Pep must drop Gündoğan and unleash “incredible” Man City star instead

Manchester City first visited Goodison Park on 28 April 1900, beaten 4-0 that day, and Saturday’s visit will be the Sky Blues’ 101st and final outing at the stadium.

Supporters of a sky-blue persuasion will be sad to see the stadium close, considering Man City have won each of their last eight visits there, despite winning only one of the first 21.

Come three o’clock, there will be no room for sentiment, given that Pep Guardiola’s team need the points in their quest for Champions League qualification, currently fifth, but with both Chelsea and Aston Villa breathing down their necks.

If Guardiola is going to lead his team to victory on Merseyside, we believe he should unleash his “incredible” star at number ten.

İlkay Gündoğan’s difficult Manchester City return

Last summer, after just one season at Barcelona, İlkay Gündoğan rejoined Manchester City on a free transfer.

This was widely considered to be a shrewd piece of business, with former Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder Andy Townsend labelling this a “smart” move.

Meantime, Elias Burke and Anantaajith Raghuraman of the Athletic described the German international as one of Guardiola’s ‘most reliable servants’, forecasting he would continue to be ‘influential’ and that the signing was a complete ‘no-brainer’.

However, things have not transpired this way, with Guardiola himself describing Gündoğan’s performance against Newcastle in September as “one of the worst” he has seen from him.

Meanwhile, speaking during Sky Sports’ coverage, Jamie Redknapp slammed the German for not doing the basics during Man City’s 4-0 mauling at the hands of Spurs, stating “I think Gündoğan has really struggled… to deal with the intensity of this match.”

So, let’s assess how Gündoğan’s statistics compare this season to his most recent campaign at the club, prior to his move to Barça.

As the table outlines, Gündoğan’s statistics this season are almost comprehensively down across the board, with pass completion percentage and touches per 90 the only two that have increased.

So, after starting the last five matches, we believe Guardiola should leave the German on the bench at Goodison and start a more creative attacking force in his place.

A Man City star is looking to rediscover his best form

Earlier this month, Jack Grealish ended his 473-day wait for a Premier League goal, on target during Manchester City’s routine 2-0 home win over Leicester.

That night, the England international was deployed in a more central number ten role, with Guardiola describing his performance as “incredible”, adding “this is a guy who used to play free, between the lines, he’s got the ability to control the ball and play an extra pass”.

Meantime, as outlined by Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, Grealish performed much better in a central number ten role during that game, having been handed a first start in the Premier League since just before Christmas.

Last weekend against Crystal Palace, Guardiola deployed a rather stodgy midfield trio of Nico González, Mateo Kovačić and the aforementioned Gündoğan.

This Saturday, against David Moyes’ Everton, who will defend deep in a low block, Man City will require an extra spark of attacking creativity, and Grealish could be the man to provide exactly this.

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