Guardiola Has A Few Questions Ahead Of The Derby

This is a guest post from Andrew Moody.

Manchester City will travel the short distance to Old Trafford on Wednesday night to face their local rivals, looking to arrest a slump in result that has seen them winless over the past five games in all competitions.

They will face United with fond memories, both of this particular EFL competition, having lifted the trophy twice in the past three years, and also of the opposition, having been victories at Old Trafford earlier this season after a thrilling performance.

How the manager, Pep Guardiola, would like a repeat of that display. He is by no means under pressure, and any suggestions of that sort are wildly premature, but he could do with a win against United to quieten the stories around the club. Check this out to see how he ranks on the Manager Social Index from 888sport.

After such a sensational start to the campaign, winning his first ten matches in charge, City have stuttered slightly. They were disappointing in drawing away to Celtic in the Champions League, before being a distant second best on the road to Spurs, the club’s only defeat in the Premier League so far. Successive domestic draws with Everton and Southampton, either side of a loss to Barcelona, have meant that for the first time since moving to Manchester, not everything is all rosy for Pep Guardiola.

Players like Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva and John Stones, who are started the campaign in tremendous fashion, have seen their output diminish to varying degrees over the last couple of weeks, whilst Sergio Aguero could do with a goal to bounce back into life. Raheem Sterling remains a threat whenever he is in possession, and Leroy Sane looks to be settling in well and becoming accustomed to life in England, but Guardiola could do with a repeat of what happened earlier this season in the derby.

On that occasion, City were rampant for the first forty minutes, only scoring twice but completely dominating play and operating with the elegance and slickness that characterised Barcelona and Bayern Munich under Guardiola’s stewardship.

The manager may make a few changes to the side on Wednesday as he rests a couple of weary stars and gives opportunities to some fringe players. Willy Caballero is in line to start in goal, while Fernando, Jesus Navas and Nolito will all hope to get the nod. Only time willl tell whether City can turn around their mini-slump at Old Trafford and whether Guardiola can silence his critics, who are just beginning to stir.