■ Chelsea v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm
Pep Guardiola poured scorn on the idea that Sergio Aguero is a dirty player as the Manchester City striker prepares to face David Luiz for the first time since he was sent off for a thigh-high challenge on the Chelsea defender.
Aguero incurred a four-match suspension, meaning he has been banned for seven games this season, for his red card in December’s 3-1 defeat to the league leaders, when Fernandinho was also dismissed in the ensuing stoppage-time melee.
The Argentinian was guilty of a similarly high challenge on the Brazilian in the 2013 FA Cup semi-final but Guardiola turned character witness for two players who made the biggest contribution to City’s poor disciplinary record.
“We can talk about many things but we can never say Sergio is not calm or say Sergio Aguero is a dangerous player, please,” said Guardiola. “What happened with Sergio and after with Fernandinho is our frustration with what happened on the pitch. Fernandinho is aggressive, but one of the sweetest and nicest guys I have ever met. Sergio and Fernandinho are nice guys.”
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Aguero has only been booked once since serving his suspension, reinforcing Guardiola’s view that an eventful game contributed to his tackle on Luiz, who Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said is still receiving treatment for the injury.
City have hit the woodwork the most in the division this season, with one of the costliest near-misses coming when Kevin de Bruyne struck the bar when they were 1-0 up against Chelsea. It was a turning point: certainly in the game but arguably in both clubs’ seasons.
“We were 1-0 up, created unbelievable chances to go 2-0 or 3-0 [up] and the circumstances that we could not control were amazing,” Guardiola said.
De Bruyne also hit the woodwork twice in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Arsenal and it the City manager pinpointed the need to discover a clinical touch as an area where his side can progress.
“There are a lot of things we can improve: the players, the coach, the way of playing, in the boxes,” said Guardiola. “To hit the post 17 times is a lot.”
One scope for an upgrade is in personnel. City are a rarity in that they have six first-team players out of contract in the summer. It is not a cause for panic, either: instead, it offers them an opportunity to persuade Guardiola of their merits.
“The players decide for themselves through their performances on the pitch,” he said.
Three of them — Willy Caballero, Gael Clichy and Jesus Navas — started at Arsenal, while two more, Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta, came off the bench. The sixth, Bacary Sagna, is out for two or three weeks, his groin injury giving Guardiola a choice between Zabaleta and Navas, who operated as a right back on Sunday.
A summer overhaul is expected anyway but City will be strengthened in one respect before the end of the season when Gabriel Jesus, who is now back in training after a metatarsal injury, is fit again. Defensive reinforcements are likely to be targeted, with two full-backs, a central defender, a goalkeeper and another midfielder potential arrivals.
“It is a process to improve and we are still in the process,” said Guardiola.
Chelsea’s transformation has been quicker, a team who finished 10th last season looking likely to be crowned champions, but they have had a lesser workload because of their European exile. “They have more time to prepare,” said Guardiola, a coach who places much emphasis on training-ground work lauding Conte’s work. Chelsea’s win at the Etihad Stadium was arguably their most significant of the season. City’s quest is to exact revenge, and not in the way a lunging Aguero did four months ago.
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