Pep Guardiola must include John Stones in his starting XI for Manchester City’s Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Having lost their two previous Premier League matches against Wolves and Arsenal prior to the recent international break, the treble winners are back in action this afternoon as Robert De Zerbi’s side travel to the Etihad Stadium for their latest domestic clash.
Looking ahead to the match, one figure that we feel should be in Guardiola’s starting XI on this occasion is Stones, who the Spaniard has hailed as being “extraordinary” in the past.
Guardiola must start Stones against Brighton
Having been injured for the first couple of months of the season after completing 90 minutes in the Community Shield, the Englishman made his first league appearance of the campaign in City’s 1-0 defeat against Arsenal earlier this month where he played 22 minutes off the bench.
Since then, the 29-year-old played 28 minutes of England’s 1-0 friendly win over Australia, followed by starting and completing 68 minutes of the recent 3-1 win over Italy, which confirmed England’s place in Euro 2024.
With the defender now having a significant amount of minutes and game time under his belt, this could put him in a good place to potentially complete a full 90 minutes this afternoon for Pep Guardiola’s side against Brighton.
Looking back to last season, Stones ended up playing a big role for City in a midfield position as they won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
In fact, the Champions League final saw the England international show how capable he is on and off the ball in that position as not only did he successfully complete all seven dribbles he attempted, but he was also able to win nine of the 12 ground duels he was involved in on the night.
With all of that in mind, and the fact that Brighton have scored more goals (21) than any other side in the league, this makes us feel that Stones’ defensive capabilities and versatility could be vital for City in today’s game.
