Thankfully, the City squad is close to returning to it’s full strength. Mancini welcomes back Wayne Bridge and Joleon Lescott after injury and will be hoping to hand debuts to new signings Adam Johnson and Patrick Vieira. I expect Vieira to start alongside Nigel de Jong and Stephen Ireland in midfield with Gareth Barry missing out. However, Barry is badly in need of a rest and is rumoured to need a groin operation.
Also, I expect Wayne Bridge to return to the fray after 2 months on the sidelines. I am sure the left-back will be keen to forget about his personal issues come Saturday and will just want to get back on the football pitch. I expect that Adam Johnson and Joleon Lescott will have to be content with places on the bench.
Here is the team I think Mancini will opt for:
City Line-Up:
(4-2-3-1)
1) Given
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5) Zabaleta – 4) Onouha – 28) Toure (c) – 3) Bridge
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24) Vieira – 34) de Jong
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32) Tevez – 7) Ireland – 17) Petrov
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25) Adebayor
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And here is the team I would like to see:
City Line-Up:
(4-3-3)
1) Given
–
5) Zabaleta – 4) Onouha – 28) Toure – 3) Bridge
–
24) Vieira – 7) Ireland – 34) de Jong (c)
–
32) Tevez – 25) Adebayor – 39) Bellamy
–
–
And here is the team I expect Phil ‘Tanning Bed’ to field:
Possible Team: Hull
(4-4-2):
Myhill
–
McShane – Gardener – Mouyokolo – Dawson
–
Fagan – Boateng – Cairney – Hunt
–
Altidore – Vennegoor of Hesselink
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