Source: Zesty Man City News, via Twitter
By John O’Leary
On Monday 21st August, Manchester City suffered their first setback of the new Premier League campaign with a draw against Everton.
Manchester United’s record goal scorer Wayne Rooney – now donning a Toffees shirt – opened the scoring in the 35th minute, proving once again to be City’s bane. Then, not long after, Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker was booked and then booked again just two minutes later, resulting in the referee giving the Englishman his marching orders. The Citizens managed to pull it back late in the game when substitute Raheem Sterling snatched a goal in the 82nd minute.
Kyle Walker will now miss City’s next game, which looks to be a tricky encounter. Bournemouth host the title favorites next weekend – the last game before the international break – and the travelers will be without their £50 million signing.
Walker has since apologized for his sending off, also congratulating his team mates for their valiant effort to recover a point from the tie:
Gutted with last night. I apologise to the fans and my teammates. They did amazingly well to get back into the game and get a point #MCFC ?? pic.twitter.com/Z8cG86wMP0
— Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) August 22, 2017
There’s a reason why Manchester City have been the bookies’ favorite to win the Premier League since the end of last season- the funds to build a team that’s deep and stacked with talent. Those assumptions were affirmed over the summer when City splashed out nearly £220 million on new players.
This depth is why the Citizens are still the favorites to win the league despite trailing the leaders, Manchester United, by two points and six goals in the differential column. They’ve also been given almighty odds to defeat Bournemouth next week despite Walker’s absence. They’ll certainly be able to fill his place, which is why using some of the best betting offers available on them to win would still be a good way to go.
But who will replace Kyle Walker at right-back? As it stands, the only other natural right-back or right-wing-back has been used on the left side. Fellow summer signing Danilo appeared to struggle to the left side in the season opener against Brighton & Hove Albion, likely because he’s always played as a right-back or sometimes in defensive midfield. Back in his familiar position, Danilo would be able to provide strong cover for Walker, and may even be able to push for the starting role.
However, if Pep Guardiola goes for a more attacking form of the three-at-the-back formation, he could opt to feature two natural attacking wingers in the two wide roles rather than natural full-backs. So instead of players like Kyle Walker, Danilo, or Benjamin Mendy – also a summer signing who should be back from injury soon – City could start Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva on the wings, or possibly Leroy Sane on the left side again.
This way, the team would look to overwhelm Bournemouth on the attack but would want to possibly play two defensive midfielders instead of just one to compensate for the lack of defense-minded players on the field.
Naturally, Kyle Walker will be a loss as he is a very talented right-back, and can provide both solid defense and attacking flair. However, a title-favorite team like Manchester City have reinforcements raring to move into that spot, so should be able to cope.