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Last Meeting: City 2 – 1 Chelsea (5/12/10)
Current Form (Premiership): Chelsea – WWDWLW, City – LWLWDD
Odds: Chelsea 4/9, Draw 10/3, City 13/2

This weekend sees Manchester City travel into the capital, wives and girlfriends under close scrutiny, to take on current league leaders and west London’s most exclusive swingers club Chelsea. With the race for fourth tighter than a Pompey expenses sheet and the battle for the title down to just one point this game could well shape the rest of the season for at least one of the sides.

Of course the story of the weekend focuses around City left-back Wayne Bridge and part-time tour operator, full-time womaniser John Terry. You’d have to of been under a pretty large rock for the past couple of weeks to plead ignorance on this one. However before the triviality of love, lust and such other earthly pleasures comes the much more important matter of football. England watches (which, we found out on Thursday, is something Bridge will be doing a lot more of) whilst what many sections of the press are labelling a “showdown” will, in reality, consist of the two exchanging awkward glances at each other from opposite ends of the pitch for 90 minutes.

Penny for Bridge’s thoughts during the Fair Play Handshake?

Last Time Out (Premiership)

Not the most memorable of matches at Eastlands last Sunday as City and Liverpool cautiously fumbled their way to a 0-0 draw. One strong penalty claim and a half decent Emmanuel Adebayor shot was all City really had to shout about while the visitors mustered even less and had to resort to hacking down City players to pass the time. Perhaps the only real conclusions for the home faithful to draw on were conformation of what we already know: we miss Tevez, we need Bellamy back on form, Peter Walton can’t referee for toffee and Stephen Ireland’s form has dropped faster than Ashley Cole’s pants when confronted by a camera phone.

Proving that Cole’s not the only Chelsea player currently able to pick up three points on the road Ancelotti’s men managed a comfortable 0-2 win away at Molineux. Though Mick McCarthy decided to grace the Premier League by naming a strong side, his team could not match the strength of Didier Drogba who scored both and took his season’s tally 19. The win saw Chelsea extend their position at the top of the league, only to have it cut short days later.

Team News

Chelsea’s main casualty from their first leg defeat to Inter in the San Siro was glow-in-the-dark keeper Petr Cech. Cech had been returning to decent form recently after a shaky start to this season, but a calf muscle injury on Wednesday night has ruled him out. Portuguese understudy Hilário will deputise. World’s biggest chump Ashley Cole and midfielder Michael Essien are long term absentees so Yuri Zhirkov and John Obi Mikel should start in their places respectively. A front three of Drogba, Anelka & Malouda looks threatening enough, even without the thought of Ballack and Lampard backing them up.

For City the main switch from Wednesday night’s disgrace is new father Tevez in for old slapper Adebayor. The fact that City have decided not to appeal against this ‘slap’ is an odd one indeed, especially considering Mancini’s statement that we would be appealing]. A possible glimpse into early rumblings behind the scenes? Elsewhere it’s difficult to guess what the manager will change personnel wise. The midfield selection has been the most debated subject of Mancini’s line up and Saturday may throw up a few surprises. Adam Johnson becomes available from being cup-tied and Nigel de Jong should start. But with Ireland, and Barry showing poor form this season and Shaun Wright-Phillips in the middle of a contract dispute there may be a selection headache or two for the City manager. Of course the real question is can he stretch to four defensive midfielders?

Key Men

Tevez’s human toy crane failed to grab the teddy again

City’s record post Tevez’s recent break has been P:4 W:0. And though most of this could be accredited to the wonderful free flowing football of Stoke City and nous of master tactician Tony Pullis, some of the credit must also go to Carlos Tevez. His return can’t come soon enough especially with Craig Bellamy looking like a shadow of his former self lately.

Strictly come scoring: Drogba

Perhaps the best player around in that he could walk into any team in the world, Barca, Inter, Barnet and dramatically improve their side. The man has it all and is the second highest scorer in the league despite having the whole of January off for an African holiday. Though as scary as the big Ivorian is, apparently he’s not the hardest conundrum to solve. I shiver at the thought of the City defence containing him on Saturday.

