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Midtjylland vs Saints


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If ever there was a match to start scoring this is it. Must win game is such a cliché but I'd be pretty hacked if all our efforts from last year came to nothing, at least as far as Europe is concerned.

 

I think we've got enough to just about do it but we need to be a lot braver with the team selection than we were against Watford.

 

I'd be tempted to try something like:

 

Stek

 

Cedric - Fonte - Caulker - Targett

 

Wanyama - Romeu

 

Mané - Juanmi - Tadic

 

Pelle

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A 2-1 loss is what I'm feeling this will be, due to fact that Ron is too scared not to play a 7-man defence and our forwards are not doing the business (because the service to them is dreadful and there are gaping holes in the midfield).

 

But everyone will be saying "never mind, now we can concentrate on the Prem", so the Euro adventure will soon be forgotten. Until someone starts realising that actually we really are playing relegation level football and improvement is seriously required before Christmas. This by the way this is not pessimism - this is the reality of the situation the summer has left us in.

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We're going out unless we significantly improve.

 

I think if we play like we did in the last leg and on Sunday we'll go through comfortably. We've created a lot more chances than the opposition on both those occasions and the only goal conceded was a shot from outside the box that went in the corner.

 

We need to score, but we'll defend in numbers and attack with the front 4 (unless we play 5 at the back) and probably pick up the goal we need.

 

I'd pick

 

------Stekelenburg

Cedric Fonte Caulker Yoshida

-----Wanyama Romeu

Mane Rodriguez Ward-Prowse

------------Pelle

 

Which I think is unchanged from the first leg. Hopeful Mane recovers and is cleared to play, Tadic if he isn't.

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I think if we play like we did in the last leg and on Sunday we'll go through comfortably. We've created a lot more chances than the opposition on both those occasions and the only goal conceded was a shot from outside the box that went in the corner.

 

We need to score, but we'll defend in numbers and attack with the front 4 (unless we play 5 at the back) and probably pick up the goal we need.

 

I'd pick

 

------Stekelenburg

Cedric Fonte Caulker Yoshida

-----Wanyama Romeu

Mane Rodriguez Ward-Prowse

------------Pelle

 

Which I think is unchanged from the first leg. Hopeful Mane recovers and is cleared to play, Tadic if he isn't.

 

Targett played left back and Yoshida at right back. Definitely need Cedric back in for his breaking forwards from full back. Would bring in Davis for Ward Prowse.

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They will sit back and defend the lead and try to hit us from counter attacks and set pieces. Set pieces are very much their speciality which could explain playing Caulker, Yoshida and Fonte in a 4 man defense last Thursday.

 

Most of the intel from last week seemed to be that they'd play the same way home or away, which will suit us. They certainly seemed to be a lot more attacking when they needed to be though. Will be interesting to see if they press our defence like they did last week, as that will open up space for us to score at the other end, and if they don't press, we'll just have the opportunity to attack more without committing defenders forward - which is why I think we could stick with the back 4 for this one and not the 5 used at Watford. Mane's fitness will also be a factor as our most creative player.

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Targett played left back and Yoshida at right back. Definitely need Cedric back in for his breaking forwards from full back. Would bring in Davis for Ward Prowse.

 

Ah yeah, so he did. Davis for Ward-Prowse is an equally valid choice.

 

Cedric did well at Watford, I suppose it depends how attacking we want to be, there's obviously the risk of them hanging their 6'7" striker at the far post if he plays - he could do without bleeding from the head in another match too... :D

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We really should win this. They were sort of mid-ish Championship standard, I reckon and actually we should have scored more than once in the home game.

 

We badly need a bit more composure on the ball though so I would bring in JWP and Juanmi (he looks very neat and composed to me). I think I'd go with Yoshida at left back for extra aerial presence and Caulker looked very threatening from our set pieces in the first leg. Tempted to throw Martina in as well for physicality at right back but I think Cedric could do with run in the side - 50/50 on that call.

 

-------------------------------------Stek--------------------------------

 

Martina/Cedric----------Fonte---------------Caulker----------Yoshida

 

---------------------------Wanyama-----Romeu-----------------------

 

Juanmi-----------------------------JWP-----------------------Mane/Rodriguez

 

-------------------------------------Pelle---------------------------------

 

Sub: Gazza, Martina/Cedric, Targett, Davis, Long, Mane/Rod, Reed/Tadic (if fit)

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Might as well go for it early as even if we concede we would still only need a single goal to stay in the tie. They look beatable and i'd expect an improvement from us from the first leg. Would like to see Juanmi given a chance to have a run at them. Mane not playing a full game at the weekend might end up being a blessing as well if he's got more energy for this one.

