Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola would have been fearful when he waved goodbye to club captain Vincent Kompany as the Belgian left for international duty.

Pep’s fears were realised when Kompany returned to City with a calf injury that will keep him out of the big Premier League fixture against Liverpool this weekend.

The Spanish manager has reassured City fans that the influential centre-half won’t be out for too long:

“Pre-season, we took care of him and he played all three games. Now, unfortunately, we’ve lost him, but we will try and get him fit as soon as possible.”

Now no matter how long the injury is, they still have to go up against a very capable Liverpool front three this Saturday lunchtime without Kompany. Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah have been vibrant, fast and have all scored and assisted so far this term. No team in the league have been able to keep this trio quiet during this current campaign.

Last season everyone saw that John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi weren’t the perfect partnership. Both looked decent enough with Kompany at the back but together they looked vulnerable. Between them Stones and Otamendi had some shockers last term, they could be ripped to shreds tomorrow if they aren’t on form and concentrating fully on the task at hand.

This should be a breakout year for Stones at Man City but he needs to show defensive progress when he gets his opportunities. He will have to try and show that against the Reds front three.

Otamendi has been good in his first three outings but that’s been in a defence with Kompany in alongside him.

Another issue is that we’ve been here before and a small strain or knock for Vincent ends up being a recurring problem or leads to a longer absence than originally expected. The causes tension with the support, who don’t trust the other centre-halves as a partnership, and that can cause panic at the back.

Vincent Kompany: Has only featured in 32% of the last three Premier League campaigns #MCILIV pic.twitter.com/1axo61VqN0

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 8, 2017

The above stat from WhoScored, shows just how much these injuries have plagued the Belgian international in recent years. By the way, The Citizens didn’t win a league title in those three campaigns that Kompany has missed big chunks of.

During their two title triumphs in 2012 and 2014 the City leader played in thirty-one and twenty-eight fixtures respectively (all of which were starts).

He’s a player that brings stability and composure to the backline. When he’s not there confusion creeps in.

Now Pep and the hierarchy at the Etihad knew that the central defensive position was an area that needed strengthened, especially given Kompany’s injury problems.

They were extremely keen on West Bromwich Albion captain Jonny Evans. The Northern Irish centre-back has plenty of experience and would have fitted into Man City’s possession style. But a deal couldn’t be done with the Sky Blues unwilling to meet Tony Pulis’ valuation for the defender. That decision might come back to haunt the Citizens this term.

The title challengers need to figure out a way to keep Vincent Kompany fit. It’s clear that they still rely on the thirty-one year old’s leadership to cement the defensive line.

Tomorrow, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi will know that they’ve been in a game with the Liverpool front three but it could be important for the Manchester club to hang in there and get a result and try and prove to the world that they can produce big performances without captain Kompany in the heart of the defence calling the shots!

Posted on September 8th, 2017 by scott
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