- Richards reveals he would rather play against Doku as Grealish is left out of the squad
- The English winger is out of the selection due to illness and Doku intervenes
- City-Liverpool is difficult to referee… but our campaign is running – IAKO
Former Manchester City star Micah Richards has admitted he would ‘rather play against Jeremy Doku than Jack Grealish’ ahead of Liverpool’s visit to the Etihad.
Treble winners Man City host rivals Liverpool at the Etihad, with both sides separated by one point in the Premier League.
Before the match, Richards revealed that Jeremy Doku would be his favorite winger to play against, due to the unpredictable play of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
“Grealish takes you places you don’t want to go,” he added.
Jeremy Doku has been selected in Man City’s starting line-up against Liverpool
Boss Pep Guardiola revealed that a number of players have felt unwell in the build-up
Grealish is out of the selection due to illness, with a number of players not feeling well, according to Pep
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“You know what Doku’s going to do… if you catch him with enough time, you might be able to stop him,” he further explained.
“I prefer to play against Doku,” the former defender revealed on Sky Sports.
Gary Neville joined the conversation and discussed who Trent Alexander-Arnold would like to play against: ‘There’s an element to saying the more predictable winger and that’s Grealish.
‘Doku, you have no idea what he’s going to do. But what I would do is throw the ball the other way and ask who wants Erling Haaland on the ball in wide areas, who has the most accuracy, how can he read when he is going to cross the ball.
‘Doku is a bag of tricks, but he is less accurate in passing. I think Pep Guardiola would have gone for Grealish today because of the calmness, composure and delivery into the box, but you can’t deny that Doku would be a nightmare to play against.
Jamie Carragher added: ‘If you look at the profile of Liverpool’s defenders, Konate is the perfect choice when Trent is in midfield and needs to drive out and get into a 1-on-1 situation.
“You know what Doku’s going to do… if you catch him with enough time, you might be able to stop him,” Richards explained
Doku has recorded five assists and scored twice for Man City in nine games this season
“There is no doubt that Konate would be better than Matip in these roles. If Trent becomes isolated from Doku in those roles, there will be big problems. But Szoboszlai’s running power is very strong and he has the motor to get there. Matip can cross, they will have to.
Jack Grealish has been ruled out of Man City’s squad for the match against Liverpool due to illness. Boss Pep Guardiola revealed he wasn’t the only one sick in the build-up to the match.
“A few unwell, vomiting and so on,” Guardiola added.
As a result, City have named just eight substitutes instead of nine, with two goalkeepers: Stefan Ortega and Scott Carson on the bench.
Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez are among the hosts’ starting eleven.