Arsenal host Manchester City in
what was once being looked
upon as a major humdinger
and title deciding cliffhanger.
Most of that still remains true
but only and purely for the
away side who are gathering
momentum ahead of a tricky
run-in. Arsenal meanwhile
have dropped from title
contenders to 4th place
favourites and will be hoping to
preserve their unbeaten streak
at home in the league since the
opening day
Arsenal’s form has been
woeful in the month of March
and despite playing in front of
their own fans will start as
underdogs. With Everton and
Spurs 6 and 7 points behind
with a game in hand here and
there, the Gunners hardly have
any room to breathe. The Sky
Blues from Manchester have
higher goals to reach and
bigger fish to fry and come in
to this game buoyed by 3
straight wins since their
double cup debacle. With 2
games in hand and only the
league to focus on, Pellegrini’s
side would be hoping to keep
up their winning momentum in
the Chielean’s bid to win the
league in his first season in
charge becoming the first
manager to do so since
Mourinho won the trophy back
in 2005. Arsene Wenger on his
part looks to be under
enormous pressure to take the
Gunners out of this rut and will
need something special from
his players if they are to take
anything from the game
Team news and tactics
Arsenal
Injuries and Arsenal Football
Club are synonymous and this
season is no different. Arsenal
have been without Ozil,
Ramsey, Walcott and Wilshere
for most of their recent crunch
games and the toll such major
injuries have on the side are is
more than visible. To add to
their misery now Laurent
Koscielny is expected to be out
for another fortnight or more.
Not much has changed on the
injury front that way except
for Kallstrom who is now fully
fit though his match fitness
remains under doubt having
not played a single minute
since his move to London.
With confidence at rock bottom
and such a limited set of
players to choose from, it will
be no surprise to see fatigue
creeping into the Gunners both
mentally and physically. The
manager will have his hands
full in trying to raise the team
morale and make the team
believe in themselves once
again. Apart from that Wenger
himself needs to get his tactics
right with Arsenal being
abysmal in most of the big
teams this season and not
everyone of them was merely
an accident.
With an injury depleted side to
pick from, the starting eleven
will again mostly choose itself.
There aren’t many changes
expected from the team that
drew vs Swansea. Podolski’s
impressive cameo on Tuesday
night might earn him a starting
spot in place of Oxlade
Chamberlain who has looked
out of sorts in the past 2
matches for obvious reasons
and a rest might reinvigorate
him. A front 4 of Cazorla
Podolski Rosicky and Giroud is
strong enough on paper but
the attack has lacked cohesion
for sometime now and has
often been berated for the lack
of any willing runners either
from deep or down the flanks.
Gibbs and Podolski combined
well on Tuesday after the
latter’s substitution and
Wenger would be looking to
blossom the partnership on
Saturday as well trying to get
in behind City down their right
hand side. The midfield battle
might cost Arsenal however
with 2 powerhouses in
Fernandinho and Yaya Toure
facing Arteta and Flamini who
have looked bypassable to say
the least. An extra bit of
protection from Cazorla and
Rosicky will be key to decide
which side the needle swings
eventually.
Expected starting line-up
(4-2-3-1): Szczesny(GK); Sagna,
Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs;
Arteta, Flamini; Cazorla, Rosicky,
Podolski; Giroud
Manchester City
Manchester City aren’t devoid
of injury problems themselves
with Sergio Aguero being one
of the most frequent visitors to
the treatment table. The
Argentine is regaining his
fitness but will be short of the
Saturday night match against
the Gunners. Nastasic and
Richards remain out while
Jovetic returns and will mostly
feature on the bench. Other
than that there are no fresh
injury concerns with Dzeko’s
illness being misreported
earlier.
Pellegrini’s men gave a good
account of their title credentials
in the Manchester derby and
Edin Dzeko played a central
part in the win and will
naturally get the nod for a start
on Saturday evening.
Negredo’s poor run of form
and Jovetic’s recurrent injuries
means Dzeko has a real good
chance to seal his place by the
time Aguero returns. The rest
of the side will probably remain
unchanged with Nasri Silva
Navas starting in attacking
midfield positions behind the
Bosnian. Those 3 will keep the
Arsenal backline on their toes
and if in top gear might turn
up to embarrass the Gunners
who have looked clueless
against sides that press high up
with pace and players with
quick feet.
Fernandinho and Yaya Toure
will form the City pivot and
with Toure scoring for fun this
season, Arteta and Flamini will
need to stop him in his
advances and break play as
often as possible. The only
weak spot in the Man city side
is in central defence but with
Giroud leading the Arsenal line
and not much pace expected in
the starting eleven, there
shouldn’t be any cause for
concern.
Zabaleta-Navas have been
destructive in the past and this
could be another such
opportunity for the duo who
like to run at the defence from
the wings. With Podolski not
the best at shoring and
assisting the left back, this is
the area of the pitch that might
see the best chances being
created from, both for Arsenal
and City.
Expected starting line-up
(4-2-3-1): Hart (GK); Zabaleta,
Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy;
Yaya Toure, Fernandinho; Nasri,
Silva, Navas; Dzeko
Players to watch-out
for: Yaya Toure (Man City),
Lukas Podolski (Arsenal)
Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Man
City
No comments:
Post a Comment