mancityblues.com

Eeeh by gum, there's trubble at t'mill.

City looked pretty clueless against Hull, and it could be a case of deja-vu when Owen Coyle's Bolton side come calling on Tuesday night. Same kind of team, similar position in the league, equally prepared to put their bodies on the line. I suppose the challenge for Mancini now is picking a team that will at least fight and scrap against the relegation-threatened club, but will the Italian recognize the issues that are beginning to hamper City's push for the top 4? As far as I can see, these problems manifest themselves as follows -

1. Steven Ireland. The lad is not a right-winger. If Mancini is going to play him, he should be behind the striker(s). Otherwise, leave Stevie on the bench as an impact player and let him play himself into form.

2. Against most teams (like Hull and Bolton), Mancini cannot get away with 4-4-2. We just don't have 2 central midfielders capable of controlling a game in the Premier League, far too many diagonal crosses have been allowed putting pressure on the City penalty area. Ade and Tevez don't seem to hit it off, so what Mancini must do is pack the midfield at least until the opposing team has been given a game. It's not an ideal situation, but with the players at Mancini's disposal, that's the reality.

3. For the Bolton tie in particular, young Boyata will need to step down. The likes of Elmander and especially Kevin Davies would probably give the lad  real problems, so hopefully Mancini will have some more experienced options available to him. Toure doesn't fill me with confidence against players like Davies either.

4. Shay Given. The Irish goalkeeper has saved City's bacon on many occasions this season, but there are indications that something is not working between the defenders and the keeper. There is little that can be done about Given's style of keeping, so Mancini must instruct his defense to attack the ball fearlessly.

With these points in mind, I'd go with the following line-up for Tuesday's fixture -

--------------------Given------------------------                                  
-Zabalata-------Toure-----Onuoha--------Bridge---                    
---------Vieira-------------------Barry----------                                  
--SWP------------Ireland--------------A. Johnson-          
---------------------Tevez----------------------- 

Bench: Taylor Garrido De Jong Bellamy Petrov Adebayor

Vieira and Barry hopefully have enough in the tank to control the game, at least until we gain the advantage. Paddy V will be useful at set-pieces especially, and both he and Barry have a bit more to their game than the otherwise excellent De Jong, who could do with a rest anyway.

SWP and AJ are both hard-working and diligent, giving way to a Bellamy/Petrov cameo if required. Tevez is the lone man up front with Ireland given an opportunity to shine in his favoured position - he needs to perform if selected.

I don't know Lescott's status, so I've gone with Kolo and Ned in central defence. Zaba and Bridge make up the full-back positions, but I'd be equally happy with Richards and Garrido.