…welcome back Kev! 😊
v Napoli
Etihad Stadium
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 8/11.
*A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):*
____________________Haaland____________________
__Doku_________________________________Silva (C) __
_________Reijnders_____________Foden____________
_____________________ Rodri _____________________
Gvardiol___________________________________Lewis
_____________Ake______________Dias (VC) ___________
__________________Donnarumma__________________
**Subs:**Ortega, Trafford,Khusanov,Mfuni, Stones, Gonzalez,Mukasa, Nunes, O’Reilly, Bobb,Heskey and Savinho.
Gigi to retain the gloves for this European fixture.
I’m going to pick the exact same back-4 as I suggested for our last outing, which I was wrong by two. I could be wrong again but, if I’m correct, I think Khusanov in particular might feel particularly disappointed – I thought he had a solid 7/10 performance last Sunday and the 21-year-old could be a good, third option for us at right-back. So, my prediction is that Rico will ‘get the nod’ for this one and will be joined by a wealth of experience in the shape of, Josko, Nathan and Ruben.
Rodders should be okay to ‘go again’ just in front of those and will be hoping that his engine is warming up steadily. He had a couple of wayward passes four days ago but he’ll get there, I’m sure.
I’m going for the same five ahead of him, which is Jeremy, Tijjani, Phil, Bernardo and Erling.
Two keepers on the bench come in the shape of Stefan and James; three defenders on the side are in the form of Abdukodir, Stephen, and John, who was back in training this week following concerns about a muscular issue while he was with the England squad recently. Nico-G-, Divine, Matheus and Nico-O- make up four reserve midfielders, while Oscar, Reigan and Savinho provide three wide options in ‘the 12’.
Notableabsences:
-Marcus Bettinelli– Not selected.
-Rayan Ait-Nouri– Injured. The nature of the injury and length of time out is unknown.
-Kalvin Phillips– Wasn’t named in ourChampions League squad this season.
-Mateo Kovacic– Information from our manager on 17th September was that the Croatian international will be returning from injury soon.
-Rayan Cherki– Out for a 2-month period from the date of the announcement on 30th August 2025 with a thigh muscle tear.
-Omar Marmoush– Out with a bruised knee ligament issue. Unknown return date but it will be a matter of weeks by the sounds of it; possibly returning either just before or just after the next international break in October.
Do I agree withPep’s (predicted) line-up?
I think there would be a decent shout to perhaps drop our skipper for a fresh Oscar Bobb on the right to have a real pop at our visitors right from the ‘get go’ but it looks just fine.
Result?
Our Italian visitors have got their season off to a great start in the league, winning all-3 of their games; scoring 6 and conceding just 1. They sit top of their league on goal difference. Kevin, who played 69, 81 and 90 minutes of those games has contributed 2 goals and has received 1 yellow card.
After a promising start to our campaign, two generally poor performances, following decent starts in both games, saw our wheels come off early in our campaign; resulting in two back-to-back defeats.
Thankfully, a MUCH improved performance last Sunday resulted in smiles on the faces of the players, club staff and fans; a much-needed 3 points and a thrust up the table to the dizzy heights of 8th.
I’m hoping that our players can take that bounce back in performance and run with it tonight, especially the team effort I witnessed last weekend whenever we were being attacked; when the forwards contributed so much to defending as a team. That was something I recall from our opener againstWolves too.
I say that I hope our players can take that bounce back in performance and run with it tonight because I think we’re going to need a performance to get something out of this fixture. It’s true that I don’t know much about our opponents but that good start for the Italian side, plus a returning Kevin De Bruyne, isn’t something to take lightly.
My head says this’ll be a draw.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game :After a bit of a mixed bag in the region throughout the day, it settles down into nothing more than light cloud with little chance of rain and a gentle, southerly breeze. In fact, the direction of that breeze brings with it some very mild temperatures for a night game in mid-September in the UK, with fans feeling the benefit of up to 19C (66F) with a ‘feels like’ of…21C (70F in old money😲)!Enjoy!🌭🍟 🍨 🍺⚽
Solidarity