mancityblues.com

Let me get this out of the way first

WE MUST WIN ON SATURDAY!

okay, that's better!

Seriously though, this is the kind of fixture that only City could screw up - Burnley are woeful away from Turf Moor, they haven't won at City since 1969 and we have a very decent record at Eastlands, so surely a win for Mark Hughes is on the cards, right? Well, City's recent form has not been stellar and, perhaps more worrying, we have looked poor as a team and individually. Perhaps a combination of believing the hype, injuries and poor tactics have all played their part, but essentially whichever eleven (presuming they are truly match-fit) take to the field against the Clarets should have enough, provided the result is not taken for granted.

On the plus side, City have important players returning from injury, hopefully fit enough to play a meaningful role in the tie. Adebayor should be back in for the patently unfit Roque Santa Cruz, and Kolo Toure is also slated to play. There are other niggles affecting one or two others at the time of writing, but City basically are missing only Robinho and Nedum. Burnley will likely have an almost complete squad to pick from, and it will be interesting to see how Owen Coyle sets up for the game; usually, he plays a 4-2-3-1 system with Bikey and veteran Keith Alexander as holding midfielders, Fletcher as a lone striker and then Eagles, Elliot and Blake supporting him. Elliot and Blake can be tough to deal with, the former possessing abundant energy and the latter knows the game inside-out, so City will have to be aware of this threat. Old boys Jordan and Mears return, so doubtless they'll be up for it.

There has been a good deal of debate recently about formation and personnel, and personally I feel there needs to be some changes. Burnley are not the kind of team who are going to physically dominate, but they will certainly get players behind the ball and hope for a draw - tactics that Hughes has had trouble countering. Therefore, City need to field individuals who can overcome these obstacles in different ways, so this would be my line-up for the coming encounter -

-----------------Given-----------------Bench: Taylor
-------------------------------------------Sylvinho
Zabaleta---Toure----Lescott----Bridge------De Jong
-------------------------------------------Petrov
---------------Kompany--------------------Johnson
-------------------------------------------Barry
--------SWP -------------Bellamy ----------Weiss
---------------------Ireland--------------
----------Tevez---------------------------
---------------Adebayor-------------------

No place for Micah on the bench - we need attacking players available, and there is enough defensive cover without him. RSC needs to get fit after receiving another knock last week. Kompany is in for De Jong - the Belgian has more arrows in has quiver than the Dutchman, specifically better distribution, aerial ability in both boxes and a cooler head. Barry sits this one out - he needs a rest imo. Because the front three of Ade, Tevez and Ireland are so attack-minded, I've included the more industrious qualities of SWP and Bellamy on the flanks, but it is crucial that either/both Weiss and Petrov are introduced if we are not making headway soon enough to make a difference. It will be important for SWP, Bellamy, Ireland and Tevez to make themselves available quickly for the ball from Kompany and the defenders - this has been the crux of City's problems in recent games - and Ade needs to return to the form he showed in the early part of the season.

KEY BATTLES

Adebayor vs the Burnley defense - the Togolese is due a big game.

Ireland/Tevez vs Alexander/Bikey - do the City duo have the guile to bypass the Burnley midfield?

Kompany vs Blake - Vinnie will need to marshal the veteran carefully.

SWP/Bellamy vs Jordan/Mears - could get a bit tasty!
BLOOVIC