ManCity used to be an away fortress for us until recently. We have had such a great record there for the past 15 years or so. There were times we were guaranteed a win whenever we go there. We have won 8 and drawn 3 of our last 13 matches at ManCity. But unfortunately, that 2 loses happened in the last 4 years since they tranformed into a mega rich club. If we want to stay in the title chase, we have no choice but to get back that winning formula there. Not to mention, the need to get the revenge for the 1-5 humiliation at WHL.
With Adebayor not available, it will be a test of character for Redknapp. If he had rotated the strikers, we would not face much problems in attack against City. Instead, now we have to gamble on the untested pair of VDV, Defoe or Pavly. IMO, we should start with Pav and Defoe in attack. VDV has been badly out of form for the past 10 matches or so. He has only scored 1 goal in the last 11 matches. Any other manager would have considered dropping VDV for a few matches. But just can't see Redknapp being brave enough to do that. We can only hope VDV will somehow step up and score using his big-match experience.
Can see this match being won or lost in midfield. Both midfield look strong and the one coming on top will have a big say in how the match goes. Just hope Parker and Modric will rise to the occasion. Parker has been going off the boil recently. He will need to get back his earlier form. Bale got a huge recognition when he was named in uefa.com team of the year. Hope that has given him a huge boost in confidence for this match. Somehow, I feel Lennon will be a key player for us in midfield. With all the attention on Modrid and Bale, Lennon might get a chance to cause trouble to City.
Wish King or Gallas is fit for this match. Without them, our defence will be under lot of pressure from City. Dawson and Kaboul just don't have the experience or calmness of King or Gallas. They need someone more experienced beside them to make them concentrate fully. Just can't see us keeping a clean sheet if Dawson and Kaboul are in defence. Just hope they will avoid too many silly errors.
Our matches against ManCity have been crucial to us for the past 2 seasons. A win would boost our chance in the title race. But with them having 100% record there this season, a draw will be a good result for us. Hope we turn up and step up for this match.