Manchester City welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon off the back of a win over Tottenham Hotspur, but the Sky Blues have only kept one Premier League clean sheet in their last seven games.
Pep Guardiola hasn’t had a settled backline all season and Adam Booker of City Report believes Ruben Dias needs to return to the starting lineup. He said in Friday’s podcast: “The back four of Rico Lewis, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake is lacking a voice.
“I’d love to see City get back to the Stones/(Ruben) Dias partnership, as Stones is a phenomenal defender, but the great centre-backs (have) the ability to command a backline. And in the bad moments (they) lift everybody up.”
Dias has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring one goal. The 25-year-old has played in just one Premier League game since early-November due to a hamstring injury, so he’ll be lacking match fitness. Dias was a regular at centre-back until November, but he’s now fighting for his place.
The Portuguese international had a late cameo against Tottenham but hadn’t made the matchday squad for weeks while recovering, so he’s bound to be rusty if called upon. Guardiola might not throw him into the deep end just yet.
No City defender makes more interceptions than Dias (0.9 per game on average) while only Aymeric Laporte (2.5) has made more clearances (1.9), so the 25-year-old is no slouch when fit. He’s yet to be dribbled past by anyone too but might have to wait a bit longer for a league start.
In other news, what happened to Josh Wilson-Esbrand after impressing in pre-season
For more Manchester City news and opinion, please follow our Vital Football page on Facebook – Vital Man City. Click the link and get involved!
Can you name these Man City players from the 2000s? Test your knowledge, take the quiz and challenge your friends and family to beat your score