City’s game against Doncaster Rovers is scheduled for November 15th, which is an international weekend.
Ivan Varfolomeev, Justin Obikwu and Dexter Lembikisa are all likely to be on international duty, which could result in the game being postponed.
In his pre-match press conference for tomorrow’s game against Leyton Orient, Michael Skubala stated the club’s current intention is to keep the game on.
“I really appreciate that because it’s tough for fans to commit to buying tickets. We do appreciate that,” he said.
“Every decision we make is not taken lightly, but our intention at the moment is to keep the game on. That’s our intention. Things can change, and I know it’s probably not the answer everybody wants, but our intention is to keep it on.”
That would mean playing with a slightly depleted squad, but with few injuries and more players than in previous seasons, it does feel like it will be possible.
“We think we can manage the international players and the group, though we’ve got to look at situations with cards, sendings-off, and injuries. That can change things a bit. But we’ve been on the road for five games, and that’s our next home fixture — we really want to get a home game on.”
Currently, Conor McGrandles is a suspension risk, he’s on four bookings. Tendayi Darikwa is on three, and his deputy would likely be Dexter Lembikisa, although Tom Hamer is also capable. Ben House is also on three, which could affect Justin Obikwu.
Michael still feels like the game should be on, with it being a local derby and a 3 pm kick off at home, something we’ve only had four times in 17 fixtures this season.
“It’s a Saturday, and we want the place bouncing because it has a positive effect on our performance. So we’ll try our best to get it on, but there is a slight asterisk because anything can happen between now and then.”
While the club intend to play the fixture, any slight doubt that we’ll be less competitive will surely see it moved.