Look Mum’s Prediction

Our biggest defeat so far this season was a 3-0 trouncing that many believed signalled the beginning of the end for our last manager. I foresee a similar result, if only on the pitch for now.

Thanks to LookMumImOnMCF.Net of ManCityFans.net for writing this preview

In football, stereotypes and tired clíches are thrown around constantly and thoughtlessly. Occassaionlly, though, they’re quite accurate and that old chestnut about ‘Italian style management’, directed at Roberto Mancini, can’t have been any clearer and truer than on Sunday afternoon for the visit of Liverpool- it was in fact the archetypal Italian performance- solidity, composure and assurance in defence, a short, simple, passing game played through the middle, but a certain lack of prowess up front. For all of Emmanuel Adebayor’s endeavour, a lack of support from midfield and little or no incisive delivery from widemen Shaun Wright-Phillips and Adam Johnson meant his ability was never fully utilised.

Mancini, however, does seems willing to adapt his playing style with a visit to the Britannia in mind. Speaking to mcfc.co.uk, the City chief believes playing Stoke at their own game is crucial to his side’s success.

“Against Stoke, the ball will always be in the air. So we will prepare for a different game and not play our football.
“We must work on the high ball, on corners and free kicks, long balls and long passes. If we want to win this game, we must play like them.”

Stoke, meanwhile, played in somewhat different circumstances on Saturday evening- they visited penniless Portsmouth at Fratton Park in which the big money superstars were few and far between. The Potters’ maligned ‘blood, sweat and tears’ attitude saw them through, however- a last gasp goal from Salif Diao secured the three points to move them into a rather comfortable 11th position in the Premier League. With a distance of only three points between themselves and the top half of the table now, and 90 minutes seperating them from a Quarter-Final visit to Chelsea, this is undoubtedly a great time to be a Stoke City supporter.

The Story So Far-

Stoke:

A somewhat routine home win over York at the Britannia earned the Potters a mouth-watering home tie with Arsenal- their footballing polar opposites. Many speculated that Arsenal’s mental strength would be strongly tested by Stoke, believing that for all their skill and technical ability, they lacked the character to battle for a result, and so it proved. The sensational Ricardo Fuller sent the home fans into raptures after only two minutes- Arsenal replied through Denilson but Fuller emerged to score the second and Dean Whiteland gave the scoreline a late gloss- 3-1 and a trip to Eastlands the reward.
Having been put under severe pressure in the early stages, the Blues opened the scoring last Saturday through Shaun Wright-Phillips’ fortuitous opener. The game quietened from then on and Stoke clawed their back through Ricardo Fuller in the second half.

City:

Roberto Mancini’s third game in charge of City was a trip to Championship side Middlesbrough- a ground where, on more than one occassion, the Blues have been humiliated in recent years. The Italian named a weakened side though, giving the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Vladimir Weiss, Benjani and Sylvinho opportunities to impress. It was a tense, hard fought affair which City won through a rare moment of finesse from Benjani.

Next up was a visit to Glanford Park to meet struggling Scunthorpe United. The TV companies fled to North Lincolnshire, desperate for a famous, romantic FA Cup upset, and at times it looked possible. City started brightly with Martin Petrov firing home after only 3 minutes, but the home side fought their way back into the tie and equalised through Paul Hayes. Nedum Onuoha finished neatly from six yards right before the half-time whistle and when Sylvinho scored one of the goals of the season- a sensational strike from 30 yards out, Scunthorpe might have felt the dream was over. A Boyata own goal soon after reignited confidence among the Glanford Park faithful, though, before the now departed Robinho slotted home to send City into the 5th Round tie with Stoke.

