Manchester City fans have indicated that they would prefer to see Jack Grealish line up against Liverpool rather than Raheem Sterling.
Pep Guardiola chose to start his £100m summer signing over Sterling in the Manchester derby and Monday’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace. The wide man has started 23 of the 34 games he has played in this season and has managed to bag 13 goals and five assists.
Meanwhile, Grealish has started 24 of the 28 matches he’s featured in but has only recorded four goals and three assists. Despite this return, the considerable majority of City fans who voted in a Manchester Evening News poll gave Grealish the nod of approval over Sterling.
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Overall, 62 per cent of voters opted for the 26-year-old over the former Liverpool attacker. There is just one Premier League game between the international break and their crunch meeting with Jurgen Klopp’s side, which could ultimately sway which way the title goes.
Both players started as frontmen in the 2-2 draw at Anfield in October’s reverse fixture. However, in recent months, Guardiola has opted to choose one or the other to occupy the left wing.
Neither player has netted against any current top four side this season but Grealish did notch an assist in August’s 5-0 demolition of a very different-looking Arsenal side. Sterling has scored and assisted three goals in the 16 matches he has played against Liverpool in his career. Grealish netted twice and assisted three in Aston Villa’s incredible 7-2 dismantling of the Reds last season.
He also provided the assist to Fabian Delph’s winner when the Villains downed Liverpool 2-1 in the semi-final of the FA Cup in 2015. Pep Guardiola has come to know what to expect from 27-year-old Sterling, who has now been at the club for six-and-a-half years.
His potency is evidently greater than Grealish’s, and has often started in the big games this season, but the Spaniard has entrusted in his summer recruit throughout his dry spells and he has consequently seen an uptick in his recent form.
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