…teams coming head to head at Wembley. Sounds to me like a mouth watering treat that we’re all in for. 🍽 ️⚽😋
vSouthampton
Wembley Stadium
Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:
Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game which, for me blog wise, was our fabulous home win againstArsenal: 11/11 .
*A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 (occasional 3-6-1):*
____________________Haaland____________________
__Doku______________________________Semenyo__
__________Silva (C) _______________Cherki__________
___________________ _ Gonzalez___________________
O’Reilly___________________________________Nunes
___________Guehi_____________Khusanov_________
____________________Trafford ____________________
**Subs:**Donnarumma, Ait-Nouri, Ake, Stones, Kovacic, Foden, Reijnders, Savinho and Marmoush.
With no game for a full-9 days after this fixture, why wouldn’t our manager put out exactly the same line-up, the injured Rodri aside, that facedLiverpoolin the last round? A starting 11 that has gelled so well and is producing great results. Why should he change it just because we’re facing aChampionshipside?
Rightly or wrongly, I’m going for Pep to think the same in this predicted line-up…
James takes the gloves for this domestic cup competition and if we apply ourselves in the correct manner this evening (5:15pm KOBST) then he’ll be putting ‘em on again on 16th May.
A back-4, occasional 3, of Nico-O-, Marc, Abdukodir and Matheus.
Although not selected to startlast Wednesday despite the absence of Rodri, I reckon Nico-G- will get his chance today, with Jeremy, Bernardo, Rayan-C- and Antoine all in support of Erling up front.
Gigi takes a side seat for this one as reserve keeper; Rayan-A-, Nathan and John provide defensive insurance. Mateo, Phil and Tijjani are a trio of midfielders in ‘the 9’, with Savinho and Omar giving us wide / forward options from the bench.
Notableabsences:
-Marcus Bettinelli – Not selected.
-Rico Lewis– Not selected.
-Josko Gvardiol– On the10th April, our manager revealed that Josko was getting better, following a long injury lay-off with a fractured tibia, but would take longer to recover. No further updates since.
-Max Alleyne– Not selected.
-Ruben Dias– On 21st April we were informed that the Portuguese international was not yet fit enough to return to action. There was no further update in yesterday’s pre-match press conference.
-Rodri– Recovering from a groin injury and when asked about the Spanish international on24th April, his manager said that he was getting better but wouldn’t be risked for theF.A. Cup semi-final.
Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?
Yes, definitely, but I would hope for us to be in a position at some point, mid-second half, to be able to rest some legs that have seen many minutes recently - despite the 9-day gap in fixtures - and give some time to the likes of Stones, Kova, Phil, Tijjani and Marmoush.
Result?
I’ve got little doubt that a side who is unbeaten since January and riding on the crest of a wave will have their moments to score and may well do so. It would also be ‘very F.A. Cup’ for them to do so first to give their fans – and many neutrals I’m sure – some hope of a cup shock.
It’s also the 50th-year anniversary of the last time they won this competition and that was against a Manchester team…well, sorry🙏*, from nearby Trafford at least. In fact, Southampton will be wearing a special yellow and blue kit today, as they have done for their previous rounds this season, to commemorate that occasion in 1976.*
I think it’s going to be a good game with chances at both ends – when I look at their league record after 44 games played, they are the second top scorers in the division, as I type this on Saturday morning, but have also conceded the second highest amount of goals of the top-6 sides. They sit 4th in the table with 2 games remaining.
As for us, last Wednesday’s performance was, for me, an expected drop-off in intensity and overall quality after five intense games against Real Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal x2. Wow!😮
But it didn’t stop us creating plenty of chances, especially in the second half, and Pep appeared a little frustrated that his players didn’t take more of those opportunities.
Burnley had theirs too on the night, particularly in the first half, and the game ended on a nervy tone; with travelling blues urging the ref to blow his whistle to end the contest. Still, it was a well earned 3-points that put us top of the tree.🙂
I think we’ll look more energised today and we most certainly have the players with ‘big occasion’ experience. Right attitude against a team from a lower division is crucial, for me, and the rest should take care of itself. I’m having this down as a City win.
Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:
Prediction: N/A
Result: N/A
Expected weather conditions during the game :What a glorious day. As the temperature slowly builds in the region throughout the day, any white-fluffy clouds will also disperse to leave a beautiful, sky-blue ceiling above. 20C is the official temperature for the area at kick off but I reckon it’ll be closer to 23-24C inside the stadium. Enjoy!☀️😎🍦🌭🍔🍟🥤💷🍺⚽
Solidarity