Stefan Ortega may have only played three games for Manchester City since his summer move from Arminia Bielefeld but he has made a great account of himself during that time.
Cast your mind back to before the Qatar World Cup and Ortega put in a masterful performance against Chelsea to help seal progression to the next round of the Carabao Cup. Only an equally impressive display from Jack Grealish prevented him from gaining the man of the match accolade on that night.
His limited outings for the Blues have shown exactly why Pep Guardiola opted to send Zack Steffen out on loan to Middlesbrough. Ortega has looked commanding in goal and has shown the experience in cup competitions that the American lacked last season.
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The German stopper might now be in an ideal position to capitalise on what is happening over in the Middle East. For any other country, Ederson would be the first name on the teamsheet.
He has changed the game for goalkeepers having fitted seamlessly into Guardiola's ideal image of what a 21st Century number one looks like. Ederson's ability on the ball is better than several midfielders in the Premier League and that is no exaggeration.
For some reason though, Brazil head coach Tite prefers to start with Liverpool's Alisson in goal instead. Ederson has so far been handed a watching brief at the World Cup and that could be to the detriment of his club career.
As we all know, Guardiola likes to have autonomy over his players' training. That is taken out of his hands during international breaks but for most of his City squad he can sleep soundly, safe in the knowledge that they are getting regular match practice.
Ederson is the exception to the rule though and while most of the squad who has been in Qatar will be wanting a rest, the 29-year-old will need to get back up to speed upon his return flight arriving in Manchester Airport. Meanwhile, Ortega will have spent a month under Guardiola's watchful eye and will be raring to go when he is inevitably picked to face Liverpool in the League Cup after the World Cup comes to its conclusion.
Ortega will have the perfect opportunity during this game to state his claim for the number one shirt and perhaps put even further pressure on Ederson in the process. Guardiola remains a clear fan of his Brazilian 'keeper but further great performances from the 30-year-old German could have the Catalan coach questioning his loyalties.
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