Manchester City are taking on Red Star Belgrade in their final Champions League group stage match tonight – and it’s potentially a big night for Sergio Gomez.
The Citizens have already secured their progression to the knockout stages as group winners, so tonight Pep Guardiola will have the chance to experiment.
He is expected to ring the changes to give some fringe players an opportunity.
An important game with Crystal Palace lies ahead at the weekend, and so, it is in the Spaniard’s interests to rotate tonight.
One man we could be seeing for only the seventh time this season is Sergio Gomez – and it’s important for him to shine tonight…
Sergio Gomez must take rare opportunity against Red Star
Gomez has been one of the least-used players in the Manchester City squad this season.
He did pick up an injury earlier in the season, but it only kept him sidelined for a couple of weeks.
The £11 million signing from Anderlecht has once again struggled for minutes this term. So far, he has only made six appearances across all competitions for the club, playing just 162 minutes.
For perspective, he has featured even less than Kalvin Phillips, who’s made eight appearances for a total of 215 minutes.
Gomez – who was a player Pat Nevin suggested earlier this season was struggling under Pep – is a victim of the current Manchester City formation.
This year, Pep Guardiola has found real success using central defenders on the left side. Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and most recently Josko Gvardiol have all featured on the left on a back three at points, and Pep rarely goes with a traditional back four.
That means opportunities are limited for Gomez.
Gomez can also play as a winger, which is what we may see tonight against Red Star. But Jeremy Doku, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden are all ahead of him in the pecking order.
He will surely be handed a chance tonight with nothing on the line for City – and Gomez has got to try and put in a statement performance if he is to see an increase in his minutes at the Etihad Stadium.
If he fails to really make an impact here, then further questions will be asked about his suitability for City.
