Pizy

Barkley and Alonso. I've got a really bad feeling about this.

That 4th spot is likely to come down to whoever does the best in those head-to-heads against the big boys. Both ourselves and United have a hugely challenging month or so starting this weekend. Just hope we put in a performance tomorrow. I fear if we suffer another demoralizing 3 or 4-0 battering our players will crumble and we'll start sliding further.

Think just about everyone would've had United in the top 4 before the season started. But to go from where they were to where they are now compared to the position we were in is ridiculous. Will be absolutely shameful if they finish above us. Everything seems to be be going their way since the managerial change. Their average players suddenly became good, their good players great. Pogba and Martial returning to top form. And then in their CL tie with PSG everything seems to be breaking their way in terms of injuries. No Neymar and now I read Verratti is injured, too. It's almost like the stars are aligning for these bastards. 😒

He doesn't want to be hated and demonized like Courtois was. He wants to leave on good terms. I really, really hope Isco can be signed as partial replacement. Would really soften the blow to get an exciting, technically superb player to join.

Couldn't give less of a fuck about who wins the league if it isn't us with one exception- Arsenal. Spuds will never win it so I'm not even counting them. Liverpool winning it would be annoying, yes, but I can get over it quickly. The media will be insufferable but whatever. All I know is that City will be hyper focused and extremely up for it this weekend. This will be a massive test once again. We better not turn up like a deer in headlights like we did against Spuds and Arse recently.

Still pains me every time I see De Bruyne play. The perfect midfielder. Probably the one player outside Chelsea in the PL that I'm genuinely jealous of.

Look how City are totally targeting Arse's left flank. Bernardo in acres of space nearly every time he receives the ball. KDB occupying that little space between Bernardo and the outside of the box. The thought of them having Bernardo out there in space against Alonso and KDB standing right on Luiz is already causing headaches. If we don't hugely raise our game like we did last time we played them and like we did against Spuds last week I think it'll be ugly.

Actually thought that Willian, other than his usual shite end product, was pretty good today. Was tracking back often and was okay going forward. I'm also going to once again praise Kepa which is strange after a game where he wasn't troubled, but the guy is ace most of the time with his distribution. Far beyond what Courtois is. He's been one of our best players this season.

Higuain shakes off a bit of the rust in his passing and we have ourselves a world class striker again.

Ridiculous first touch and goal from Hazard!

Barkley in the final third. 😂😂😂😂 It's almost comical. Kante is better when he gets around the box! That was supposed to be one of his best attributes at Everton. Shooting and being dangerous going forward.

You need someone aggressive and decisive in that advanced midfield role in Sarri's system. Both Barkley and Kovacic are tidy, controlled players but they have zero composure or desire to get involved in the last move. RLC needs a run there. His powerful, surging runs will cause all sorts of trouble for teams.

It's really embarrassing how terrible we are in the transition phase. We simply cannot cope when the ball is quickly turned over. Alonso is a ghost defensively, Luiz has no pace, and every opponent knows it.

How does their #11 keep getting the ball in 50 yards of wide open space over and over again? Where the fuck is Alonso? And my goodness is Barkley completely redundant in this system. Offers nothing at all offensively and is lazy defensively. Also takes an age to pick a pass.

We'd still be very vulnerable to counter attacks through the middle but we'd surely be much more dangerous going forward. I feel like this is the team we'd play if Mou was managing this squad.

Pochettino inevitably ending up at United is going to be a nightmare. Gets the absolute maximum out of players he has and will have unlimited funds to actually spend unlike at Spuds.

We should be beating Huddersfield regardless of the team we put out, but it's still annoying seeing Willian and Barkley starting again. This would have been the perfect match to start RLC and CHO in those two spots.

I stopped worrying about Spuds a while ago. There may have been a brief hope that we could reel them in but they're simply a better team than us in Sarri's first season. All about 4th spot and EL for us. Europa League probably being our best shot at CL qualification.

I just don't fucking get it. We are demonstrably better in possession, we are dramatically better at controlling games. We have a very, very good squad of players. We are just mentally embarrassing. We get smacked in the mouth and cannot recover. Happened exactly like this over and over again this season. Utterly dominate in the first half, the opponent goes into the break and their manager says "get stuck into to them," and we then collapse. We always have 70 or even fucking 80% of the ball, making the opponent look toothless, and then fall apart. It's ridiculous. Im not even gonna put the lions share of blame on Sarri. Our players are constantly guilty of self sabotage with their lazy passing. How many fucking times do we see a lazy sideways pass into the middle of the pitch that gets intercepted and launches a counter? How many!? We fucking kill ourselves.

They have one of the worst, if not THE worst defensive records in the league and we couldn't score. They've won like 3 of their previous 13 matches coming into this. And they've embarrased us 4-0. Now outside the top 4 with both teams around us looking far better than us. Both Arse and United can score goals for fun while we can't score at all. Roman would be making a change right now in years past.

This is well and truly the most embarrassing performance of the season. The one and ONLY way Bournemouth can hurt us and they're doing so over and over again. Clown defending.

Weakness on the counter aside, that was a good half. Much better at moving the ball quickly but still not quick enough.

Getting plenty of clean, good looks at goal but are shooting straight down the keepers throat. Really need one of them to fall for Higiuain since he can actually finish.

Higuain's hold up play and movement are absolutely superb.

Hopefully our central defense holds up against their pace. That's really the only worry. Well, that and whether or not we come out like timid babies like we've been known to do this season.