I'll be the first to admit I wasn't certain when Paul Clement was announced as our new manager, akin to many of our fans, but he has done a fantastic job since his appointment securing victories over Liverpool and Southampton in a matter of weeks - next target is Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola has finally shown his true colours at City and dropped his chosen Goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo, and his talismanic striker, Sergio Aguero, in favour of what he believes is a more balanced side with bags of experience and youthful exuberance.
Pull the other one Pep - even though the Etihad is hardly ever near capacity; the fans that do show up will be baying for blood if Aguero misses another game and it would just happen to the Swans who are the opponents for what many City fans believe to be judgement day.
Let's face it, we're on a great run at the moment despite conceding in both of our last two games. There's a real belief about the team that can't be ignored; we'll score more than our opponents and that's that. It reminds me of Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson's managerial style - keep attacking and you'll score more than you concede: Simple.
Only Jefferson Montero is missing for us against City but the winger might not be missed too much as Clement is inevitably going to field the same team that looked so comfortable in possession against Southampton - Sigurdsson from the left has breathed new life into his distribution which wasn't exactly lacking before the wide shift.
Do I honestly believe we can beat Man City? Yes. The Liverpool game proves we can compete with these so called 'bigger clubs' and money won't buy City an easy ride against an in form Swans team.
My biggest concern is the injury risk to the likes of Wayne Routledge and Ki who will no doubt come face to face with Fernandinho in City's midfield - a player who's been sent off three times in six games isn't someone I'd like to be trying to beat; he'll jab his studs right in at our quicker players and we all know full well he will.
I'm going to back a draw here - City are playing poorly and we're on a brilliant run but I have a feeling the Manchester side will peg us back eventually. I've been wrong several times before but I'm going for realism here.
If anyone is attending the game and has a spare seat; please let us know in the comments and we'll try and make sure everyone who wants to go gets there.
No comments:
Post a Comment