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Alright, let’s dive straight into how I spent ages figuring out those lineup picks for the big Man City vs Chelsea clash. Honest, it felt like trying to herd cats sometimes.
The Messy Starting Point
First, I sat down with my lukewarm coffee. Checked the latest player news. Groaned. Knew Pep loves to tinker right? So my initial idea? Just throw the usual starters in. De Bruyne central, Haaland up top. Simple. But nah, that felt lazy.
Digging Into the Chaos
Had to actually look closer. Chelsea’s form? All over the place. One week solid, next week shaky. Made picking against them a nightmare.
- Started messing with Foden on the right. Then remembered Sterling still haunts his old club sometimes.
- Dropped Haaland into my draft lineup, then took him out thinking “what if Pep rests him?”
- Flipped Grealish and Doku back and forth like five times. Pep plays head games with wingers.
My notes looked like chicken scratch. Genuine chaos.
The “Aha!” Moment That Wasn’t
Thought I cracked it. Put Kovacic in to shield the backline against those Chelsea runners. Felt clever. Then slapped my forehead remembering Rodri is the actual wall. Can’t drop Rodri. Ever. Whole lineup collapsed like a cheap tent.
Tried squeezing Alvarez and Haaland in together. Big mistake. Just clogged the middle. Got too fancy.
Finally Landing On Something (Sort Of)
After spilling coffee on my third draft page, I settled. Mostly. Rodri sits deep no matter what. Stones drifts into midfield because Pep loves that. Haaland starts because chaos or not, he’s Haaland. Foden drifts inside from the wing, Gvardiol overlaps… It’s never perfect though. Pep can flip it all five minutes before kickoff.
My final guess? Ederson; Walker, Dias, Stones; Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Doku. Feels right. Probably wrong. That’s just how it goes with Pep. You sweat over it, and then he does something wild anyway. Ended up feeling like I just threw spaghetti at the wall and kept whatever kinda stuck.