Manchester City are already back in match action tonight, with Watford the opponents in the Carabao Cup third round – and it’s a big night for one of City’s best young talents.
People are still picking the bones out of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, which finished 2-2.
Manchester City rescued a point at the death thanks to John Stones, after Arsenal spent the whole of the second-half defending a 2-1 lead with 10 men.
City plugged away but struggled against a resolute Gunners side.
But the pressure told and in the end, a draw was probably a fair result.
Undoubtedly the biggest negative for City of the draw with Arsenal was the loss of Rodri to injury. It was reported yesterday that the Spaniard could be set to miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear, which left fans gutted.
People have already been talking about how Pep Guardiola will cover his absence – and one player who could be an outside bet is Nico O’Reilly.
Nico O’Reilly must make most of any chance for Man City against Watford
Nico O’Reilly was one of the biggest success stories of the summer for City.
Pep had a lot of his first-teamer players away and unavailable due to involvement at major tournaments, so there were plenty of chances for the youngsters.
One man who featured prominently was O’Reilly, who did so well that Pep made him a first-team option for 2024/25.
O’Reilly has not yet featured for City in a competitive game this term, but he should be in line for minutes against Watford tonight.
The game has now taken on extra significance for him because of what’s happened to Rodri.
The likelihood is that other, more experienced options are being considered right now by Pep. Players like Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and John Stones.
But O’Reilly impressed the manager in pre-season – during which Shaun Wright-Phillips branded him ‘phenomenal’ – and also against Manchester United in the Community Shield and is clearly a promising young talent.
Quite possibly, he could put himself in the frame to replace Rodri with a really strong performance against Watford tonight.
Perhaps not as the regular, but he could certainly tempt Pep to play him more often.
Rodri is irreplaceable
If there was one player City could really not afford to lose to a long-term injury, it was Rodri.
That has now come to pass, and fans are understandably now very nervous. He has been so integral for City over the last few years, and we saw last season what can happen when he is out of the team.
Pep will be racking his brains over how best to cover his absence.
The likelihood is that it will be Mateo Kovacic. But he could potentially be supported by Ilkay Gundogan or maybe even Rico Lewis.
But O’Reilly played a bit with Kovacic in pre-season and he certainly showed his promise. It would be fantastic to see him play tonight against Watford and hopefully, he can shine at the Etihad.
