City Vs Swansea: Predicting the Starting 11

By Adrian Meta
City take on Swansea in the Blue’s Premier League season opener. The match will be at the Etihad Stadium, and with new signings potentially coming into the 11, here’s how I expect City to line up.

The back pretty much picks itself with the exception of Aleks Kolarov. I’ve given him the nod over Gael Clichy purely because Swansea are lightweight opposition and Kolarov will be given freedom to bomb forward, knowing he will be covered. He will give City an extra advantage.

Moving to midfield, I’ve picked Milner over Barry because recent fixtures indicate that he is ahead of Gareth Barry in the pecking order, and for me, he’s the better player.

Up front, Balotelli ahead of Aguero. Why? Aguero won’t be completely fit and should be given as much a rest as possible, with a view to a 15-20 min debut appearance. I expect Dzeko to start most games this season. No Tevez because he’s only just came back to training.

There it is. Hopefully I’m right, because with this lineup City should fairly easily overcome Swansea.

Dzeko to Manchester City, yet another striker at Eastlands

Edin Dzeko has passed a medical at Manchester City and will most likely debut at the club against Wolves in the League next week.
After much hype regarding his transfe the Bosnian finally joined Eastlands, although according to a number of text messages sent before the transfer was confimed, he would've preferred to join Juventus.


The cost to make the move possible is much less than what was originally wanted by Wolfsburg. The 40 million euro price tag was lowered greatly and City ended up paying 27.4 million pounds to have the services of the hitman.

Whether City needed anymore strikers was another question. With the likes of Baotelli, Tevez, Santa Cruz, Adebayor and Jo not even getting regular starts, as well as Mancini's preferance of a packed mifield, Dzeko will have to prove his worth very quickly to get a regular birth upfront.

Dzeko is understood to have penned a 5 year contract, which also include bonuses relating to Champions League qualification and final league placing.

City have edged out the likes of Bayern Munich and Juventus to get the final signature.

Transfers, Transfers, Transfers - Tevez, Dzeko and Cassano look to be on the move

The January transfer window is fast approaching and many big names look to be on the move, we have a look at some of the big names and some of their possible destinations.


Carlos Tevez: The Argentinian has expressed his want to play elsewhere, but City will not let up. Big name clubs from around the World have expressed their desire to have "Carlitos" play in their colours. Real Madrid lead the charge as they face injury woes up front as well as the possibility of letting their French striker Benzema leave after a recent spell of poor form, in truth Karim has failed to impress in Madrid.

Tevez has also been linked with an unlikely move to Inter who are looking to re-invent their squad under Leonardo. Although Tevez has stated that he was not interested in such a move. Considering the Argentine threatened to retire, it would n't be a surprise if he ended up playing in his home country or in the various South American leagues.

Edin Dzeko: Wolfsburg have held onto the Bosnian hitman for a number of seasons now, rejecting a number of high profile bids. The striker has been prolific yet again in the Bundesliga scoring nine goals thus far. Although with Liverpool recently entering the racfe to sign the Bosnian Wolfsburg may be tempted to sell. a 40 million dollar price tag has certainly turned away many clubs, but Juventus and Bayern Munich still stay in the hunt. Premier League interest from Manchester United is also a factor and the Red Devils may swoop and take the striker to Old Trafford.

Antonio Cassano: Rumours already exist about Cassano and where his playing future lies. The Italian international left from Sampdoria and became a free agent when he had a falling out with the club. Milan's apparant signing of the Striker came with Massimo Moratti of Inter saying that Inter too have made an offer for the frontman. One thing is for certain Cassano will continue to apply his trade in Italy. Juventus is also a possible destination for Cassano. A reuniting with former manager and club sporting director would definitely be welcome by a player who can easily loose his temper and upset team chemistry.

Three big names look set to move on this January window. We will also look at the three best signings at the halfway point of the season soon.