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Odds: Sunderland 6/5, Draw 12/5, Manchester City 9/4

Some could be forgiven for their focus being away from this upcoming match, with the inevitable summertime rumours and ‘insiders’ in full patrol to guarantee a couple of months of anxiety and concern. August hadn’t even passed before we were confronted with the first edgy moment of the season against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Cup. All but Johnson had remembered to take their imodium plus the night before so penalties were relatively straightforward and they kept their cool to secure a glamour tie against Cypriot outfit AC Omonia at the next stage. Indeed, the scenes at the end of Thursday’s qualifier had impressions of a euphoric cup win but the progression into the next round, even more surprisingly via the Russian roulette system of penalties, and the return of our son Shaun Wright-Phillips has everyone dreaming again. Who knows, we might even be able to squeeze in the big signing of Ronaldo before Monday’s transfer deadline!

Having close ties with Sunderland and the North-east, Sunday’s away encounter is one which I always look out for – primarily as it determines my family’s bragging rights for the season! Sadly both City and Sunderland have had their fair share of bad luck, false dawns and doom-and-gloom relegations but recent takeovers, whether it be Irish or Thai, have signalled better times and the uncertain mists are starting to vanish. City legend Niall Quinn has brought the luck of the Irish back to Sunderland and his stint as chairman has signalled the start of a new and potentially prosperous era. Quinn will always be remembered fondly of and deservedly so, but views of Roy Keane could not be more contrasting. Inevitably he will never be forgiven for his playing career incidents (you know what I mean) and thus has brought contrasting views of Sunderland.

Last season’s outings to the North-east symbolised the euphoric highs and the demoralising lows which come with supporting Manchester City. Five victories and a combined 15 points against the region’s trio made it more than a happy hunting ground for City, but in predictable fashion the overwhelming 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough ended the 2007/08 campaign in ultimately disappointing fashion and confirmed the end to Sven‘s reign. Still, such a humiliating outcome won’t occur again much to the disappointment of the Sunderland fans.

Last Season, Signings and Expectations
Both clubs will have been satisfied about their respective finishes last term as progression was clearly evident. An ending position of ninth and buoyant performances from the opening half of the season demonstrated that City has a group of talented and proven individuals, ensuring a bright future at Eastlands. Keeping hold of Vedran Corluka and Stephen Ireland were massive pluses for City and the arrivals of Jo, Ben Haim, Kompany and a certain winger has highlighted the club’s ambition and fans can be optimistic about the prospects for this season. Some may just be glad to hear that we’re still in existence, but the return of SWP and clearing the UEFA Cup hurdle for another week means the future STILL remains positive.

Sunderland, meanwhile, achieved the survival and stability that they desperately needed. Pride has been restored and they no longer have the honour of ‘owning’ the record of the Premiership’s lowest points tally after Derby smashed it with a meagre 12 points last season. Despite being by no means comfortable, a finish of 15th and a complete transformation over the summer has raised expectations on Wearside as they aim to continue their progression with a solid finish in the top 10. Sunderland found their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow by spending vast money on players in the previous 12 months. This summer’s acquisitions of Cisse, Malbranque and Tainio indicate big steps forward as they are proven Premiership footballers – much to the contrast of last summer where they wasted money on the ‘prolific’ Chopra and the comical Paul McShane to name just a couple. Such has the revolution been at Sunderland that only four players started both last season’s and this season’s opener.

The story so far
Manchester City began their season early as they comfortably beat Faroese minnows EB/Streymur 4-0 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round but a tough mid-August saw them unconvincingly overcome FC Midtjylland to progress to the First Round. A domestic opener against Aston Villa ended disappointingly in a 4-2 defeat, but a 3-0 home victory over a poor West Ham side saw City climb the table as they produced a dominant performance.

Sunderland have started finely after Liverpool were lucky to go away with all 3 points in their opener and they beat a much-favoured Tottenham side by one goal last weekend. They have also progressed through to the Carling Cup third round after coming from a goal behind to beat Nottingham Forest.

Team News
Manchester City should hand Jo his Premiership debut and he could strike up a Brazilian partnership with Elano. Fellow strikers Vassell, Benjani and Bojinov remain on the sidelines for yet another week while Etuhu is another absentee. Micah Richards is likely to be reverted back into defence after he came through the UEFA Cup match with ease. Captain Richard Dunne, who has completed his match suspension, is likely to partner him in the centre of defence. Shaun Wright-Phillips will balance the midfield and the team finally has talented offensive wingers on both flanks and won’t have to rely on Petrov to provide the width. Wright-Phillips and his explosive pace will be a big test for opposition defender Phil Bardsley, who is set to play out-of-position at left-back.

