Manchester City have the opportunity to reach a third successive FA Cup final when they take on Nottingham Forest this afternoon at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola has won this competition twice, but will still be stinging from the defeat to Manchester United in the 2024 final.
Forest defeated City in the Premier League last month, but the Spaniard may have learned from this loss, and his side could reach another final.
They warmed up for the clash with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, but a few players weren’t quite at their best. İlkay Gündoğan was one, and he could return to the bench this afternoon.
Why Man City must drop İlkay Gündoğan
Guardiola operated with a 4-1-4-1 system against Villa, and Gundogan was one of the four midfielders tasked with providing opportunities for Kevin De Bruyne.
Despite playing for the full 90 minutes, the midfielder failed to register a single shot on goal, while he failed with his only dribble attempt.
Gundogan also lost possession seven times against the Midlands side and won just one of his three aerial duels.
For the semi-final clash against Forest, Guardiola must revert to a 4-2-3-1. Mateo Kovacic will reprise his role at the heart of the midfield, but for this game, winter signing Nico Gonzalez must be brought into the starting XI.
Why Nico Gonzalez must start for Man City
Gonzalez may have cost the club around £50m back in January, but he is already looking like a potential long-term heir to Rodri.
The midfielder has already featured 12 times for City in all competitions, even scoring against Real Madrid in the Champions League, although it wasn’t enough to see his club make it to the next round.
Across his eight Premier League matches for the club, the 23-year-old has averaged a 93% pass success rate, along with making 1.9 tackles, two clearances, and recovering 3.9 balls per game in the top flight.
Furthermore, the Spaniard wins 1.9 aerial duels per game – a success rate of 59% – while averaging 81.9 touches each match for City. These statistics show just how dependable he is at the heart of the pitch, because he rarely gives the ball away and is strong in his physical duels.
He was praised by football talent scout Jacek Kulig in July 2024, who said: “Nico González – 4 goals in FC Porto’s four friendly games this preseason. Simply superb in the second half of the 23/24. Technique, football IQ, and pure elegance.”
Passes attempted
77.9
Pass completion percentage
92.9%
Aerial duels won
2.09
Passes into the final third
6.68
Touches
88.33
The move to Manchester hasn’t fazed him, and he now looks like an excellent signing. Settling in throughout the second half of the 2024/25 season appears to be a smart move by Guardiola, as Gonzalez will hit the ground running in August.
Moving back to a 4-2-3-1 system for the FA Cup semi-final could go a long way to seeing City reach yet another final. With Gonzalez and Kovacic at the base of the midfield, the attacking quartet will be given free rein to cause plenty of destruction.
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