Teenager Liam Delap could be parachuted in for a Premier League debut against Leicester on Sunday as Manchester City will spend the next month of their season without a senior specialist striker after Gabriel Jesus joined Sergio Aguero on the sidelines.
The Brazilian’s muscle injury rules him out of Premier League clashes with Leeds, West Ham and Arsenal and the start of the Champions League, creating an unexpected opportunity for the 17-year-old Delap.
Aguero has not featured since undergoing knee surgery in June but while he has been out for longer than originally anticipated, the Argentinian could return in time for the meeting with champions Liverpool, scheduled for November 7.
Manager Pep Guardiola is likely to use Raheem Sterling, City’s 31-goal top scorer last season, as a false nine in the absence of City’s record scorer and his regular understudy.
But Delap, the son of former Stoke midfielder Rory, has propelled himself into contention after scoring on his City bow against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
“We don’t have Sergio. We don’t have Gabriel. We have Liam,” said Guardiola. “Gabriel has the injury against Wolves so will be out for one month. Sergio is running a bit but could not make one training session with us. Hopefully in one month he comes back. But we have many options.”
Guardiola named 18-year-old Cole Palmer among them while he has previously used Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne as false nines and suggested Ilkay Gundogan could play as one.
The German has been sidelined by Covid-19 while the injured Portuguese missed the trip to Molineux but Mahrez played against Bournemouth after recovering from coronavirus.
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Wolves v Manchester City ratings
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WOLVES PLAYER RATINGS: Rui Patricio. 6 - Powerless to prevent Kevin de Bruyne from rocketing a penalty into the bottom corner and had no chance against City’s second either. AFP -
Willy Boly. 5 - Struggled to deal with the sharp movement of Raheem Sterling and was often chasing shadows against the fluid visiting frontline. Getty Images -
Conor Coady. 6 - Guilty of some sloppy moments in possession, and found himself bogged down in a physical battle with Gabriel Jesus. AFP -
Romain Saiss. 5 - Got sucked into a rather naïve challenge on Kevin de Bruyne to give the visitors an early penalty, and the Moroccan never really recovered. Getty Images -
Adama Traore. 5 - Completely starved of service thanks to City tactics that sniffed out any signs of a Wolves counter-attack. Getty Images -
Ruben Neves. 6 - Should have done much better when he scuffed a shot from the edge of the box despite having a clear sight of goal and plenty of time. AP -
Joao Moutinho. 5 - His lack of pace was cruelly exposed by De Bruyne as the Belgian glided past the midfielder with ease to create a string of chances for the visitors. Getty Images -
Marcal. N/A - Forced off with an injury after just seven minutes. AP -
Daniel Podence. 7 - By far Wolves’ most dangerous player, and showed great feet to nutmeg de Bruyne and provide Jimenez with a pinpoint cross for the forward to head home. PA -
Raul Jimenez. 6 - Didn’t have much in the way of genuine goalscoring opportunities but took his 78th minute header brilliantly as he hauled his side back into the game for a tense finish. EPA -
Pedro Neto. 5 - A largely anonymous display in which the 20-year-old never looked like seriously troubling the City defence. Getty Images -
SUBS: Ruben Vinagre (Marcal, 8’). 6 – Penned back as Kyle Walker stamped his authority on the right flank, and with the Wolves midfield malfunctioning, the left wing-back was unable to stretch the game. REUTERS -
Leander Dendoncker (Joao Moutinho, 78’). N/A – Came on to shore up the home midfield, but his side were chasing the game long before his arrival. Getty Images -
Fabio Silva (Pedro Neto, 78’). N/A – Unable to get a sight of goal in the final 12 minutes. EPA -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson. 6 - A virtual bystander in what was a quiet night for the City stopper but had no chance against Jimenez’s firm header. AFP -
Kyle Walker. 7 - Had real presence out on the right-hand side as he looked to provide a wide outlet and stretch the home backline. Reuters -
John Stones. 6 - Brought the ball out of defence well in the first half but got caught out by two balls over the top that should have been finished off by Daniel Podence. EPA -
Nathan Ake. 7 – A decent debut as he dealt well with Wolves’ physical approach and the Dutchman looks a smart addition to the City backline. Getty Images -
Benjamin Mendy. 6 - Never in any real danger against the ever so dangerous Adama Traore, but he did pick up a first-half booking for holding back the Wolves winger. AP -
Fernandinho. 7 - An easy night in the office for the Brazilian, who helped to effectively stall the Wolves midfield engine. Reuters -
Rodri. 7 - Kept City firmly in control of a congested midfield and wasn’t far away from a rare goal when he fired a volley just wide of the angle between post and bar. EPA -
Phil Foden. 7 - Picked up dangerous pockets of space between the lines and looked a threat even before he dispatched Sterling’s lay off to put City two ahead. AP -
Kevin de Bruyne. 8 - Got the vital touch to a loose ball to draw a foul for his side’s penalty, before dusting himself down to slot home in emphatic fashion. He then played a part in his side’s second with a slide-rule pass for Sterling. AFP -
Raheem Sterling. 7 - Looked sharp on his first league outing of the season, and opened his assist account with a tidy pass for Foden to finish for 2-0. EPA -
Gabriel Jesus. 7 - Had a tough physical battle against the three-man Wolves defence but plugged away and deserved his late goal. Reuters -
SUBS: Ferran Torres (Raheem Sterling, 81’) – A quiet Premier League introduction for the Spaniard. Reuters
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Today’s game will be a reunion with his former club for the Algerian, who was named PFA Player of the Year for his part in Leicester’s shock title win in 2016.
“Riyad is an exceptional player,” Guardiola added. “I know how important he is for the quality of the passes and especially his mentality. He is aggressive to score goals.”
Mahrez scored 25 times in his first two seasons, even if he was sometimes overshadowed by De Bruyne, Sterling and Aguero. City's problem at a time when their squad is stretched, and when Guardiola has had just 13 first-team players, is not of quality, but quantity.
“We have an exceptional squad,” the manager added. “The injured guys will be back, some of them earlier than the other ones but I am not going to think for one second why these players who are not there.”
And yet the crowded fixture list makes absentees more likely. Silva and Joao Cancelo were both hurt playing for Portugal and Guardiola said: “We had three players come back from the international teams. We cannot control this. They let them play without preparation two games in three or four days. They are not machines and sometimes the muscles fall down.”
Normally, they would have had more conditioning before their first game of the campaign, but as Guardiola said: “The pre-season now is one week or two weeks and then you have to play every three days for 11 months. Before it was completely different.
“But every association - the Premier League, Uefa, Fifa, Carabao Cup – defend their own business and their position. International teams need to play games for qualification for the European Championships and the World Cup. They need the players. Now the situation is exceptional. Everyone understands that. It is what it is.
“It is an exceptional situation for everyone, for the restaurants, for the theatres, for the cinemas, for the museums, for the shops.” And, in a very different way, for Liam Delap.
