DOKU AT RISK? WHY ANTOINE SEMENYO IS PEP GUARDIOLA’S NEW FAVORITE LEFT WINGER
Antoine Semenyo is pushing for a start! After a 10-1 debut win, will Pep Guardiola pick him over Jeremy Doku against Newcastle?
Honestly, I can’t see Pep Guardiola leaving Antoine Semenyo out of Manchester City’s lineup for Tuesday’s EFL Cup semi-final against Newcastle. Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany pretty much said the same thing to Sports Mole—Pep’s going to find it way too tempting after what Semenyo did last weekend.
Semenyo just arrived from Bournemouth for £64 million, and the guy barely had time to unpack before he tore up Exeter City in the FA Cup. He scored, set up another, and grabbed man of the match on his debut. Not a bad way to introduce yourself at the Etihad.
Now, after that 10-1 thrashing, Semenyo’s in the mix to keep his spot when City heads to St. James’ Park to take on the cup holders. McInerney thinks Semenyo will start on the left. And honestly, he figures Jeremy Doku should be a little worried about his place.
“I think Semenyo starts,” McInerney said. “People expect him on the right and Doku to come in, but I actually think Doku’s more at risk than anyone realises. To me, there’s a real possibility that in a couple of months, the starting wingers will be Semenyo and Cherki.”
He broke it down further: Doku’s a top creator; nobody doubts that. He’s electric with the ball, especially in the Premier League. But McInerney rates Cherki even higher as a pure creator—he’s got a different style, but he thinks Cherki has more genius and puts up more chances. Plus, Cherki scores more than Doku, even though he doesn’t always play out wide.
And then there’s Semenyo. As a goalscorer, he’s ahead of both. If you want one creator and one finisher, McInerney would go for Cherki and Semenyo. He says there’s a precision and simplicity to Semenyo’s game that could really appeal to Guardiola, especially on the left.
But he’s not ruling out Doku and Semenyo both starting on the wings, with Foden slotting in behind Haaland and Cherki dropping to the bench. It’s not obvious who Pep will pick. McInerney keeps coming back to the idea that Doku isn’t as safe as people think.
“He needs to be more direct,” McInerney said about Doku. “He’s brilliant, but sometimes he does a lot to achieve a little. It’s not a knock—his style is busy and effective. But he’s not a high-volume goals or assists guy. He creates a lot of half-chances and carries the ball brilliantly. But Semenyo does that too, and he scores far more. Honestly, I don’t think Doku’s spot is safe. I’d say Semenyo starts.”
That said, McInerney wouldn’t be shocked if both Semenyo and Doku get the nod against Newcastle, with Foden in the middle and Cherki sitting out. “I can see Cherki missing out, especially since it’s Newcastle,” he said. “Cherki’s been brilliant, but lately he’s looked a bit sloppy, and I reckon Guardiola might want to rest him, play Foden at 10, and start Semenyo on the right and Doku on the left.”
Looking ahead to the game itself, McInerney expects fireworks. “Neither side is going to keep it tight, let’s be honest. The city’s defence is shaky right now. Alleyne and Khusanov have done well, but this is Newcastle at St. James’ Park in a semi-final. There’s no way this ends 0-0. I’d take a goalless draw, but I just can’t see it. Honestly, it could turn into a classic—loads of goals, pure entertainment. I just hope City doesn’t lose. If they avoid defeat, that’s a decent result, especially with tired players and a patched-up backline.”
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED
The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.
Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.
City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.
There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.
According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.
They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.
The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.
City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.
Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.
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