Pep Guardiola wary of rushing Aguero back despite Argentine’s importance to Man City
Last Updated: November 23, 2020 5:45 pm
Man City struggling for goals
Manchester City endured a pretty poor 2019/20 campaign by the club’s high standards, and such form has since continued into the current season.
City’s latest outing saw them fall to a 2-0 defeat at Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham on Sunday.
This result leaves the Sky Blues languishing in 13th place in the Premier League table. And though they do hold a game in hand on most sides, even with a win, they would remain five points adrift of table-topping Spurs.
One of City’s biggest issues this term has been an uncharacteristic lack of goals.
The usually free-scoring Manchester outfit have netted just 10 times in eight league outings, a record which pales in comparison to the likes of Tottenham and Chelsea – with 21 and 22 goals respectively.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 26: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City looks on prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium on October 26, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Guardiola on Aguero returning
A key factor behind City struggling to fire on all cylinders of late has been the club’s issues at centre-forward.
Gabriel Jesus missed a number of games early in the season, after picking up an injury vs Wolves.
Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero, the Citizens’ long-time star striker, has missed nearly all of the campaign to this point due to injury.
Nevertheless, though, despite City evidently suffering in Aguero’s absence, Pep Guardiola recently suggested that he doesn’t intend to rush the 32-year-old Argentine back:
“I’m not going to say that we don’t need Sergio, we need him.
“But Sergio, who is 32, was out for five months with a dangerous and difficult injury. He came back and played 50 or 55 minutes and he is injured again.
“We want him and I want Sergio fit because I’m not just discovering now how important he is for us.
“But we have to be careful [to make sure he does] not come back and get injured again. You have to see the right moment to put him in again and hopefully it can be soon and he can maintain the regularity to play games.”
Quotes via Sky Sports News.
See also: Manchester United vs Istanbul Basaksehir betting tips: Champions League preview, predictions & odds
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This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 26 | 21 | 50 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 26 | 15 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 26 | 16 | 44 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 26 | 13 | 43 |
| 7 | Everton FC | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 25 | 14 | 39 |
| 9 | Aston Villa FC | 24 | 12 | 39 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 26 | 7 | 37 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 26 | -1 | 35 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 26 | -6 | 34 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 26 | -14 | 33 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 25 | -12 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 26 | -16 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 26 | -7 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 26 | -17 | 26 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 26 | -11 | 23 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 26 | -35 | 17 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 26 | -28 | 11 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 8 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
