine Herrera going full Hazard again and man marking KDB. This will leave Fellaini, Carrick vs Fernandinho and Toure. Both teams will be struggling to do anything with those players. Fellaini will go hard on Yaya and I think Fernandinho will push up on Carrick.
Its obvious where the holes are for us. Martial, Rashford and Mkhi against our back 4 of which 3 are dreadfully slow and one is fast but doesn't know what he's doing. Given our high field position lots of space for Carrick to fire balls over the top for your trio to run on to = trouble for us. I'm not a person who'll say your stronger without Zlatan but I think this game suits Rashford better as a no.9 or even Martial because Rashford would put in a better defensive shift on the wings. Who am I worried about most? Claudio the human hologram? Nope, Navas being a very average footballer and playing out of position? Nope.. its Clichy the man who has cost us more points than Claudio and Stones combined this season and somehow avoided criticism because his howlers haven't been as glaring.
I think there is goals in it for both sides but we'll both have to do what we haven't really done all season and show killer instinct. I think we're the top 2 for missing big chances this season. KDB and Pogba have both hit the bar more than most teams individually (9 or 10 times each) and we've hit the bar 28 times to your 27 or something neither team should be proud of. The team that holds there nerve when the big chances pop up will be the ones who walk away with the points but neither side do it too confidently.
We're having very similiar seasons, both excellent away from home, both dropping silly points at home, we probably take a slightly higher percent of chances but we're also prone to throwing away a goal or two here and there. I genuinely believe we've both had rotten luck from ref's and if not for it despite underperfoming we'd both be in a title race.
For us alone: 1-0 up v chelsea, stone wall red on Luiz not given. Chelsea equalise, we melt down. 2-0 up on Spurs, stonewall pen not given, Spurs immediately counter attack and get one back from an offside assists. Liverpool there was the Sterling being hacked by Milner while Klavan was pulling back Kun, both were pens (although only one could be given and probably both red cards too). Along with about 15 more that I could type off the top of my head.
You guys had the Bravo decision go against you and I've watched alot of your games, plenty of others too.
The problem for both teams is these things haven't evened out for either of us and not at key times when decisions do go our way. I know you had the possible Herrera handball v Chelsea but thats the only big decision I remember you getting in your favor and maybe an offside goal somewhere.
Long post about nothing. It'll be tight, we'll both score at least once and it could go either way. Personally I think we might shade it because, simply, we need it more.
I'll go 2-1 City,
Aguero to put us ahead in the first 20 minutes getting on the end of a Sterling cutback.
Rashford to equalise after a stupid pass by Toure is intercepted by Fellaini who'll feed Mkhi who'll run past Clichy, who will be too busy falling on his arse to make a tackle. Otamendi of course will charge out to try and break up Mkhi, miss by a mile and he'll set up Rashford who even if he shins it will score because Bravo will jump out of the way.
We'll than get a winner late in the second half after both teams miss plenty of guilt edged chances through Aguero again, this time Sane with the pull back.
Why 2-1 City? Because we simply need it more and you have alot of injuries. This is easily our only big game left but its our biggest of the season.
All that said, I wouldn't be surprised at 1-1, 2-2 or even 2-1 win for United.