All is looking rosy for Pep in derby bid
THE only negative to City’s comfortable win over Fulham was that they didn’t score more goals.
Pep Guardiola once again rotated his pack, recalling his big hitters Kevin de Bruyne, Benjamin Mendy, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. The game was effectively won as soon as De Bruyne strode through the centre five minutes in and fed Raheem Sterling for the England international to confidently put the Blues in front.
Sterling returned the favour 20 minutes later, winning a penalty for De Bruyne to convert, and but for some good saves and some mixed finishing, City would have added more goals to their tally.
Ultimately, though, Guardiola won’t be too concerned with scoring just twice, however useful it might have been to boost the goal difference.
The main positive to come out of the game was the fact another 90 minutes passed without a new name being added to the injury list.
Once again, Guardiola was reluctant to make changes to his side, further undermining his calls for more substitutions to be available. This time, he didn’t make a single change, and it appears he is more interested in giving those on the bench in the last two fixtures the full 90 minutes off, which itself carries some benefits.
With an almost-fit squad, Guardiola finally has the resources to do that.
With a free hit in
Marseille on Wednesday, he can ensure most of his intended starting XI for the trip to United on Saturday will have the week off, and some might have had longer.
The derby is crucial for both sides’ hopes of achieving their end-ofseason ambitions, and City have managed their recent fixtures perfectly to ensure they will be much-more prepared for the showdown at Old Trafford.
Guardiola’s men will have fresher legs than United, who have to go fullstrength in their own Champions League fixture to try and qualify for the last-16. The Reds also have the added time of travelling to RB Leipzig to disrupt their derby preparations, whereas City are at home.
Of course, Guardiola’s rotation offers some dilemmas, too.
Will John Stones start in defence after three good performances, or will Aymeric Laporte return after sitting out the last four games? Joao Cancelo did well at right-back in the absence of Kyle Walker so could be in contention to start, while Guardiola must decide whether a good performance against Marseille will be enough to take the place of a rested player.
But they are all good dilemmas to have, and City could also have Sergio Aguero available in some capacity. They are in a far better situation than the last few games they had against a ‘big six’ rivals.
So any disappointment of ‘only’ beating Fulham 2-0 will quickly disappear.