Key events
“Hi Daniel”
Hi Jan Wetzel. Thanks for being my first correspondent today. What’s on your mind?
“Can I just question the logic of the recurring refrain these days of “City know that their fate is in their hands. Win all their remaining games….”? Because you could say the same about Arsenal. In fact, they only need to not loose against City, right? Which is a *slightly* easier proposition. Asking for a friend. Best, Jan.”
Thanks Jan. It’s a good question and though I’m about to give an answer, please know it’s not a hill I’ll die on.
I think both clubs have a hand on the trophy as they’re both in control of their destinies. If I was calling Arenal’s game tomorrow I might have spoken in these terms then.
Now does that mean that neither team has a hand on the trophy? It’s a philosophical conundrum that was explore in the excellent ‘Football Cliches’ podcast hosted by Adam Hurrey.
If you’re asking me, I think it’s still 50-50 despite the points difference at present. I’m not a City fan but I can honestly see them winning every game from here which means they’ll obviously drop points today.
Dean Smith names his first team
The mission is simple for new boss Dean Smith: Beat the world’s best team on their own patch and save their Premier League status. Simple, eh?
Leicester City: Iversen, Castagne, Soyuncu, Souttar, Faes, Kristiansen, Drewsbury-Hall, Tielemans (c), Ndidi, Maddison, Vardy.
Substitutes: Ward, Amartey, Thomas, Mendy, Praet, Marcal-Madivadua, Tete, Iheanacho, Daka.
Kyle Walker starts for the first time in over a month.
The man once considered England’s premier right back makes a return. So too does Aymeric Laporte as Manchester City unleash a full strength team that sends shivers down the spine. Just look at that line-up!
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Laporte, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (c), Bernardo, Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland.
Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Ake, Gundogan, Alvarez, Gomez, Akanji, Palmer, Lewis.
TEAM NEWS! 🙌
XI | Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Laporte, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Ake, Gundogan, Alvarez, Gomez, Akanji, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/GOz2nXZCcM
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 15, 2023
Before we get into the fun stuff, it’s worth having a quick chat about Hillsborough. Don’t worry, I won’t add anything to the discourse. There’s nothing I could say that would be better than what Sachin Nakrani said.
I also want to share this beautiful cartoon from last yearby the genius that is David Squires. So subtle, so powerful, just brilliant:
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
Hello, hello and welcome to this tale of two contrasting Cities. It’s squeaky bum time now for the title chasers in Manchester and the survival hopefuls from Leicester. Anything but a victory won’t do either any good this afternoon.
City* know that their fate is in their hands. Win all their remaining games and they’ll pip Arsenal by the end of the season.
Leicester*, mired in 19th and on a winless run of nine games stretching back to 11 February, are in deep, deep trouble. It would be shocking to see the former champions go down but down they’ll go unless they can sort themselves out.
This fixture was a belter last season with the home side winning a 6-3 slugfest. Perhaps that will embolden the Foxes who might regard this as a free swing. After all, only their most diehard fans will expect much against a side that has made mincemeat of their opponents of late, including the German giants Bayern Munich who were were swatted aside 3-0 in midweek.
But you never know. Relegation scraps and late season title chargers can do strange things to the body and mind. One gaffe, one slip, one loose pass and an entire campaign’s work can come a cropper.
This’ll be a goodie. I can feel it.
If you’re on the same page, or you want me to be on your page, or you’ve got a line from a page you want to share with the group, please do get in touch. My name is Dan and I’m delighted to be at the wheel for this one.
Kick off at 5:30 BST. Teams and updates to follow.
*A quick caveat. For the sake of clarity, I’ll be referring to Manchester City as ‘City’ and will call Leicester City ‘Leicester’. My apologies to any Leicester City fans. Please don’t see this as a demotion. I just want to avoid getting my wires crossed.