Key Battles-

Ryan Shawcross vs. Emmanuel Adebayor- Stoke’s young centre half has been hugely impressive since joining from Manchester United in 2007, slotting comfortably into life as a Premier League regular. An aggressive, powerful defender, he is, however, prone to the occassional mistake, as we saw in the first tie at Eastlands. If Adebayor carries through the hunger he showed against Liverpool, and complements that with the attacking brilliance we know he can produce, Shawcross will be in for a busy night. An intriguing encounter.

Vincent Kompany vs. Ricardo Fuller- A defender and an attacker, both of whom are in sensational form, so one will have a slightly tarnished reputation come 10PM. Kompany was at his classy, composed best against Liverpool and his partnership with Joleon Lescott looked highly promising. Fuller, though, must be one of the trickiest strikers to defend against in England at the moment. Exceptionally strong, quick and aggressive, the Jamaican has often been Stoke’s shining light over the last couple of years. Both Kompany and Lescott will be acutely aware of how dangerous he can be- whether or not they manage to keep him quiet is another matter.

So, as we head towards March, I’ll leave you as I started out- with a tired clíche. It’s the ‘business end’ of the season now and both sides will not want their dreams of glory shattered just yet. The battle for a Champions League place, the steps toward consolidation- both of them irrelevant for two hours. This is the FA Cup. Never underestimate its importance.

Colin the King of ManCityFans.Net

Manchester City v Liverpool
Sunday February 21st, 2010 15:00 PM Kick off
City of Manchester Stadium

Fourth in the Balance?

Manchester City face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon with both teams having played midweek fixtures – City in a tough-fought league draw away at Stoke and Liverpool in a staccato affair in Europa League winning 1-0 over Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni. Neither team covered themselves in glory mid-week, and both will be looking to show their opponent something on Sunday that merits the coveted 4th spot in the Premier League.

City, now seemingly perennial upstarts vying for respect and contention given their wealth and power, sit 4th in the table with both a point and a game in hand over Liverpool. City have a much more challenging fixture row to hoe than Liverpool has, and on recent form, it’s hard to imagine City regaining their attacking verve from earlier in the season, as new boss Roberto Mancini has focused on being defensive stalwarts to stop the goal-leaking which doomed his predecessor Mark Hughes. City have a real opportunity to gain a serious advantage on that 4th spot should they decide to recapture their attacking form which had the footballing world buzzing the first half of the Premier League season. Since Christmas, City have often deployed a defense-minded setup – even at home where they will be protecting an unbeaten streak this season. A setup which has included 2 and sometimes 3 defense-minded midfield players to protect the back four. This subtlety was lost on Rafa Benitez upon referring to City as “an attacking team” this week:

“”They are an attacking team and we will have to attack too, so I think it will be more open (than against Unirea).”

What would constitute an open match with both Carlos Tevez and Fernando Torres absent is open to speculation.

Liverpool has gone from a club in crisis with Rafa rumored to be on the brink of a Juventus move only a month ago, to a club feeling a bit more secure in their chase to secure their Champions League money this season on the back of recent results for both them and nearby wannabes in the table including Villa, Spurs and City. Liverpool has an easier schedule in the final 12 matches of the season than their surrounding neighbours in the table, but given how much they’ve failed to impress this season it’s anyone’s guess what could transpire over the final two months of the season.

Recent Form

Liverpool and City sit 4th and 6th in the Form Guide over the last 6 matches respectively, earning 11 and 10 pts each. Liverpool earning 3 wins and 2 draws while City have earned 3 wins and 1 draw over the last six matches.

Liverpool’s form this season away from home has been classically lacking for a club such as theirs, and ultimately it is what will doom them unless they get it sorted. City, on the other hand, have an unbeaten home record this season at “Fortress Eastlands.” Liverpool have lost or drawn 9 of 13 away matches this season, earning only 12 points, while City have won 9 of 12 at home with no losses, earning 30 points on their home soil.

