Jeremy Doku is set to miss the remainder of Manchester City’s games in 2025 with Pep Guardiola pencilling in the visit to Sunderland on New Year’s Day as a comeback date for the winger.
Doku, who has been in outstanding form this season, missed the trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday with a leg injury and is expected to miss between two and three weeks of action. “I think he will maybe be in Sunderland, maybe,” said Guardiola in his press conference ahead of City’s EFL Cup quarterfinal against Brentford on Wednesday. That is a match for which John Stones and Rodri will also be unavailable while Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri have departed for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Doku’s absence will be a keenly felt one, even if only for a relatively short period and a manageable set of fixtures. City’s next two Premier League games are at home to West Ham and away to a resurgent Nottingham Forest, the latter a team where the creativity and ball-carrying of the winger would be particularly valuable. Any further setback would be even more of a headache for City, who will travel to the Stadium of Light on January 1 before welcoming Chelsea to the Etihad Stadium three days later.
Per 90 Premier League minutes this season, nobody creates more chances than Doku’s 3.44. In total output he is only bettered by Bruno Fernandes. It is a similar story for expected assists as the 23-year-old blossoms into one of the English game’s most devastating wide options. Based on the table below, that might even be a mild assessment of his performance. So far this season there has been no one more effective at carrying the ball up the field and then creating for others.
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Crucially for City, as well, Doku is the most consistent player at doing the thing that Guardiola has geared his team around this season: getting shots for Erling Haaland. Nine of the striker’s 59 shots in the Premier League this season have been assisted by the Belgian, the most of any player in the squad. Doku put it best himself last month. “Haaland eats goals and I’m his chef.”
It is worth noting that Haaland didn’t starve on Sunday as City found a way to three goals without their most consistent progressor and creator this season. Rayan Cherki continued his impressive upwards trajectory of recent weeks and while Phil Foden did not impress his manager he weighed in with a crucial goal to break Palace’s resistance. Those two should be able to cope with the first half of a burdensome festive fixture list, but it is after them that the worries emerge. Savinho has been a shadow of the player he threatened to be early in his City career while Oscar Bobb is a 22-year-old with just 776 career minutes. Without Doku and Marmoush, Guardiola looks light on attacking options.
Both Savinho and Bobb could come in to start Wednesday’s EFL Cup quarterfinal as Guardiola bids to win his fifth EFL Cup, five years after the last in a run of four straight triumphs. “The players who didn’t play recently are going to play, academy as well,” said the City boss, whose last bout of heavy rotation resulted in a bruising defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. “I’m not saying it’s not the priority to get to the semifinals of the EFL Cup. Normally when we achieve it it’s because we have all the squad, no injuries, we can rotate, the team is good.
“Maybe in the Leverkusen game we missed a father figure on the pitch. There are players where it’s not about the quality, it’s about how he leads. Young players who still don’t have courage for the process, they don’t have to say it doesn’t matter what happens.
“When they don’t have [an experienced leader], it’s like ‘oh I have to do it’… I have to find the balance. It’s a lesson. I have to learn that.”
James Trafford will be among the younger players who come into the XI, the former Burnley goalkeeper having found himself sidelined since Gianluigi Donnarumma arrived just over a month after his signing in the summer. Despite links to Tottenham, West Ham and one-time suitors Newcastle, Guardiola said he expects the 23-year-old to stay for the remainder of the season.
“He’s an incredible keeper,” Guardiola said of Trafford. “Unfortunately Gigio is the first keeper but he’s incredible… He’s been with us this season and after we’ll see what happens. Does he stay in January? Absolutely.”
Manchester City vs. Brentford viewing information
- Date: Wednesday, Dec. 17 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Etihad Stadium — Manchester, United Kingdom
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Manchester City -275; Draw +380; Brentford +650
