Manchester City return to action this weekend when they host Liverpool at the Etihad in a clash between the Premier League's top two.
12.11.2023 - 15:47 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has questioned how Pep Guardiola will manage to find room for both Julian Alvarez and Kevin De Bruyne in his starting XI when the latter returns from injury.
De Bruyne has not featured for City since the opening weekend when he picked up a severe hamstring injury. The Belgian attacking midfielder was described as a 'big loss' by his boss but in his absence Alvarez has stepped up to the plate.
The Argentine has bagged seven goals and five assists for the Blues this season and is continuing to flourish in Manchester. But Richards fears there could be a selection issue on the horizon, especially with De Bruyne now on the mend.
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Speaking on Sky Sports' Super Sunday, the 35-year-old said: "Well we talked about the World Cup - when you win the World Cup, you become more important in the team. A player like Kevin de Bruyne gets injured, and I thought it’d be someone like [Phil] Foden who steps up and takes his place but it’s actually been Alvarez.
"He’s able to adapt, and the relationship between him and [Erling] Haaland is always going to be there because he has a manager who is insistent on playing them both, whether he’s on the right, left, through the middle. He’s always in the team, his quality is always there to see.
"That’s the difficult thing because De Bruyne usually likes to play as a ten and we’ve talked about him when he’s on the right, whipping in the balls, and it’ll be about who you lose - is it Foden, is it Bernardo Silva if he drops further back? You can’t really take him [Alvarez] out the team but De Bruyne can fit in anyway in this team."
The football season is now upon
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