Pep Guardiola gives Regis Le Bris worst news possible ahead of Man City showdown
Pep Guardiola has shared a Manchester City team news update that will send a shiver down the spine of Sunderland’s players.
Sunderland take on Man City in an 8pm kick-off on Thursday night, with Pep Guardiola confirming that he’ll be getting some key players back for the game.
Regis Le Bris’ side drew 1-1 with Leeds United last time out, and despite being unbeaten in their last three, have now failed to pick up three points since their 14 December Wear-Tees derby win over Newcastle.
Danny Murphy was still full of praise for Sunderland despite being held against Leeds, and the Black Cats will have to be at their best if they are to register a famous Wearside win over the Citizens.
Pep Guardiola to bring big guns to Sunderland fight
Despite having the advantage of a home crowd behind them, Sunderland are heavy underdogs against Man City.
A 3-0 win for City at the Etihad in the reverse fixture on 6 December will still be fresh in Sunderland‘s mind, and that was a match won without the help of 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.
However, that might not be the case this time around, as speaking in his pre-Sunderland press conference via Man City’s club website, Guardiola confirmed that Rodri along with Doku could see action at the Stadium of Light.
“Rodri has come back. Maybe he can play a few minutes. We need it desperately,” the City boss said.
“Doku maybe. John [Stones] and Oscar [Bobb], no.”
Rodri was able to make the matchday squad for the first time since 2 November in Man City’s away win at Nottingham Forest on 27 December, whilst brilliant winger Doku hasn’t featured since the 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on 10 December.
The area Sunderland can damage Man City
There isn’t many tougher Premier League tests than playing against Guardiola’s City side, and they gave Sunderland a tough ‘welcome back to the top flight’ lesson last time out.
However, they have lost four times this season, and so they’re not invincible by any means, and they’ll equally face a difficult challenge of their own against a confident Black Cats team backed by an amped up home crowd.
So, where are City’s weak spots? As per WhoScored, Guardiola’s side deliver just 15 crosses per game, which is the second-fewest in the league, so forcing them into wide areas and staying narrow and compact in defence may be Sunderland’s best bet at nullifying their myriad of attacking threats.
- Sunderland are unbeaten at home in the league this season
- They’ve taken 19 of their 28 points at the Stadium of Light
- Man City have lost three times on the road this season, with 16 of their 40 points from away games
On the flip side, City are also allowing just 15 opposition crosses per game, which again is the second-lowest in the division, so equally getting the ball to the likes of Adingra and testing their ability to stop deliveries into the box could be Sunderland’s best avenue to goal.
Meanwhile, Man City have the lowest shots outside the box percentage in the league this season with 26 per cent, so once again, if Sunderland can stay narrow and keep Guardiola’s men from routinely getting inside their 18-yard box, then they could force City into an offensive game that they don’t want to play, and that would be fertile ground for frustration to grow.
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