admin Manchester City will be even stronger if this powerhouse returns to the team, even if it means sacrificing some teammates.
Manchester City have been without their best player for most of the season and are still only two points clear of the leaders.
Pep Guardiola has also had to struggle with injury problems to other key players in his thin squad. At one point, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Jack Grealish were all absent, with two goalkeepers so often available that it was impossible to name a full bench.
Others stepped up and showed their class too, with Jeremy Dok challenging Grealish for Grealish. Matheus Nunez was also a fresh addition to the team that won the treble last season.
However, even if De Bruyne returns, none of the new players will be able to make City’s best team. Erling Haaland is unlikely to be dethroned as the main centre-forward, and 13 of his 52 goals last season were assisted by De Bruyne.
In the Belgian’s absence, Julian Álvarez has performed admirably behind the striker, but with no one able to get past the number 17 shirt, it’s hard to see where else he would fit. He was used on the right wing against Arsenal but didn’t work, and Guardiola is unlikely to use two attacking midfielders.
The ever flexible Bernardo Silva shows little sign of decline in form and reached his peak at the right time towards the end of last season. If he starts on the right, Phil Foden will be placed on the left.
He linked up brilliantly with Alvarez behind Haaland, who cut in from the side, but it seems Guardiola had instructed him to do so. Foden’s preferred position is number 10, but if he can’t get a break there while De Bruyne is out, he won’t get one when the playmaker returns.
But he’s too good to give up and Grealish, who hasn’t hit the right notes so far this season, might give up. England’s star players often do their best after going through difficult times, so this spot will be a focus, but for now he needs to reclaim his left-wing position.
Kovacic seems to have been at City for many years and has complemented Rodri well in the bottom of midfield. The latter is City’s most important player, as De Bruyne is injured and the team lost all three games during his red card suspension.
Current captain Kyle Walker has maintained his right-back position during lockdown, with John Stones and Ruben Dias being first-choice centre-backs. There is more debate at left-back. Nathan Ake and Manu Akanji do a great job in this role, but Josko Gvardiol is the preferred choice and seems to be the most effective overall.
While the summer signing showed he was more dangerous than Ake and Akanji moving forward, he could also adapt in the opposite direction as a full-back. Ederson may give Guardiola a heartbreaking moment, but his position is
