Man City take on Crystal Palace on Saturday in yet another crucial game for Pep Guardiola’s side in the race for Champions League football.
A Champions League finish and a possible FA Cup win would leave a bit of silver lining on what’s been a rather abysmal 2024/25 season for Manchester City.
But they’ve had some good news going into their upcoming Premier League clash against Crystal Palace after learning that the top five Premier League clubs will qualify for the Champions League next season.
Pep Guardiola has former ally Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal side to thank after their 3-0 win over Real Madrid triggered a ‘European Performance Spot’ which allows for a fifth Premier League team to feature in the Champions League in 2025/26.
But even still, Man City sit in 6th place of the table right now, following their 0-0 draw against Man United last weekend.
And they next take on a Crystal Palace side in buoyant form under manager Oliver Glasner who’ve lost just one of their last 10 in all competitions, winning six of their last seven after a 2-1 win over Brighton last time out.
Pep Guardiola must axe Matheus Nunes from his Man City XI vs Crystal Palace
Palace have no end of attacking threat including the likes of Man City transfer target Eberechi Eze and striker Jean-Philippe Mateta to name a couple. City’s defence will have to be watertight on Saturday to take anything from the game at the Etihad and so that might mean dropping Matheus Nunes.
The 2023, £53million signing from Wolves has struggled this season, featuring 21 times in the Premier League with four assists and no goals. The 26-year-old was originally signed as a midfielder although Pep has played him at right-back, and much to the debate of fans and pundits too.
Out of form, Nunes may also now be lacking confidence after Pep said Nunes wasn’t clever enough to play in midfield for Man City, in comments that sparked a reaction from several including Danny Murphy.
Danny Murphy says Matheus Nunes is out of his depth at Man City
Speaking in the wake of Pep’s Nunes comments, talkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy said Nunes is out of his depth at Man City, saying: “You need to do a lot of things well to play in City’s midfield. You need to see a lot of pictures and have a real understanding of the game which he’s [Pep’s] probably right, he’s probably not got.
“I don’t think he’s a right-back, to be honest with you; not a great crosser, not a brilliant passer… I think it’s probably a level too far for him. He probably needs to drop down and be a big fish in a smaller pond.”
In his place, Pep should opt for Rico Lewis. Man City fans have high hopes for the 20-year-old but Pep has shunned him for Nunes in recent weeks, with Lewis having not started a game for Man City in almost a month.
Guardiola needs to start prepping his next, new-gen Man City team for next season and Lewis looks set to be a part of that, whilst Nunes could even leave Man City, so starting Lewis on Saturday and for the remainder of the season seems like a sensible thing for Pep to do.
