Alan Pardew has now said that he thinks Pep Guardiola will definitely start Jack Grealish in Saturday’s Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool.
The 62-year-old discussed the 28-year-old when speaking on talkSPORT.
So, what did Alan Pardew say about Jack Grealish? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, the man from Wimbledon believes Guardiola will definitely start the England international on the left wing against Liverpool – ahead of Jeremy Doku.
Pardew said: “Well, I have studied a lot of the top teams and when you are trying to come up with a game plan to beat them, but when they come up against each other it’s a different prospect.
“It really is about who is controlling the game and I think this is where you talked previously about who is going to play on the left. I think for certain Grealish will play, because I think Pep will want control of the game. He won’t want Liverpool having that 40% mark (in possession).
“He will want them low in possession, he will want to dominate the ball, and of course the counter attack where Liverpool have such a massive threat will be Pep’s real work this week, on how to make sure the door is shut, but I do expect Grealish to play for Man City, and I think Man City are favourites.”
Grealish – who Joe Cole thinks must score more goals – has made 13 appearances so far this season, providing two assists.
Jack Grealish brings control to Manchester City
Pausa is the word Pardew is looking for here.
Guardiola has often used that term – which effectively means to pause on the ball and focus on retaining possession – to describe what Grealish brings to the side, most recently after the Manchester derby.
The Manchester Evening News quote the Spaniard as saying: “Jack is back. The way he played at Old Trafford to give us more composure and more pausa in that position was decisive for us.”
Doku – contrastingly – offers a more chaotic option, in which the ball is put at risk more often, in exchange for blistering dribbles down the flank.
Against Liverpool – however – Guardiola will not want to put the ball at risk in fear of being counter attacked, as Pardew mentioned, so we would also be very shocked if Grealish doesn’t get the nod on Saturday.