The match comes too soon for Sunderland’s Anton Ferdinand and he will have to wait for his debut upon his arrival from West Ham. Steed Malbranque, a City target in the Pearce era, and Teemu Tainio remain injured while Chopra is still serving his suspension. Kieran Richardson faces a late fitness test.

Sunderland: Gordon, Ward, Chimbonda, Nosworthy, Collins, Bardsley, Higginbotham, Edwards, Diouf, Whitehead, Leadbitter, Miller, Reid, Richardson, Malbranque, Cisse, Murphy, Healy, Stokes.

Man City: Hart, Schmeichel, Corluka, Richards, Kompany, Dunne, Onuoha, Ben Haim, Ball, Garrido, Fernandes, Hamann, Ireland, Johnson, Elano, Evans, Sturridge, Caicedo, Jo.

Key Men
Sunderland
Djibril Cissé made a dream debut by scoring the winning goal against Tottenham and the former Liverpool striker has a prolific tally of 150 goals in 237 appearances to date. It would be foolish to ignore any striker with such a record and his excellent positional sense will cause a headache for our defence. An appearance on the score sheet tomorrow wouldn’t surprise anybody.

Manchester City
Whilst the likes of Martin Petrov could have a field day against a potentially error-prone Sunderland defence, the contributions of Vincent Kompany will be one of the telling factors of the match. He had an impressive debut both in midfield as an anchorman and later at centre-back. Kompany dominated midfield with intelligent passes and could hold the key to City’s creativity. And as we all love a fairytale, Shaun Wright-Phillips to score on his (second) debut.

Prediction: 1-2
I’m delighted I’ve been able to avoid the cliché of ‘sitting on the fence’. Sunderland’s injuries to key players could be vital and City’s reasonably clean bill of health, along with the strengthening of Wright-Phillips, means a repeat of last season is on the cards as City’s renewed confidence will see them claim their first away victory of the season. If Kompany can command midfield as he did last week and Dunne returns to his best, City can win by the odd goal. Gone are the days when even Samaras could bag himself a double against Sunderland, both sides are armed with a higher calibre of players and this encounter will be a much closer affair.

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A review of the trip to Denmark from the excellent KIPPAX from www.mancityfans.net

They had us going there for a little while, didn’t they? But no one was really ever in doubt were they?

Up and about pretty early on Thursday, following an evening spent in a local restaurant with some friendly locals, had to pick a couple of mates up at the railway station and deposit them at their hotel, and then it was off into the town center to meet up with other Blues who were trickling in from all corners.

The bar where everyone was meeting was on a pedestrianised precinct just 100 metres from the main square and within spitting distance of the Bus and Rail Station, so it was pretty easy to find. from 9.00 onwards Blues began to arrive at the pub, where they had made a fanzone in a hastily enclosed area to the rear with an outside bar to boot, the courtyard area being able to hold a hundred or so fans. I would think that 95% per cent of Blues that attended the game passed through this pub at some time during their visit.

The Thomas Cook party arrived at about 10.30 and were closely followed by about another 70 or so on the Sporting Options flight (another well organised trip by all accounts) so the area around the bar filled up quite quickly in a short space of time, with the courtyard, pub and street to the front of the pub very well populated by midday-1.00pm ish. As I mentioned in another thread, surrounding bars had been advised to remain closed so all the fans were congested in a small area, although some did drift off to find pavement cafe’s and some more refined eating establishments.

Having all the fans in one area also made it easier for the Police to keep an eye on things, they did geniunely think their was going to be trouble, but their fears were soon allayed with some good banter and high jinks by the City fans. A mall number of uniformed police officers kept watch alongside plain clothes officers and at least one member of the Lancashire Constabulary (I am lead to believe) Although the policing was fairly low key, they did have a habit of ambling through the City fans in groups of five or six, which could have been like a red rag to a bull for some, but I am pleased to say absolutely no trouble that I saw anyway.

Many locals gathered to watch the city fans sing and play to the cameras as the press boys got their pictures, every time a pretty girl wallked by, she was greeted by cheers and wolf whistles and various proposals, one girl was so taken by her reception that she ran the gauntlet three times, but it was all in good nature.

And so to the game, well we all know what happened there so I won’t dwell on things too much except to say that as the match wore on the City fans were getting more and more agitated, and like many of you at home had all but given up hope when the own goal went in, well the city end went completely bonkers, absolute bedlam, brilliant, and then the nerve racking penelty shootout. That Joe Hart looks like he may turn out to have a future, by the way.

