As well as Akanji: Pep must now drop 3/10 Man City star

Manchester City are looking to end a run of five straight defeats in all competitions as they prepare to welcome Feyenoord to The Etihad in the Champions League this evening.

The Cityzens lost 4-1 to Sporting, thanks to a hat-trick from former Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres, in their last outing on the European stage.

Pep Guardiola's side come into this game directly off the back of a thumping 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at The Etihad on Sunday.

The Spanish head coach will be eager for a big response from his team against the Dutch outfit and one player who could be dropped from the starting XI is Manuel Akanji.

Why Manuel Akanji should be dropped

The Switzerland international, who has operated at right-back and centre-back for Manchester City, featured in the middle of the back three in the build-up, with Kyle Walker and Josko Gvardiol either side of him, at the weekend.

Unfortunately, in the absence of Ruben Dias, the former Borussia Dortmund man failed to command the back line and the Cityzens let in four sloppy concessions throughout the game.

Akanji lost five of his eight ground duels against Spurs, which shows that the opposition got the better of him more often than not, and he failed to stop James Maddison from getting a shot off twice in the first half.

Nathan Ake came off the bench in the loss to Tottenham and he could be brought back into the starting XI to see if there is a change of fortune at the back.

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Akanji is not the only player who should be ruthlessly dropped from the team, though, as Guardiola must also ditch his faith in veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

Why Ilkay Gunodgan should be dropped

The German has struggled since his return to The Etihad on a free transfer from Barcelona in the summer transfer window and is not doing enough to justify his place in the side.

Gundogan started against Tottenham and played the full 90 minutes of the 4-0 defeat. City, along with their defensive struggles, failed to offer much in attack.

Despite having a whopping 101 touches of the ball, the Cityzens midfielder did not create a single 'big chance' for his team and the two key passes that he made equated to just 0.10 xA.

The Manchester Evening News awarded him a 3/10 rating for his performance and wrote that it was a 'horror show' from the dud who is 'struggling badly'.

24/25 Premier League Ilkay Gundogan Appearances 11 Goals 0 Big chances missed 3 Big chances created 0 Tackles + interceptions per game 1.1 Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Gundogan has struggled badly, as the MEN claimed, in the Premier League this season since his return to the club.

He is yet to score a goal or create a 'big chance' in the top-flight and his lack of impact in possession, despite having over 100 touches, speaks to his lack of quality on the ball.

Therefore, Guardiola must ditch his faith in his City favourite and unleash another player in his place. Whether Kevin de Bruyne is fit enough to start remains to be seen, however, whilst James McAtee and Matheus Nunes are alternative options.

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