So Pep Guardiola wasn’t bluffing.
“We are in an emergency in the squad. We have few, few, few people,” the Manchester City manager told his pre-match news conference ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Aston Villa.
Now, and this is observation is presented with affection, Pep does have previous in maybe exaggeration from time to time.
But just look at that. Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and Kyle Walker all not travelling to Villa Park, with Aymeric Laporte suspended, Kevin De Bruyne yet to return to training following a bout of coronavirus and Phil Foden and return hero Jack Grealish only fit enough for the bench.
That definitely qualifies as a bit of an emergency in a Premier League title race where every slip-up feels magnified by the quality of Liverpool and Chelsea.
Midfield balance looks like it might be the main issue, but the spotlight is also on Ruben Dias’ centre-back partner.
There is an irony to Nathan Ake getting a break due to an injury crisis, given the Dutchman’s maiden season with City was ruined by fitness woes as his team-mates maintained predominantly clean bills of health.
Following his £40million arrival from Bournemouth, Ake performed with a calm authority during the opening 3-1 win at Wolves in 2020/21. It is safe to say he has not measured up to his price tag too often since.
The next game was a chastening 5-2 home defeat to Leicester that preceded Dias’ arrival.
Dias, who was not City’s first-choice target, instantly took on a defensive leadership role that might have been Ake’s had things panned out differently.
Groin and hamstring problems then took hold, with a recurrence of the latter coming after Ake impressed in the 2-0 Boxing Day win over Newcastle United.
That was the match where Guardiola settled on his refined approach that yielded a season-defining winning run, with one of his full-backs tucking in to bolster the midfield.
Ake, a holding midfielder in his youth at Chelsea, carried out the brief immaculately from left-back. Then he was sidelined again and Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo became Pep’s hybrid men.
It has been a luckless City career so far, but maybe tonight will be the moment that starts to turn as a popular member of the dressing room gets the chance to step up in his manager’s hour of need.
