In our view, Pep Guardiola should bench Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku instead of his teammate against Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
On the final day of the 2023/2024 Premier League season, Pep Guardiola fielded a full-strength team to beat West Ham United.
However, Guardiola should perhaps make one key change to his side for the upcoming FA Cup final.
Man City boss Guardiola should bench Doku to start one player against Man United
Jeremy Doku perhaps merits a start after putting in one of his finest displays in a Manchester City shirt on Sunday.
The Belgian international assisted Phil Foden’s second goal and all in all, he caused plenty of problems to the Hammers’ defence.
Vladimir Coufal perhaps had one of his toughest outings as a West Ham player as the 21-year-old constantly took him on.
As per Sofascore, Jeremy Doku completed as many as five dribbles during the game, as he was one of City’s biggest threats on the day.
Mateo Kovacic should start over the Belgian in the FA Cup final
However, in our view, Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic should come into the side against Manchester United to replace Jeremy Doku.
In both games against United this season, City have been miles better than them in every regard.
But Erik ten Hag’s side have posed a threat in transition, with Marcus Rashford’s remarkable opener at the Etihad Stadium emerging from a quick break.
Gary Neville also stated that the England international and Rasmus Hojlund could cause the Sky Blues problems in moments.
If Manchester City start Mateo Kovacic over Jeremy Doku, they will be able to dictate the tempo of the game much better against Manchester United.
Unlike Doku, Kovacic will allow City to play in a patient way, allowing them to maximise their control on proceedings against United.
Being a direct player, the former Rennes winger is expected to try and take on Diogo Dalot whenever he gets the opportunity.
However, Doku’s speciality can be put to use as an impact substitute, especially when Dalot is worn down during the latter stages of the game.
Kovacic and Rodri have especially former a cracking pairing in the title run-in and their presence in the middle of the park has allowed the Premier League winners to play their best football during this stretch of games.
The £150,000-a-week man’s experience of playing on the biggest of occasions could also help City’s chances at Wembley Stadium, unlike in Doku’s case.
Recently, Andre Onana made a fair observation while speaking to The Overlap by stating that end-to-end games do not particularly suit a control-centric team like City.
Mateo Kovacic will allow Manchester City to stifle Manchester United in the best way possible: by playing to their strengths.
Victories such as when City beat United 2-0 in 2021 gave the best possible demonstration of how to take down the Red Devils — probing their defence with a patient approach and forcing them to rush their counter-attacking sequences.
With Kovacic also being an adept ball-winner, the Sky Blues’ level of control of proceedings could be sky-high.
As a result, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola might be best-placed to bench Jeremy Doku and bring Mateo Kovacic back into the fold against Manchester United.