City their own enemy
THE one thing people would not have expected of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, who takes his side to Crystal Palace in the Premier League today, is inconsistency.
Yet they veered between inspired and insipid in the lead-up to the international break, following up a superb 3-1 Champions League victory over Barcelona by failing to beat Middlesbrough four days later.
The 1-1 draw with Boro saw City slip to third in the table, after just one win in five matches, and they will be expected to do better against a desperately out-of-form Palace team.
“They are very strong and have very good wingers, so they will believe they can win this game,” said City striker Kelechi Iheanacho of the threat posed by Palace.
“We have to be careful, respect them and expect this to be a very difficult match.
“Crystal Palace will always be a special game for me because I scored my first goal against them and if I play on Saturday, I hope to score another against them.”
Guardiola’s team have developed a worrying habit of failing to make dominance count in games and of being unable to keep clean sheets, managing just two in 11 Premier League matches this season.
Beating Barcelona shows what they are capable of, but they are Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (left) and Kelechi Iheanacho will be chasing a win against Crystal Palace today. struggling to produce that form often enough.
The good news for Guardiola is that his international players have returned from World Cup qualifying duty in good health.
There was a concern over goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, forced off with a minor knock while playing for Chile against Colombia, but he recovered for Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Uruguay, saving a penalty from Luis Suarez.
Striker Sergio Aguero perhaps has a point to prove, having been dropped to the bench for Argentina’s two qualifiers against Brazil and Colombia.
He has moved into sixth place on City’s all-time list of goalscorers this season, scoring his 150th for the club against Boro, but his form has wavered in recent weeks.
Aguero’s international teammate Pablo Zabaleta will also be available, but faces competition for the rightback slot from Bacary Sagna, who has recovered from a muscle problem.
Midfielder Fernandinho has returned to Manchester in good spirits after captaining Brazil for the first time as they closed on a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia with wins over Argentina and Peru. AFP
CONCERN: Guardiola must tackle team’s inconsistency in Palace clash