Manchester City - AG

----------------------Casteels
---Lahm------Howedes---Kompany------Alaba
------Sergio Busquets-----Gundogan
--Thomas Muller----Juan Mata------Marco Reus
----------------------Lewandowski

Subs: Caulker, Kevin de Bruyne, Obiang, El Shaarawy, Luis Muriel


Formation: 4-2-3-1 (Changing into a 4-3-3
Freekicks: Mata
Penalties: Alaba
Corners: Juan Mata (Kompany comes up)
Captain: Lahm


Game Plan + Defence: We will start off in a 4-2-3-1 formation, relying on Lahm and Alaba to do what they do best, and really attack the flanks, with Muller and Marco Reus playing out wide in the wing roles, drifting inside, allowing space for the FB's. Lahm especially, must look to get those fantastic crosses into the penalty are, where Lewandowski can launch himself at the ball, or where Marco Reus will be lurking. On the other side, Alaba is very fast, and is a terrific dribbler, so he must look to take on his man, and venture into the Harrogate half as much as possible, and look to play short 1-2's with the likes of Gundogan and Mata. Both of these Fullbacks must come back at all times, to prevent Harrogate's pacy side from hurting us on the counter. Alongside them, Howedes and Kompany are a strong a pairing as any. They are a real force to be reckoned with, and whilst Howedes isn't fastest, he is extremely good in the air, and a brilliant leader at the back, and he must position himself well at every set piece, marking the attacker that likes to make difficult runs to the back post. Kompany on the other hand, will tackle the tall men, or those good in the air, as Vincent leave's no victims in that territory. He must also use his long legs as an asset to take the ball away from the toes of attackers, but must stay clean. Both of our CB's are strictly told to keep their hands out of their way, and to control their tackles, and not go lunging in on forwards giving away cheap freekicks. Kompany is also a great passer of the ball, so must not be afraid to step into midfield, and caress the ball all he likes, as long as risky passes/back passes are prevented. Neither of our defenders must be afraid to clear the ball long when in danger, but generally, we will look to pass the ball out of defence.

Moving on from defence, we will be playing a lovely mix of midfielders in our central 3. Gundogan will be the dictator, pulling all the strings from central midfield. His excellent vision, and eye of the needle passes will help unlock Cambuur's defence, as we look to play in Muller and Marco Reus, whilst Muller and Marco must drop back to receive short passes, before passing it on again. Busquets will be our DM, and is the best in the world at breaking play down and passing out of danger, so he must do this against their AM but must be wary of stepping forward without protection, as we can get out done on the counter, but he will be looking to always get the ball rolling, and sometimes tap his way around their Midfield. Busquets is an expert in controlling, and holding the ball, and Alongside him is one of the best CM's in the game

If we are lacking creativity in AM, Gundogan must step up further, where he and Mata can cause real problems, but must not neglect defensive duties, and his immense determination and vision must combine with his pressing ability to always win the ball back when we lose it. Vidal offers great drive from midfield, and his powerful shots are an added bonus to us. His passing is always accurate, and he must look to supply Muller and El with sly passes and through balls, to try and find a way in behind Cambuur's defence. Ahead of him, Marchisio will be playing almost AM, but must also help out defensively, and when we are under pressure, we must revert to a 4-3-2-1:


----------Gundogan----Marchisio----Vidal
Muller-------------------------------------------Marco Reus


As this will bring more stability to the midfield, and can contain Cambuur’s attacks down the centre of the pitch. However, Marchisio’s role is crucial to our team. He is the one that brings all the flair to the table and with superb passing skills and quick thinking ability, his main aim will be to slip in one of our 3 forwards. If there comes a time when the ball breaks to him, he must use his silky feet to slip away from defenders and find space, and he must not forget that he will almost always have support in Vidal. All midfielders should be able to cover our Fullback's runs, so if Alaba is caught out, we must rely on Vidal to move into his position, and cover for him, and same with Gundogan on the other side. This will ensure that we will always have our full backs cover


Up ahead, Muller and Marco Reus start in the Inside forward roles of a 4-3-3, with strict instructions to revert to a 4-2-3-1 when we need depth:


-----------Gundogan--------Vidal
--Muller-----Marchisio-----Marco Reus


This will make us more threatening in the wide areas, and give’s us natural width, if we need it. It will also conjure up more space for Marchisio to thrive off, where he has time to spot runs and passes, whilst also giving our FB’s a break from all that running up and down. However, if we need to attack Cambuur centrally, our 2 inside men must look to come back inside with Marchisio dropping back a notch, allowing our two forwards to confuse opposition defenders and create up a great understanding with the 3 CM’s. Muller has brilliant dribbling skills, and very quick feet, and he must look to turn away from oppressors when he has the chance, before using his brilliant vision to find a Dagenham shirt. His brilliant versatility means we cover almost every position in the left-central area of the pitch, as Muller likes to come inside, but doesn’t mind going by the touchline and cutting inside on his favourite left foot. He must also look to get some brilliant crosses onto the heads of Balotelli, or the feet of Marco Reus, but also should look to set up Marchisio/Vidal, who will no doubt be lurking just outside the box, for a volley or long shot. On the other side, Marco Reus is a brilliant finisher, and he loves to take on his man, whilst he’s always reliable when it comes to making runs off the last man. His rapid pace must see him chase the ball every time it breaks loose, whilst his lethal runs will always be a danger to Cambuur. He is also a genius at winning penalties, and must look to trick his way into the box using a wide range of skills to frighten the defence. His brilliant link up play with Balotelli will see the 2 combining well, as Marco Reus is fantastic at finding his man, whilst Balotelli’s passing is extremely good for a striker. If any chance falls to SES, he must take it, as his finishing is a brilliant asset, and he must always be a mirror to Muller, when it comes to formation, as soon as we revert to a 4-3-2-1, he and Muller must go wide and stay wide, cutting in only when our two fullbacks are ready to run into space. Likewise, when we change to a 4-2-3-1, they will both automatically hug the touchline, cutting in only when they have support.

