17 Sep 2026 00:13:58
Of course i'm gutted about Raul being injured but if you look on X you'd think it's end of the world.
Armstrong knows what this derby is he'll be fired up, Neave looks decent, Trippier also knows how important a derby is.
17 Sep 2026 07:34:02
Agreed. Also Raul hasn't looked as sharp as he was in the WC. I'm more concerned about our defence tbh
Thought Krejci was immense last night however (and Konan was ok), so hopefully he, Tripper Djigga and Bueno all start on Sunday.
Neave was another bright spark alongside Virginia but perhaps BCD is too big an occasion for him between the sticks.
Armstrong and Mane need to up their game too cos alongside Rodrigo that's the sum total of our attack right there - thanks again Fosun
Roll on the weekend!
17 Sep 2026 10:00:10
Mane should be on the bench for me, he is a weakness in the team and he is one of the reasons why we are so bad on the left. Last night's game shows we have better players to be put in the team and will improve us overall.
17 Sep 2026 10:55:58
Mane has a lot to learn so benching him might be a good idea. I think during last season he got hyped so much it clearly got to his head. I can see he is a good player but has to do better with the basics of football.
I would like to personally see Bueno pushed up into that position and he will also help defend unlike Mane.
17 Sep 2026 11:23:13
I'm with you on that Alex, Konan LB Hugo on the left and we'll run the left side, balls in low or high and Hugo can hit a shot too.
17 Sep 2026 11:43:26
I suspect Raul may have asked to play, or at least asked for some game time, I'm struggling for another explanation.
17 Sep 2026 11:56:50
Considering Armstrong wasn't very impressive against prem sides last season it made sense to me to start Raul who probably still feels he's a prem player. Had we just played a second rate team all over the pitch undoubtably some would have said why not try in the cup. Always a difficult one for managers to judge or get right.
17 Sep 2026 13:38:20
I agree rauls injury is a concern and yes Cesar may have made a mistake playing him but let's not let it distract from the fact that he hasn't exactly pulled up any trees yet, so let's not let it distract from what is a big big game on Sunday,