Who should start on the left wing against Manchester United in Jack Grealish's absence?
- William Russell
- Mar 1, 2024
- 8 min read
It has been a frustrating season so far for Jack Grealish.
The 28 year old, who was signed from boyhood club Aston Villa for £100 million in 2021 as Manchester City's record signing, has been in and out of the side this season for a number of reasons.
Whether it be his own poor form, the electric early season form of new signing Jeremy Doku, or continuous niggling illnesses and injuries, Grealish hasn't been able to build up the same sort of momentum he did in second half of City's 2022/23 treble winning season.
His latest injury - picked up just before halftime in City's 6-2 FA Cup drubbing of Luton Town - will leave him concerned for his place in England's Euro 2024 squad, as he faces competition from Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford, James Maddison, Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling for places in wide areas.
But right now, the biggest question is how City are going to cope without him in their upcoming fixture against Manchester United on Sunday.
Grealish provides something not many others can provide in that position: control. His ability to draw players in before playing the simple pass, as well as winning fouls and carrying the ball up the pitch, allows City to dominate games.
Both statistically and with the eye test, City play more controlled, efficient and fluid football with the likes of him, Bernardo Silva, John Stones and Mateo Kovacic on the pitch providing control.
This allows either two or three of Foden, Doku, Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and to be more creative further up the field, and take risks with the ball to create chances.
Without Grealish balancing things out, City have struggled in big games this season. Just recently, without Stones, Kovacic, Grealish or Bernardo in the starting lineup against Chelsea, they looked wide open to the counter attack, and ended up drawing 1-1 thanks only to a late Rodri equaliser.
Another factor of the Chelsea game was that all five of Foden, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Doku and Haaland started, leaving Rodri with a lot of work to do in midfield to control the game by himself.
City looked fairly stodgy at times against Mauricio Pochettino's side, as they gave the ball away numerous times unnecessarily.
However, it is worth noting that City somewhat improved when Bernardo came on to replace Alvarez, with a much more coherent flow to their performance with the Portuguese midfielder on the pitch.
Against United this weekend, it is crucial that City get that balance just right. It's better to give freedom to just Foden and De Bruyne off Haaland rather than introduce Alvarez and Doku to the side as well and have too many cooks spoiling the broth.
But, then again, if United try to come at City but do so ineffectively and look vulnerable in transitions, it may be seen as a missed opportunity for manager Pep Guardiola to not be starting his most lethal attacking weapons.
For the match at the weekend, it'd appear that City have four realistic potential starting options. I will analyse the pros and cons of each one, and ultimately decide which one should start at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Option 1 - Jeremy Doku
Whilst this would've been the obvious answer a few months ago, it isn't quite so clear cut now.
Doku started his Manchester City career like a house on fire, with excellent performances against West Ham United, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and particularly Bournemouth, a game in which he contributed a goal and four assists in a 6-1 victory.
Since his injury on December 3rd against Tottenham, which kept him out for approximately a month, he has struggled for form. He has recorded just the one goal, and that was in his first game back against Huddersfield, and hasn't looked quite as sharp in terms of taking players on in one vs one duels.
Part of the reason for City's struggles against Chelsea were because of Doku not doing a proper job of tracking Malo Gusto down Chelsea's right hand side, which led to numerous two vs one overloads involving Gusto and Palmer against Nathan Ake.
His explosiveness and willingness to take on players is all very well, but it isn't required when De Bruyne and Foden are on the pitch due to their creative prowess, and may run the risk of unbalancing the team.
If he performs at his best, Doku is comfortably the best option to start on the left hand side. But he's been off his best for a while now, and his involvement from the off runs the risk of creating a game that is too out of City's control for Guardiola's liking.
Option 2 - Phil Foden
By far the most likely option to start on the left hand side, it'd make the most sense to just shift Foden out the other flank to keep things as normal as possible.
With Foden on the left, it'd mean Bernardo would likely operate from the right hand side. This would allow De Bruyne and Rodri to be joined in midfield by Kovacic (or, if he wants a more attacking presence, Alvarez.)
It'd be the best way of making things operate with both balance and not forcing any square pegs into round holes by forcing players to play in positions they're not fully comfortable in.
It is exceptionally unlikely that Foden won't start the derby, but if De Bruyne is fit, the prospect of him starting centrally as a left sided 8 alongside the Belgian is more or less ruled out.
If, as expected, Guardiola chooses to operate with a more balanced approach, involving Bernardo wide on the right hand side and a more conservative midfielder centrally, it'd appear the only other option for Foden would be in a starting position on the left wing.