NOTE: Marco Reus and Muller will start off as Inside forwards, but as soon as we do a formation switch, they will act as wingers, before reverting as we do

Up front, Mario Balotelli is having an excellent start to his Milan life, and part of that goes to his partnership with Marco Reus, so the 2 of them must look to combine at every opportunity. He must also look to to finish off every chance that falls his way, and he is brilliant in the air, so must outmuscle the defenders, when it comes to taking crosses of Lahm and Muller. He will rely on his extreme Pace, positioning, Technical ability and Finishing Prowess and look to crumble the cambuur defence, with his brilliant knack of finding the back of the net



















Welcome to the Etihad stadium, Home to Manchester City


Goalkeepers:

GK: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen - £8.8m
GK: Costel Pantilimon - £3.1m


Defenders:

RB/LB/RM: Sergio Ramos - £35m
RB/LB: Alvaro Arbeloa - £10.5m
RB/LB:Cesar Azpilicueta - £6.6m
CB: Vincent Kompany - £31m
CB/LB/DM: Bendikt Howedes - £13m
CB/LB: Mats Hummels - £21m
LB: Gaël Clichy - £13m



Midfielders:

DM/CM: Sergio Busquets - £37m
CM/DM: Gareth Barry - £8.8m
DM/CM: Arturo Vidal - £21m
DM/CM: Sami Khedira - £22m
DM/CM/CB: Javi Garcia - £13m
CM: Michael Johnson - £1.8m
AM/LM: David Silva - £44m
AM/RM:Mesut Ozil - £35m
AM: Cristian Eriksen - £14m
AM: Denis Suarez - £0m
AM/RM/LM: Toni Kroos - £20m
LM/RM/AM: Nicholas Gaitan - £14m


Forwards:

ST: Sergio Aguero - £45m
ST: John Guidetti - £6.2m


Budget: £3m
Press Conference: £0m
Winnings: £0m


---------------------------------Stegen-----------------------------
---Ramos----------Kompany------Hummels-------Arbeloa
--------------------Khedira----------------Busquets-----------
---------Ozil-------------------Kroos-------------------Silva
---------------------------------Aguero---------------------------

Subs: Eriksen, Vidal, Howedes, Clichy, Garcia, Kroos, Gaitan

Ultra Attacking / Possession



1) Nasri out - £20m
2) Tevez Out - £30m
3) Richards Out - £14m
4) Marchisio + Vidal In | Yaya + De Jong + £7m Out
5) Lescott Out - £10m
6) Alvarez + Guarin + Ranocchia In - £3m
7) Mesut Ozil in | £45m + Guarin Out
8) Muniain In | £2m + Milner Out
9) Santa Cruz Out - £3.5m
10) Boyata Out - £1m
11) Hummels In | £15m + Ranocchia Out
12) Busquets In | £23m + Rodwell Out
13) Dani Alves In | £5m + Dzeko Out
14) Nielsean Out - £1m
15) Muhammed Out - £1m
16) Khedira In | Marchisio Out
17) Ramos In | Balotelli + £17m Out
18) Azpilicueta + £13m In | Dani Alves Out
19) Howedes In | Hart + £5m Out
20) Arbeloa In | Kolo Toure + £4m Out
21) Stegen In | Savic + £2m Out
22) Eriksen In | Alvarez + £3m Out


Portsmouth vs Chelsea

-----------------------Maksym Koval
---Danilo-------Bonucci-----Nastasic-----Schmelzer
-----------------David Luiz----Javi Martinez
----Mario Gotze-------------------------------El Shaarawy
---------------------Lukaku-----Lewandowski

Subs: Icardi, Griezmann, Matic, Draxler, Rodwell, Papadopoulos, Carvajal

Today against Chelsea is a must win game, for us to keep our European dream alive. This is why I have gone quite attacking, with a very deadly front 4, all who know how to get goals. However, whilst the attack is deadly, my defence is also very strong, with Luiz and Javi Martinez guiding a solid back four, who will probably be tasked with dealing with Aguero, Neymar, Hulk/Son and Fabregas. The midfield duo is solid enough, two great players who are expert defensively, and they must contain what I assume will be Fabregas and Vidal. When Fabregas drifts out to the wings, Luiz tracks him all the way, with Martinez keeping a close eye on Vidal, when he makes runs from deep. Martinez must also block off any attempted running made by Neymar, who loves cutting inside, with Martinez staying back, anticipating Neymar's move. To further nulify Neymar, we place Danilo at RB, and Danilo is 100% raw pace, so will chase down Neymar whenever he's on the ball, and look to beat him to every ball, whilst also following Neymar all the way, looking to block his shots. This however, may open up a space for the attacking Baines, which is why I instruct Gotze to track back whenever we are on the back foot.