Can't for the life of me understand why people would want Milner at RB up against Sane. Do people not see him struggle in midfield whenever he comes up against quicker players? Do you want to put him up against one of the quickest and most agile players in the world? Milner struggled against the likes of Cabaye, Milivojevic and McArthur, making needless fouls. What do you think it'll be like against Sane? He'll be on a yellow within 30 minutes and limited in his play for the rest of the game.
Trent, with his flaws, is the only viable option for me. Have Chamberlain, who also has plenty of pace, start with him on the right side to help out with Sane and provide cover. I don't want to see Milner anywhere near the starting 11 against City. Did people not see what happened when he replaced Can in the 4-3 win against them? He just can't keep up with the pace anymore. He's a good option in certain games, but this is not one of those games.
As for the midfield: Can, Wijnaldum and Chamberlain provided a masterclass in the home game against them. Plenty of pace, power, energy in that midfield. Wijnaldum is tailor made for these quick transition type of games. Chamberlain can run at Otamendi and Kompany while Can harrasses Silva and De Bruyne. If Can isn't fit, Henderson gets the nod for me.
At CB I've gone for Matip. It'll be a football game, not a scrap fight against the likes of Lukaku and Benteke. We'll need footballers on the pitch and his passing is better than Lovren's.
Two changes from the side that beat that lot at home: Trent in for Gomez and Matip for Lovren.
3-5-2 or anything with three at the back isn't an option for me either. City started that way against the bitters and they can easily mirror that formation. We'd get 1 v 1 battles all over the pitch and we'll be getting torn a new one on the wings against the likes of Sane, David Silva on the left and De Bruyne, Walker on the right. We need to shut down the half spaces, much harder to do so when you're only playing 2 in midfield. We need the midfield 3 to effectively shut them down in those areas.
Really looking forward to this game!
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