Preston NE v Manchester City : Cup Match Preview
By David Crook
Manchester City start their defence of the Carabao Cup away to Preston North End on Tuesday evening.
One of the problems with coming off the back of such a big victory at the weekend is how do you keep a side like Manchester City motivated? For this is a team basking in plaudits, but one way of keeping City grounded is to pitch straight into a physical and testing encounter.
Luckily this is what City are likely to face when they meet Alex Neil’s Preston side. Contrary to some speculation on social media, the match may well prove to be City’s hardest game of the season so far.
Preston have held their own in the Championship so far this season, powering their way to some impressive results, beating Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday.
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They come into the game against City buoyed by a run of 5 games without loss. It always seems to be the case that City end up drawing the form teams from the lower leagues.
In the same way in which Bristol City gave it a real go against us, expect the same from Preston. In fact, they will have seen that we are susceptible to direct attacks and will no doubt plan a whole strategy around set pieces.
The question for City is therefore two fold. Firstly, will what is likely to be most of our second string, actually be good enough to get past Preston? Will a side likely to comprise Foden, Garcia, Angelino, Cancelo, Gundogan and Jesus be capable of easing into the next round or will this be a long drawn out match requiring penalties?
Secondly, regardless of who we play, will our players actually be up for the battle? Do we think we are better before we even kick off?
So, team selection and preparation are critical in this game if we want to progress. But do we want this Cup? We will have an answer within 24 hours.
I have said before that I like the League Cup because it feels like a real fan’s competition with plenty of tickets available for a final if you get that far. I would be disappointed if we sacrifice this competition – Pep has not done so before – so I expect a strong side to be named and players to be rested as soon as the result is secured.
Next. . dark
The real positive here is that we get to see our team so soon again after they won over Watford!
Predicted Starting XI
Bravo
Cancelo, Garcia, Otamendi, Angelino
Gundogan, Foden, Rodri
Bernardo, Jesus, Poveda