This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Manchester City will clash with Liverpool this Sunday at Anfield in what is set to be the biggest game of the season so far. The Reds currently sit six points ahead of the champions and a win could put them nine points clear after just 12 games.
Pep Guardiola is going to need his best men at the ready and, with Liverpool in such relentless form, it will need to be a gargantuan performance to walk away from Merseyside with all three points. However, at left-back, it seems the Spaniard has a bit of a problem.
The injury to Oleksandr Zinchenko has ruled him out for up to a month, forcing him to miss crucial games such as Liverpool and perhaps even the Manchester derby clash. In Zinchenko’s absence, the go-to man would usually be Benjamin Mendy. However, the Frenchman, who is finally injury-free, is struggling this season.
Mendy has often been caught out defensively and has averaged just 0.3 tackles in his three league games so far. Going forward, the 25-year-old has not made a key pass and averaged just 0.7 crosses each league fixture this season.
This has forced in Angelino, who has since taken his opportunity with both hands. The Spaniard made 118 touches against Southampton at the weekend, attempting 18 crosses and making one tackle. In truth, in the two games against the Saints, Angelino has looked a lot more of a threat than Mendy, however, he is not well versed in titanic Premier League clashes.
Up against Mohamed Salah at Anfield, the last thing Guardiola is going to want to do is to field an inexperienced player to nullify his threat.
Salah has 59 goals over the past three Premier League season – more than anybody else in the division. As a result, the Liverpool man will be licking his lips at facing such an inexperienced man in Angelino, but the alternative option in Mendy is also the type of player the Egyptian will feel he can get the better of.
The problem Guardiola faces is a stark contrast to his right-back situation, which is looking competitive and healthy this season.
Kyle Walker’s goal and assist in his game-winning display at the weekend provided a subtle reminder of his ability to the footballing world during a tough time for the full-back. Joao Cancelo, who joined the Citizens in a £27.6m summer deal, has stepped into the side of late and impressed, leaving some fans questioning Walker’s future at club level as well as international following his recent omission from two of Gareth Southgate’s England squads.
But Walker, who signed for £50m in 2017, doesn’t appear to be submitting to the challenge and his performance on Saturday attested to that.
Guardiola’s right-backs provide him with a desirable conundrum to unpick, but the left-back situation provides him with an altogether different dilemma as the champions prepare to face off with the fiercest challengers to their supremacy.