The only con would be having Foden shackled out on the left limits his creative freedom. He has played his best football this season in central positions, either as an out and out central midfielder or as a false winger (a winger granted freedom to drift into central positions.)
With Foden on the left, it's difficult to see a way in which he would be allowed to drift central. When operating on the right, Foden often comes inside which allows Kyle Walker to take up that position wide on the right hand side from right back.
This can't be reflected on the left flank, with regular left back Ake much better suited to sitting deep, and not maintaining either the pace or attacking threat of Walker to replicate the Englishman's work.
But knowing Guardiola, he'll find a way. Against Luton, City played a fairly relatively fluid system, with Matheus Nunes on one side and Doku (and to a lesser extent Grealish) on the other side drifting into central positions to receive the ball, with another midfielder defender supporting them on the overlap.
If City are able to make this system work again, even if just on one flank, it'd make Foden the best option to start on the left hand side in this weekend's Manchester derby.
Option 3 - Oscar Bobb
A wildcard option, considering the 20 year old has started just the one Premier League match, but it's not out of the question that Guardiola starts Oscar Bobb on the left hand side against United this weekend.
Other than Grealish and Bernardo, Bobb is the winger in the squad who is best at controlling the game. Having graduated from City's academy, he knows exactly what is expected of a typical Guardiola winger, and has elements of this in his game.
His ability to put his foot on the ball and slow things down, as well as the technical ability to beat a man or find an incisive pass, makes him a future star in the making, and City will be delighted to have tied his services down until 2029.
Bobb played well against Brentford, and was unlucky not to score, having an effort blocked on the line by Ben Mee and after superb composure in the penalty area.
He did make an impact on the scoresheet with a late winner at St James' Park with a wonderful control and finish, and he made a difference off the bench against Sheffield United too by feeding Foden with an eye of the needle pass for City's second goal.
I don't think we'd see any deterioration in City's performance if Bobb were to start on the left, nor do I think that'd be the case if Rico Lewis were to start, either in central midfield or at right back.
However, I feel like with both players, they would become a target for the opposition due to their inexperience and the fact they haven't fully developed physicality yet, and particularly in a derby, where physicality and aggression are more prominent, it might be best to leave these two out.
Of course, if City are a few goals ahead towards the game, Bobb would be a perfect substitute to bring off the bench to help provide more control in the wide areas. But from the start of the game, it'd be wiser to use a more experienced player that's going to be less of a target for rough treatment.
Option 4 - Matheus Nunes
An alternative solution would be for Nunes to take up a position in a wide role, just like he did to reasonable success against Bournemouth and Luton.
Nunes looked bright when carrying the ball forward in wide areas, and is perhaps the most similar player stylistically to Grealish in terms of the control he can provide to the side.
He is also versatile, meaning he can be shifted either centrally or to the other flank in game if things aren't working out as they are.
It'd be a risk, however, as Nunes has proven himself to be inconsistent in his time at City so far. If he has an off day, there will be no hiding, as the players from both sides will be playing at the best of their abilities, which should make for a high intensity game.
Nunes does excel in games where he's provided extra space, and the derby will probably see more of that than usual as United aim to take the game to City more than most teams.
It wouldn't be ideal for Nunes to start this game, but in terms of finding a player to fill in for Grealish, Nunes is probably the most similar profile to the former Villa captain in the City squad and will allow the Blues to play the game most similar to the one they'd ideally play if Grealish was fit.
Conclusion
Overall, out of all of the possible options, I'd prefer to see Foden start as the left winger for the derby on Sunday.
This, for me, gives the best balance to the side in terms of creativity and control. A midfield of Rodri and Kovacic would give De Bruyne full freedom to roam, and if Bernardo offers control from one wing, Foden can offer a little more directness from the other.
Stones can push up to support Rodri and Kovacic in the middle, which would grant even more freedom to Foden and De Bruyne playing off Haaland up front.
Playing Bobb on the left, Foden on the right (or vice versa) and Bernardo central would also work, and would perhaps be more similar to what City have been operating with before in big games.
Playing Doku on the left would also be familiar, but not ideal given the poor track record of team performances in big games whilst he's been playing (draws against Liverpool, Spurs, Newcastle (until he was substituted and City grabbed a winner) and Chelsea twice when he's started.)
Neither would it be ideal to start Nunes, due to it being a delve somewhat into the unknown as he has never started a big game for City before.
But whoever Guardiola starts out on the left, City will head into the game as strong favourites, and will look to show the gulf in quality between themselves and United with a dominant victory.
Options Ranked for the Derby:
Foden
Bobb
Nunes
Doku
Preferred lineup:
Ederson; Akanji, Stones, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden; Haaland
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