Key Men

Dirk Kuyt

Kuyt will be the danger man that City need to watch most on Sunday. Kuyt has been in good form this season, and will undoubtedly create challenges for City’s back line. How City can cope with the versatile Dutchman will be a key to the match result. Kuyt has 10 goals this season and is proving some critics wrong by stringing together some very solid performances and having an ability for scoring the goals that matter. Dirk enjoys playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo DS with his Liverpool team-mates on away trips. My guess would be Wario.

City fans are hoping not to have to see this scene on Sunday. Not that there’s anything wrong with it.

Pepe Reina

The goalkeeper of the European champions. City will have 2-3 reasonable chances against him on Sunday and they’ve got to make one count. Can they fashion some goals against an in-form Liverpool defense?

He’s not just good looks and sexy gloves now is he?

City

Craig Bellamy

City’s chances in this match might be limited given how well Liverpool has been defensively as of late. Should Bellamy create a chance he’s going to have to find the back of the net against his former club for City to have any chance to get maximum points from this match. His recent bust-up with Roberto Mancini seems all too real for City fans, and Bellamy, a City fan favourite and candidate for POTY before some niggling injuries have kept him out of the side, will need to find his focus and ignore the media bollocks and live up to the recent City marketing campaign titled “I Give My All.” (http://www.igivemyall.com)

Bellamy is likely to play despite some injury concerns, which were at the root of the player v manager bust up widely reported midweek.

When he’s your dickhead, you love him. End of story.

Vincent Kompany

Vinnie has looked solid in the CB role this season, and his ability to handle the Liverpool attack will be key to City’s success. City have looked weak at the back this season, but Kompany’s form has been the standout defensive story of the season thus far – along with a resurgent Micah Richards. City have woefully underperformed defensively all season, and some have even begun to criticize shotstopper Shay Given for not having a well-organized defense. Kompany can help silence those critics by shutting up shop on Sunday and helping City find a way to thwart a Liverpool front line which will be missing the world’s best striker in Fernando Torres.

Two scoops of this on Sunday please say City fans.

Injuries (Player – Injury – Return Date)
(http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php)

City

C Tevez – Compassionate Leave TBD
M Petrov – MCL Knee Ligament Injury 19th Mar 10
C Bellamy – MCL Knee Ligament Injury 21st Feb 10 very doubtful
V Kompany – Groin Strain 21st Feb 10 slight doubt
D Ball – Metatarsal Fracture 7th Mar 10
M Johnson – Knee Injury Jun 10

Liverpool

J Carragher – Abdominal Strain 21st Feb 10 slight doubt
F Torres – Cartilage Knee Injury 28th Feb 10
Y Benayoun – Rib Injury 21st Feb 10 slight doubt
G Johnson – MCL Knee Ligament Injury 6th Mar 10

Prediction

City 1 – 1 Liverpool

In an underwhelming performance given the hype and billing of the battle for Champions League, City and Liverpool will sail a creaking ship to a mostly uninspiring draw at Eastlands.

A massive thanks to DoomMerchant from www.mancityfans.net for this great premier league preview

Manchester City v Stoke City

City of Manchester Stadium, 5.15pm

Manchester City take on Stoke City on Saturday in the FA Cup fifth round looking to book a place in their third quarter final since 2006.

The two sides also face each other in the league midweek as fixture pile up kicks in, and City boss Roberto Mancini is likely to rotate his squad for Saturday’s game as the club’s injury crisis starts to ease.

“We are playing every three or four days, it’s impossible to always pick the same players,” he said.

“We are playing Stoke on Saturday and Tuesday, and they will be two very hard games.”Recent signing Adam Johnson is cup tied having played against City for Middlesbrough in the third round while Craig Bellamy continues to recover from a knee injury.

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor has returned to form with three goals in his last three games, but the Togo captain is happy to let strike partner Carlos Tevez hog the limelight for the good of the club.

“If he can score 30 goals and I only score a few, I’ll be more than happy,” he said.