Again I was dissapointed with some of the players actions after the shoot out, I know that the emotions and relief must have been huge, but it would not have harmed if they had come over to the fans en masse and shown their appreciation, I know that most of them did, but some didn’t and good for Martin Petrov, who was the only one to throw his shirt into the crowd. As we sang Istanbul we are coming to our hearts content.

By the time the City faithful started leaving, the stadium was almost empty of home fans, The Thomas cook party and the Sporting option party boarded coaches for the airport whist others headed back to town to celebrate before catching trains back to Aarhus, where the majority seem to have based themselves. The atmosphere with the locals remained friendly and although some City fans had tickets amongst the home support, I didn’t notice any trouble but did see some city fans getting ejected when they were rumbled. The only trouble I saw was a bit of a bust up between a couple of city fans at half time, nothing serious though. But I’m not sure how the celebrations went on in town.

After the game I was going to head back to the airport for my flight back, but had some time to kill, so I decided to let the traffic clear and watch the players leave, there was only a small gathering of mainly city fans perhaps numbering 20 or so at the main entrance as the players came out. I was stood next to a middle aged female City fan who had her young daughterwith her, whom she was collecting autographs and then taking the players photos as they signed, and am pleased to say that all the players that were asked, stopped and signed not only hers but also all the other supporters too. Just a quick mention to Danny Sturridge who as he signed was holding his match shirt, and when asked by the woman if he was taking the shirt home to wash it and have it framed, he replied, instantaneously “no, not really, would you like it” and gave it to the little girl, you should have seen the smiles, nice touch Danny.

I left a little later than expected and due to a mixture of torrential rain and poor sign posting meant I arrived at the airport just 35 mins before my flight, good enough though. There were about another dozen City fans who were on the same flight as me, when we landed at Stanstead the queues to come through passport control were huge, and it seemed to take ages before we worked our way to the front. One of the City fans started whistling the Istanbul, which was taken upo by tho other city fans spread over the various queues, much to the bemusement of about four hundred other passengers. Made me smile…

Bring on Cyprus…

Kippax.

UEFA Cup

Thursday 28th August

SAS Arena (12,500 Capacity)

15:25 GMT

Available on Channel 5 and on any good illegal TV website for those faithful blues from outside the UK.

Last Game

Manchester City 3, West Ham 0

Copenhagen 3, FC Midtjylland 1

Sky Bet 90 Minutes Odds: FC Midtjylland 10/3, Draw 13/5, Manchester City 4/6

The Match

Well it’s going to be a mixed bag of feelings as we enter this tie, we have all the work to do and but even without Richards we have a strong enough defence with the welcome addition of Kompany from Hamburg although he can not play in this round of the cup, which is a bummer.

The rumours are being bandied around again about the possible return of SWeeP but I don’t think that many of us really believe it will happen even though we might want it to. Thankfully that Bellamy rumour has been put to bed by the West Ham board, it would continue a never ending chain of managers and the signing of crap forwards, i.e. Keegan – Vuoso, Pearce – Samaras, Sven – Caicedo, Hughes – Bellamy? Make your own mind up on it if you will but personally he would ruin this club both on and off the pitch. The Thiago Neves rumour has begun to gather some pace with him missing training.

Midgetland will be feeling very comfortable sitting pretty in the Danish League and after an easy 1-0 win away. If their fans are anything to go by with those 200 in the South Stand I imagine that 12k of them would build quite an atmosphere aswell as the fact that they have proved that they are a well run unit. But with the return of Jo from the Olympics along with the renewed hunger for goals by Elano, Ireland’s new found confidence and Petrov bombing down the left as usual I don’t see how their defence cope.

Following the way city easily dispatched WHU (and they should have scored more), the players and travelling fans should be taking some of that spirit over with them on the plane. Hopefully Corluka – gate has settled down but there is still time for it to raise its ugly head again.

The City fans should have some fun regardless of the result seeing as the way some of the Midtjylland fans acted in Mary D’s, the Danes are friendly people so the threat of crowd violence is very low.

Key Players

Well after reading up I think that Midgetlands most dangerous player is their young Nigerian Forward Babajide “Baba” Collins Babatunde who didn’t feature in the first leg but has made an impact at the SAS Arena and has proven his eye for goal.

I fully expect Jo to run their defence ragged if he plays after returning from the Olympics, he came close to opening his account at Streymur and it shouldn’t take him too long before the balls begin to hit back of the net.

Prediction

Although Midgetland are at home in a full ground with loads of noise with a 1 goal advantage, on our day we will destroy them with plenty of attacking balls, the players know what’s expected from them as they were the ones who came to city for European football.

