mancityblues.com

The Fat Spanish Waiter's busboy comes to Eastlands on Monday, bringing with him possibly the most inconsistent team in the Premier League. I really can't understand why Wigan are so unpredictable - every time I've seen them play, they've looked one-paced yet physically strong but they either lose 3-1 or win 4-0. On paper, City should win this tie, but we often struggle against Wigan and combining our patchy previous head-to-head record with their uneven form makes this one a potential banana-skin.

Without going to much into the grisly crime-scene that was the Everton game, it's clear that we were well-beaten by a professional outfit, and Mancini and Co. have to bounce back from that. Any continuity that was gained from the second-half display at Sunderland and the victory at Fulham has now been lost, and this is where the City players will have to prove their mettle - it's really do-or-die time now that the fabled "game-in-the-hand" (to quote Bobby) has come to nought. Certain individuals did not perform against the Toffees, and whilst it maybe fair to say that we didn't have the "rub-of-the-green", I feel that the team needs a shake-up to face a Wigan side that is probably safe from relegation. Here's my line-up for Monday -

---------------Given-----------------
Richards---Onouha---Kompany---Garrido
--------------Toure------------------
---Zaba-------------------Barry------
---------------Tevez-----------------
------Johnson----------Bellamy-------

Firstly, I feel that the Toure/Kompany partnership isn't the best when it comes to a physical, quick, high-tempo battle, which is what I expect when Rodallega and Moreno are involved. So in comes forgotten-man Nedum Onuoha for his pace and strength - he and Kompany looked decent enough when they've played alongside one another. Toure isn't left out, though - against Everton he showed some ability at running through the midfield and setting up attacking play. His pace, willingness to get forward, athleticism and relative height when compared to De Jong raises the possibility of Toure slotting in to the "holding" role with more success than the conservative Dutchman, and Kolo has to have more stamina and speed than Old Paddy, if not his eye for a pass. It will be important for either Kompany, Barry or Zaba to step into the hole created when Toure does bomb forward.

Zabaleta, who returns to the right side of midfield - his energy and commitment was missed in this area against Everton - is also not averse to the final third of the field, so the team has at least some threat from the centre of the park as well as the wings. Barry continues on the left, and both he and Zaba will need to patrol both their respective flanks when either Richards or Garrido go forward, as well as look to play Bellamy and AJ in when possible. Doubtless it will be another grim encounter in the trenches, so Toure, Zaba and Barry will need to be ready for a battle.

On that subject, it's was notable that neither Bellers or AJ were really able to get behind the full-backs against Everton or Fulham so perhaps playing a little more narrow in the hope that they can get closer to Tevez may pay dividends - neither Melchiot or Figueroa are mugs, and I expect a tough game in this area of the pitch. As mentioned before, the capabilities of Micah and Garrido will be key for this game - both players must provide an option in an attacking sense, without forsaking their defensive duties, especially if Wigan left-winger Victor Moses gets the nod. Tevez continues up-front, although Ade's presence would be handy if it were possible.

So a few changes for me - I doubt Mancini will pick the same eleven as above, but something's got to improve the forward momentum of the team; it's time to ring the changes.

~Bloovic~