Following our best performance of the season on Saturday, where we more than held our own against Champions Manchester City, we come into this with a spring in our step and the chance to build momentum.
Flooding and pitch issues meant our planned trip to Wimbledon was pushed back a week and moved to St James’ Park, where it’s a sell out, a big chance for some of our fringe men to impress and a massive opportunity to move into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup.
A home tie with Chelsea awaits in the fourth round if we can overcome the Wombles, but recent form suggests they won’t be pushovers. They sit 6th in League Two, have kept clean sheets in five of their last six games and knocked out Ipswich in the previous round, winning on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time.
Eddie Howe has urged his players to arrive with the same attitude that saw us match Man City on Saturday, vowing to “attack the game” and not overlook a Wimbledon side desperate to prove their worth against Premier League opposition.
Eddie Howe’s pre-match comments
“We set objectives early in our season – in terms of where we want the squad to be. And I think where I want the squad to be is regardless of our opposition, regardless of the competition, the attitude is the same.
“We attack the game, we show we want to win. We should have to deliver all the fundamentals towards that objective. I’m not the type of manager that will sort of prioritise games. Every game is hugely important. I don’t think you can prioritise games. Of course we want to get through. We want to win and we want to play well.”
On potential rotation, Howe added: “I think we will see it as an opportunity to get game time for those that maybe haven’t played. But in saying that we’ll still pick a a very strong team. And ultimately, of course, we need to pick a team that we think can take us through to the next round.
“This is a vitally important game, so our preparation will be the same as it…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/09/30/wimbledon-h-pre-match-thoughts-team-news-possible-line-up-and-prediction/
Author : Olly Hawkins
Publish date : 2024-09-30 18:00:17
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