Midgetland 0 – 2 City

Many thanks to www.mancityfans.net member PoC (Pride Of Chadderton) for this excellent match preview. You can discuss this and many other topics on our forum, linked above. 

Manchester City v West Ham United

Sunday, August 24, 2008

City of Manchester Stadium

Kick off: 4pm

Oh the joys of being a City fan. One minute you’re as high as kite having completed the record transfer signing of a young Brazilian international while also being heavily linked with a move for his even more famous team mate, the next you’re supposedly facing bankruptcy and having to sell your young superstars to make ends meet. There’s just no medium ground with the men from Eastlands. And that’s before we even touch on the controversy surrounding the appointment of Mark Hughes as manager.

So let’s leave the topsy turvy summer behind us for a second and look to the future, in particular to this week’s second league game of the season at home to West Ham United.

The Hammers are coming off the back of a solid opening day win over Wigan while City are trying to pick themselves up from a 4-2 defeat away to Aston Villa. Normally I wouldn’t be a fan of international breaks but I think the trip away from the club and its problems will do the 15 or 16 players the world of good.

The problem at the moment is a distinct lack of firepower up front. Valeri Bojinov has managed just 75 minutes of first team football since he joined last summer and now faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Bulgarian will be in good company alongside Darius Vassell and Benjani Mwauwari in the stands, while the aforementioned record signing Jo is still away at the Olympics representing Brazil. That leaves a largely young and inexperienced strike force of Ched Evans, Daniel Sturridge and the so far unimpressive Felipe Caicedo. Rolando Bianchi remains nowhere to be seen.

At the opposite end of the pitch, club captain Richard Dunne is still suspended so it is likely that Micah Richards and Tal Ben Haim will continue in the centre of defence in front of Joe Hart, with Vedran Corluka and Javier Garrido at full back, though Nedum Onouha must surely be pushing for a place on the back of a solid preseason and a good showing for England’s under 21 side on Tuesday night. Also rumoured to be in contention is Belgian defender Vincent Kompany who is expected to join City from German side Hamburg in time for the game. The 22 year old international is very highly rated, and not just by the Football Manager massive either. Michael Ball continues to be linked with a move to Sunderland.

In midfield, only the right side throws up a real selection headache. Kelvin Etuhu struggled last weekend so Elano and Stephen Ireland are the only real alternatives, though both will tell you that they are far more comfortable in the middle of the park. Michael Johnson finally showed some form against Villa, but Gelson Fernandes had an off day to say the least. Does Dietmar Hamann come in to add some experience to a young side? Does he have the legs to play in a 4-4-2? Personally I don’t think so. Martin Petrov is one of the first names on the team sheet so for Sunday’s game I’d like to see him joined by Fernandes, Ireland and Johnson in the middle with Elano just in front of them playing off Sturridge.

West Ham are finally starting to get a lot of their good signings back from the injuries that plagued them last year. Scott Parker and Julien Faubert both came through the game against Wigan unscathed while Kieron Dyer continues his recovery from a broken leg.

Dean Ashton was the two goal match winner and should again lead the line against City despite limping off with a knock.

Key Men:

City –
Martin Petrov – Arguably City’s best player during preseason, Petrov will have a difficult job on his hands trying to get the better of new Hammers right back Valon Behrami. However, Petrov’s direct style of play is a handful for any defender so it will be interesting to see how a player who has played the majority of his career in the slower paced Serie A will cope with a pacy winger who likes nothing more than to run with the ball at his feet.

West Ham –
Dean Ashton – The big man has had his fair share of criticism but there is no doubt that he is a quality striker who will cause problems for any defence. He’s strong, holds the ball up well and knows where the back of the net his is. His battle with Micah Richards could have a massive bearing on which way the game swings.

Prediction –

Despite finding the back of the net twice last week, goals really are City’s problem. The shortage of a proven goalscorer is quite worrying as the transfer deadline gets ever closer. Admittedly injuries have robbed the club of some of its better marksmen but there are even doubts over the likes of Benjani and Bojinov.

Michael Johnson needs to play more like he did last weekend for City to have a serious chance of winning. There is also no way Gelson Fernandes can perform so poorly again so the combination of those two in the centre of midfield could make or break the game.

If Ashton plays then the City back four will have to be on their toes. He’s a cracking player on his day and very difficult to play against. Julien Faubert will no doubt fancy his chances one on one against Javier Garrido so if he can supply the ammunition for Ashton then goals will follow.

Score –
City 2 (Petrov, Elano)
West Ham 1 (Ashton)

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