 

Worth remembering we've only lost 1 of our 6 competitve games so far and anything but a loss or 0-0 draw will give us at least a shot of going to ET or Pens if not straight through.

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We need to play Juanmi in the 2nd leg for sure.......give the guy a chance FFS

 

It's going to be interesting to see what position he gets a chance in, when eventually he does get a chance.

 

As an attacking midfielder we've seen Tadic, Davis, and JWP all selected ahead of him.

 

As a second striker we've seen Mane and Long both selected ahead of him.

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If we could score that would be a bonus. 3 games now with only a penalty goal to show.

 

Seeing as we got a high-scoring draw by being awful at defending up at Newcastle, maybe we should forget to bother defending this time too?

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Seeing as we got a high-scoring draw by being awful at defending up at Newcastle, maybe we should forget to bother defending this time too?

Well, we know we have to score, so it would make sense to focus on that rather than keeping a clean sheet, which in this competition at this stage at least gets us nothing. Just concerned that we don't have anyone likely to score, unless its Caulker - perhaps we should play him up front instead of Pelle (joking).

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yesterday Midtjylland were held to a 1 all draw against the side 2nd from bottom in their league. The day before their manager had a nice bust up with one of their strikers.

 

nice to see they're having a bit of drama as well as us.

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Well, we know we have to score, so it would make sense to focus on that rather than keeping a clean sheet, which in this competition at this stage at least gets us nothing. Just concerned that we don't have anyone likely to score, unless its Caulker - perhaps we should play him up front instead of Pelle (joking).

 

Any of our front 4 (or front 3 in a 5-3-2/3-5-2, er...) can score - the cup situation and the away goal mean our usual tactics of defending and letting the rest work itself out are only ideal if we've already scored. But of course in attacking we leave ourselves open to conceding a second.

 

Given that both teams' preferences for defending first, I can see us maybe winning 1-0 and taking it in extra time with our better fitness - though I'm saying that under the assumption that we are actually fitter - you'd expect that their approach means they're trying to minimise player weaknesses and have some inbuilt flaws like our squad-based system does.

 

Then again, there's merit to doing the opposite of what the opposition has prepared for from time to time - but I'm guessing we expect that we have the better side and if we make the least mistakes we should win.

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In the first leg one of their players went down with cramp - or it may have been simple timewasting... - but we can hope that we are fitter. Get Long to make a nuisance of himself first half and then bring on Mane against tiring legs.

 

I wasn't giving the u-21 game my full attention today, but when I noticed Juanmi his passing and control was very good. He came off at HT I think, so it might just have been a tune-up game.

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They were time wasting in the first half of the game at St Mary's.

 

And fouling a lot as the game continued. This might have been a result of increasing tiredness setting in (not that they showed it) because their work rate was higher and better than ours.

 

So IF we should prove to be fitter on Thursday, expect more fouling and time wasting from the Midts.

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A 2-1 loss is what I'm feeling this will be, due to fact that Ron is too scared not to play a 7-man defence

 

This coming a fortnight after he played a standard back four shielded by Wanyama and Steven Davis with three forwards and Tadic?

 

our usual tactics of defending and letting the rest work itself out

 

I think you're making that up. We've been a high line/possession team for years.

Edited by DuncanRG
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This coming a fortnight after he played a standard back four shielded by Wanyama and Steven Davis with three forwards and Tadic?

 

 

 

I think you're making that up. We've been a high line/possession team for years.

 

Quantify "years". Adkins didn't have the chance to establish a "style" in the Prem, under Pochettino we defended from the front and tried to score on turnovers by winning the ball high up the field and recycled possession around midfield when we couldn't get a fast break, and last season under Koeman we had a very defensive formation with fullbacks getting forward to give the side width, but we were never particularly possession-minded (unlike, say, Swansea) and struggled to score on the occasions where we were too predictable.

 

This season we haven't really got a single style yet, but the signs are that we've reverted to defending from a couple of unsuccessful attempts at attacking Newcastle and the first half at Everton.

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