Manchester City are trying to gain some lost ground in the Premier League. They have suffered a few dreadful months in Rodri’s absence that saw their title-ambitions wither.
However, the race for the top-four finish is still on and the Cityzens have bolstered their chances of that by beating Aston Villa 2-1 in a Premier League match on Tuesday, April 22. The English champions are now favorites to finish inside the top four teams in Premier League this season.
Pep Guardiola’s men now have 61 points in 34 matches, which is one more than Nottingham Forest’s tally.
However, Forest have a match in hand and might overtake the Cityzens by winning their next match.
Moreover, the likes of Newcastle United and Chelsea are also in the contention to finish inside the top four and thereby ensure UEFA Champions League football next season.
Manchester City Makeshift Pair of Full-Backs Doing a Good Job
The Cityzens have been playing Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly as their right and left full-backs, respectively, in their last few matches.
Ironically, neither of them is a typical full-back. O’Reilly has emerged as the most promising young player in Manchester City’s squad with five goals from 14 matches.
Nunes had some difficulty initially adjusting himself to the role of right-back, being a midfielder. However, as time progressed, his defensive as well as offensive performance improved.
He has four goals and eight assists in 35 matches so far this season, primarily playing as the right-back. Nunes also scored the match-winner against Aston Villa.
Guardiola must be quite happy to see that a couple of his players adjusting themselves in such a good way to new roles.
Guardiola might have regretted his decision to let Joao Cancelo leave. Oleksandr Zinchenko also left the club a couple of seasons back and Kyle Walker’s declining form forced him to leave on loan to AC Milan as well.
As a result, the Cityzens have been short of genuine full-backs for quite some time now, with Josko Gvardiol filling in as the left-back for quite a while.
With John Stones also being injured, the Cityzens found it difficult to field their playing XI with proper personnel. However, the scenario has improved a lot with the performances of Nunes and O’Reilly recently.
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Eyes on Silverware
The Cityzens will take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semifinal next weekend. With his men being out of the reckoning to win the Premier League, the FA Cup will present them with an opportunity to make amends somewhat.
However, Nottingham Forest are not an easy team to play against. Hence, Guardiola must ensure that his men come up with an inspired performance to get past Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.
Both O’Reilly and Nunes will continue to be quite important in the team’s set-up. Their ability to overlap and aid their wingers in their attacks should continue to determine the efficacy as a team.
It remains to be seen whether the Manchester City are able to end the season on a high.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sportimage
Recording Date: 22.04.2025