Football News: Midweek Premier League Preview

Wednesday 8th March 2017

Manchester City v Stoke City Premier League 8pm

Kompany (doubt - muscle injury)
Jesus (out - metatarsal fracture)
Gundogan (out - ACL knee injury)

This is Man City's game in hand over the two above them, which, if they win, will move them back into second, eight points behind league leaders Chelsea. Despite four league wins in a row, the postponement of the derby clash with local rivals Manchester United saw them drop a place to third, which tells you how tight it is between the two clubs in their pursuit of Chelsea. With an FA Cup quarter final to come at the weekend against Middlesbrough, followed by the second leg of the Champions League clash with AS Monaco, followed by a tough run of Premier League match ups with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in a row afterwards, it will be interesting to see what team Pep Guardiola puts out to face the Potters. While Pep would like to keep players fresh for that run of games, he can ill afford a slip now if the Citizens are to have any hope of catching Chelsea. With all the uncertainty over team selection, not helped by Pep's habit of changing the team for every game anyway, that makes the next bit difficult to pick!
Most important player: Sergio Aguero. It is hard to pick anyone else right now as, with Gabriel Jesus out, City can not afford to lose Kun Aguero as well. With the form he is in right now, you have to fancy Aguero to score every time he steps on the pitch.

Martins Indi (doubt - knee injury)
Arnautovic (doubt - illness)
Johnson (doubt - shoulder injury)
Shaqiri (doubt - calf strain)
Butland (doubt - broken ankle)
Ireland (out - broken leg)

Stoke really are the most consistently inconsistent team in the Premier League. In the last six games, they have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 2. In the six games before that, they won two, drew two and lost two. They are struggling to score goals, particularly away from home, and their away record is poor, just three wins in their thirteen away games this season and seven defeats. They really need to get a good run together now, if they are to climb the table and push for a place in Europe next season. With a five point gap to eighth place West Bromwich Albion above them, they need to close it quickly as they are running out of games. Players that a lot was expected of, such as Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic, have flattered to deceive, while the top scorer, with just six goals, is Joe Allen. Injuries have disrupted the season, but the main issue is the big signings, the supposed stars, like Shaqiri, who were meant to take the Potters on a level have not worked out yet. The likes of Bruno Martins Indi, Gianelli Imbula, Wilfried Bony and Ibrahim Afellay have all failed to deliver so far, for various reasons. Instead Mark Hughes' men have come to rely on a January 'panic buy', Lee Grant, who arrived from Derby County as cover for long term injury victim Jack Butland. Hughes really needs to figure out a solution, before a rift develops in the squad between the underperforming 'stars' and the players who have put in a shift week in, week out.
Most important player: Lee Grant. It is almost certain that the Stoke goal will be peppered with shots, so they will need the veteran keeper at his best to keep them in the match.

Defining Battle: this game will depend on Stoke getting the ball to their main centre forward, looking likely to be Peter Crouch at the moment, and how well he can use the ball to bring others into play. We know Citeh are extremely vulnerable at the back, as well as being sometimes devastating on the attack, so you always have a chance against them. It is not even always about creating chances from open play when you play against City, they can look to their forwards to win corners or free kicks in dangerous areas.

Written by Tris Burke March 08 2017 03:56:33