On Tévez, Hughes said:
"We heard yesterday (Monday) that Carlos had a knee problem, our doctor has spoken to the Argentine medical people and the feeling is that he is out for the weekend so he will not play against Arsenal,” confirmed the boss.
"The hope is that he will be OK for the derby, but we will have to determine that when he comes back. He is staying with the national squad because he needs acute treatment at the early stage of the injury, which is what he can get now. Flying him back quickly might compromise the injury, so he will be back towards the end of the week so we can assess him and hopefully get him ready for the United game."
And on de Souza:
"It's a different situation with Robi. It's an old injury that he aggravated last year, just above his ankle. We are going to get him back as soon as possible, the hope is that he will be an option for the weekend but we need to get him back, which we will do today."
My sense is that with a slight injury and no return to the country until Friday, Robinho will not be ready for Arsenal on Saturday. But this could be just the excuse we need to make the change I believe is quite important for the two upcoming games against Arsenal and United: from the 4-2-4 we've deployed so far to a more cautious 4-3-3. How about this?:
As you all know I'm a big de Jong fan. And our scorelines so far this season (2-0, 1-0, 2-0, 1-0) underplay both the chances that we've created but also the chances that we've conceded. 4-2-4 is great against bad teams but against Arsenal and Manchester United I think it leaves us short in midfield. Which is why a 4-3-3, closer to last season's formation, strikes me as the best option for our next two matches. And it's possible that a second holding midfielder would give Stephen Ireland the licence to express himself a bit more, and recreate last season's form. What do you think?
4 comments:
I think that's the formation I'd go for...BUT...I honestly think we could get away with giving Petrov a game seeing as we have such a hardworking team around him these days that'd more than make up for his seemingly lack of work-rate. Barry would clearly pull across to help cover, and then Ireland would drop back a bit if Barry did that.
Zab in for Richards - better positionally to counter Arshavin. Think Zab is a better timer of a tackle too and Arshavin is quick. Petrov for Bellamy exploiting Gibbs if he is playing. If Clichy playing at left, then Bellamy instead.
I like the look of this team. I wouldn't put Petrov over Bellamy though, as against Arsenal we need someone who can mix it with their full backs / midfielders, get in their faces, and Petrov wouldn't do that. Bellamy will still give us the pace to counter attack. As for the Zab / Richards debate.. I think I'd stick with Richards for his attacking down the right side, but if we get ahead and need to close the game off, Zab could then be brought on.
Saw Micah on the Official Site in the Chris Bailey interview, and he obviously had no idea that half the City fans are giving up with him for his lack of effort (and if Chris Bailey reads this - why didn't you ask him what on earth he thinks he's playing at?).
Petrov v Bellamy. Personally, I'd always pick Petrov, but in this particular match, Arsenal will get Bellamy sent off. Use Petrov and SWP to feed Adebayor, with Stevie pushed forward to crack their defense wide open. But he's never listened to me before - what do I know?
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