SCOTT JOHNSON ON CITY’S ‘STICK OR TWIST’ FA CUP CONUNDRUM... AND WHY HOILETT HAS TO BE HANDED A NEW CONTRACT
THE prospect of facing Manchester City in the FA Cup could not be more exciting.
Watching Cardiff trade blows with one of the very best sides in Europe for one night only will be fascinating and as in boxing, they have a punchers chance of landing the killer blow, against all odds.
The reality is that after about 10 minutes, Cardiff may well find themselves chasing shadows and wondering what they’ve let themselves in for.
Pep Guardiola has fashioned a side in his image and they play a brand of football that is unlike anything seen in the Premier League before.
It’s like death from a thousand cuts, as they dominate possession and completely overwhelm you.
They have lost only once this season, having embarked on a stunning 18-game winning run, putting five past Liverpool and Crystal Palace, six at Watford and seven against Stoke.
A truly daunting prospect I think you’ll agree, but there is hope.
Wolves traded blows with them in an end-to-end Carabao Cup scoreless draw, that could only be decided in City’s favour on penalties.
Bristol led against them in Manchester during the first leg of their semi-final clash and it took an injury time Sergio Aguero winner to give them a narrow lead ahead of the second leg.
What Neil Warnock now needs to decide is how best to approach the encounter. Whether to stick or twist. It feels like you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, but recent weeks have offered some hope.
City’s remarkable unbeaten run was recently ended by Liverpool and they may have shone a light on how best to tackle them.
Liverpool’s approach was to mirror City’s formation, press them high up the pitch and harass their back four. They were very disciplined, rather than just charging around like headless chickens.
Waiting for opportunities, forcing mistakes and capitalising on them when they arose.
City’s lengthy unbeaten run has seen sides too scared to lay a glove on them.
The football equivalent of looking across the ring at Mike Tyson in his prime and conceding the contest before the first bell has been rung.
Yet City do have weaknesses. Guardiola’s sides have always played from the back, to great effect and City are no different. Yet John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi are not quite of the calibre of the players he had at his disposal in Barcelona or Munich.
They can be flustered and do make mistakes.
Bristol City’s approach was broadly similar to that of Liverpool and Guardiola’s men found it difficult to get their passing game going.
Pep actually praised his opposite number Lee Johnson post-match, claiming that they received a far
sterner test than they have against many Premier League sides this season.
This tactic does not always work though. Tottenham tried to play this way against them earlier in the season and found themselves on the receiving end of a 4-1 drubbing.
It also exhausting to play this way. Both Liverpool and Bristol City tired late on in their respective games and allowed City to regain their stranglehold.
Cardiff have been running on fumes in recent weeks and may find playing in this way, at the required level of intensity, beyond them.
The alternative approach is to shut up shop and allow City to have the attacking impetus.
Various teams have done this with limited degrees of success. Rafa Benitez set Newcastle out in this way when City visited and almost it worked for long stretches, but a draw was ultimately beyond them.
Cardiff regularly concede the majority of possession and often play on the break, but City can break harder.
Inviting pressure from a side this good could have disasterous consequences. Even if you do get in their faces and put them under pressure, it often results in City passing that little bit faster and leave you chasing shadows.
To stand any chance, Cardiff will need to keep mistakes to a minimum and maintain their concentration throughout the contest. They will need to make the most of their opportunities and function as a unit.
Kenneth Zohore needs to be at his early season best, but this is the sort of game where Aron Gunnarsson will be sorely missed.
It should be a fascinating contest. The hope is that Cardiff put in a good account of themselves and are not owerawed by the occasion.
Had this game come a few weeks ago, when Cardiff were in the doldrums, you would have feared for them, but after a couple of impressive wins and a draw, armed with two new signings, who knows what will happen.