“Because if Carlos and his goals help us to win things, I’ll be very happy for us all.
“We still have a chance to be at Wembley in the FA Cup and are in the running for fourth place in the Premier League. We will keep going and enjoy ourselves. We want to keep that dream.”
Tevez has bagged 19 goals since joining City in the summer, while Adebayor is now up to nine for the season from 16 games.

City have turned Eastlands into quite a fortress this season, and are unbeaten in 16 games there so far.

Stoke meanwhile are unbeaten in 2010 and will be looking to preserve that record.

Manager Tony Pulis knows all about City having been in charge of the Gillingham side which suffered a heartbreaking penalty defeat to the Blues in the 1999 Division 2 playoff final.

However he believes that his side can upset the odds this time.

“It’s going to be very difficult for us, but Manchester City have spent an absolute fortune on players and they will be expecting a return for that investment,” he said.

“They’ve got two chances to do that by winning the cup or qualifying for the Champions League.

“So there is that pressure on them, whereas we’re the underdogs and we’re looking forward to it. We’ll go there, give it our best shot and who knows, if we produce the right performance, we may just may be able to deliver that knockout punch.”

Defender Andy Wilkinson also feels that Stoke are in with a good chance of getting a result.

“We have shown in the past that we can prove people wrong and nobody will be expecting us to win on Saturday. If the gods are with us, then you never know,” he said.

“We know how hard the game is going to be, but we know what is at stake at the end of it. The FA Cup means a lot to everyone involved in football, and we are getting to a stage in the competition now when people start to believe that it could be their year.

“Manchester City are a very, very good side. But our confidence is sky high at the moment and we genuinely believe we can go there and get the win.”

Striker Sanli Tuncay is pushing for a start on Saturday after some recent impressive performances coming off the bench, while skipper Abdoulaye Faye is fit again having missed the last two games through injury.

Manchester City (from): Given, Taylor, Zabaleta, Richards, Bridge, Garrido, Kompany, Lescott, Toure, Boyata, Onuoha, De Jong, Vieira, Ireland, Barry, Petrov, Sylvinho, Wright-Phillips, Ibrahim, Tevez, Adebayor.

Stoke (from): Sorensen, Huth, Abdoulaye Faye, Wilkinson, Amdy Faye, Higginbotham, Collins, Lawrence, Sidibe, Whitehead, Delap, Diao, Kitson, Beattie, Etherington, Fuller, Tuncay, Pugh, Whelan, Simonsen, Begovic.

Key Players –

Manchester City – Emmanuel Adebayor

Despite being a proven goalscorer in the Premiership and averaging better than a goal every two games this season, Adebayor still appears to have something to prove to sections of the City faithful. His job is to score goals, and there are few better around at doing that, but it is his overall game that often comes in for criticism. However a few goals against Stoke is sure to shut up a few more of the doubters.

Stoke City – Matthew Etherington

With Pablo Zabaleta prone to the odd yellow card or two, Matthew Etherington will fancy his chances up against the Argentine. The tricky winger has been in great form this season and has eight assists in the league alone. An early booking for Zabaleta could see him in for a difficult afternoon.

Flashback –

Stoke City 2 – 5 Manchester City, 03/05/1998

Stoke City were the opponents for possibly Manchester City’s darkest day of their existence in 1998.

Despite hammering five goals past the hosts, City were still relegated to the old Second Division along with their opponents. Georgi Kinkladze played his last ever game for City, while Neville Southall was in goal for the Potters in front of a partisan sellout crowd of 28,000.

City’s five goals were scored by Shaun Goater (two), Paul Dickov, Lee Bradbury and Kevin Horlock while Thorne scored twice for the home side, but the game proved pointless as good results for both Port Vale and Portsmouth sent the two clubs down.

Just over a decade later both clubs have rejuvenated themselves and sit comfortable in the top tier of English football, though few will forget the feeling of depression that Sunday afternoon.

Prediction –

City 2 (Adebayor, Wright-Phillips)

Stoke 1 (Tuncay)

A massive thanks to XAVI6 from www.mancityfans.net for this FA Cup Preview