John Stones is not a regular starter for Manchester City these days. He has made only seven appearances this season for the Cityzens, most of them as a substitute. However, he has still been able to have a substantial impact on the club’s fortunes.
The two goals he has scored so far have ensured an additional three points for the English champions, thus keeping them in the second position in the Premier League table. Manchester City is only a point adrift of table-toppers Liverpool and is very much in the contention to win its fifth Premier League title in a row.
Stones Winner for City Against Wolves
Stones scored a last-ditch goal to ensure a victory against Wolves last weekend. Prior to that, he had scored an equalizer during injury-time to salvage a draw for the Cityzens against Arsenal. Both goals rescued Manchester City from precarious positions and also ensured that the club was able to maintain its unbeaten record this season.
In fact, the Cityzens are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League now. The resilience to hang on till the last minute would definitely have given Pep Guardiola’s men some much-needed confidence. Moreover, it is also likely to affect the morale of their competitors, who might continue to concede a psychological edge to the champions even before the start of a match.
Thus, Stones has probably contributed quite significantly already for his club despite his inability to start for it for most of the time. Should Manchester City go on to win the league title once again, the 30-year-old English defender’s goals will be remembered fondly.
John Stones Will Struggle to Start
IF Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji remain fit, it should still continue to be considerably difficult for the Cityzens to start with Stones in their defence. There is a possibility of his playing as a holding midfielder or a hybrid right-back, as he has done in the past, at times.
As Rodri is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Stones might have to fill in for him at times. However, with Mateo Kovačić performing reasonably well as a holding midfielder, even playing as a holding midfielder is not certain for the Englishman.
The Cityzens will play against Southampton, AFC Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion in their next three league matches. They will also play against Tottenham Hotspur at EFL Cup and take on the Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League.
With their hands full with matches, Manchester City will need its squad players to rise up to the occasion and play their roles as substitutes really well. A lot of other teams in the league will be eager to get a player like Stones in their side.
It is quite a luxury for Guardiola to have such a player on his bench, especially with the heavy workload that the defending Premier League champions have. It remains to be seen whether Stones can keep adding value to his team in the upcoming matches, too.